Baby Simon:)

Baby Simon's Mom, Rafel. I brushed her hair and put it up out of the way.
Baby Simon, minute old!! Starting to turn color!! He was so blue!!
Don't we look tired!! lol Ya, it was an exhausting birth!
Isn't he cute?! Ya, I think it's upside down! But took so long to load so I'll just leave it!
Cuddle time! My fav!!

Ok so I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet!! LOL Ya right!! Well, I'll try to cut out some of the gross details! lol So another miracle happened in the wee hours of this morning!! Baby Simon was born! It was the scariest delivery so far! (In the 3 that I've seen!! lol) The mom gave up pushing at one point and his head was stuck and he wasn't breathing! But we encouraged her! Quite aggressively, and helped to guide his shoulders out! My instinct is to cuddle the babies and quiet their cries but I know that its healthy for them to cry. Helps to clear any fluid they might have in their lungs! So after some crying, I get to cuddle them!! Baby Simon's mom, Rafel, was the second pregnant mom I met here! She is the one who's blood pressure has been a bit high. It was 150/100 for most of her labor. It would go down temperarily when she would drink water, but then go back up. And she was in labor for about 36 hours!! So I didn't sleep last night!! I'm pretty tired right now!! I think after I write this email I will go try and have a nap cuz we have one more pregnant mom that's due anytime! Miss you all!! Lots of love, Sherina

Second Birth!!

Baby Razal!
I held him lots!
And lots!
He was just too cute!!
Couldn't put him down! lol

Cutting the umbilical cord.
Checking the hips for any clicking sound during the neonatal exam.
Cleaning him up.

Putting eye ointment in. Giving him a Vitamin K injection:(

So Monday, August, 4th I assisted in my second birth!! I think it was just as exciting as the first one! It was mid morning and I was out back doing a mound of laundry when, Rockell arrived in labor. Her mom, brother-in-law and nephew all came with her. Her brother-in-law stayed outside but the young boy was inside the whole time! She lied down on the bed and tried to be so brave but every time a contraction came she would grab the edge of the bed and cry. She looked so young and alone and her mother was doing nothing to comfort her so I sat beside her and took her hand and she squeezed it every time there was a contraction. Auntie Imelda told her how to breathe threw them so she and I would breathe together. If she forgot I would start breathing to remind her. Her labor progressed very quickly and it wasn’t long til she was sitting on the birthing chair pushing! One concern we had is that her blood pressure was very low-88/60! She was so weak that she had a hard time pushing and at one point said she couldn’t do it! But we encouraged her and she did do it!! It was only me and Auntie Imelda to deliver the baby as DJ hadn’t yet come back from taking someone to the other clinic on a different island. So I was much more involved this time, although I still don’t feel like I know what I’m doing! If I was by myself I think I would still be quite scared! Lol The water hadn’t broken yet and this time instead of getting peed on, every time she pushed she had a bit of a bowel movement!:( The smell was so bad that I had to tell myself just to deal with it. Then the water broke and splashed all over the floor! And then the baby’s head appeared, and one more push and the baby was out! Another baby boy! I had to help clamp the umbilical cord and cut it. I took the baby and dried him off and got him cleaned up. I clamped his cord close to his belly button and cut it. Then got cotton with baby oil and wiped off all the blood and slime and a bit of poo!:( Gross! But babies are too precious to care what they are covered in!! lol He opened his eyes right away and was very alert. He kept wanting to look around and see everything and he looked at me quite a bit! It felt like such an honor to be the first thing the baby sees when he opens his eyes! I did the entire neonatal exam! I even put the ointment in his eyes and gave him an injection of Vitamin K in his thigh. Then after he had been fully examined and cleaned up we gave him to his mom to breastfeed. Then came the job of cleaning everything else up! That’s the not so fun part! When I checked on the mom and baby a little bit later, I saw that the mom was asleep and the baby was moving around and kept kicking off his blanket. So I picked him up and held him close and cuddled and sang to him for over an hour. Until the mom woke up and then I gave the baby back so she could feed him again. I think I held the baby almost the entire time he was here while the mom was resting. Seven hours after the birth, the mom and baby went home, escorted by some younger siblings and the grandma. They bundled the baby up and set out in the dark in the pouring rain to their house. I think I described their house in one of my first emails. This was the first place I went after arriving here. Rockel was the first pregnant mom that I got to meet. So cool that I got to be the one to help deliver her baby.
Today, a day after the birth, DJ and I went to go check up on mom and baby. They are a bit worried about the baby as there is a slight chance that the baby might have swallowed some pooL So they are advising her to take him to the clinic to get some antibiotics. Then today I found out that the mom is concerned because she doesn’t have any milk! I explained about colostrum, and how it is thicker, yellow and sticky and is what the breast milk is for the first 3 days. I told her that its very healthy for the baby and that colostrum is full of antibodies to help the baby fight off infections and diseases. I also told her that the more the baby sucks, the more milk will be produced. I was sad to hear that she had been giving the baby a bottle! I hope that she really took what I told her to heart and that she’ll keep breastfeeding!
I really need to learn Tagalog because I find it so challenging to not understand what is being said. And it doesn’t get translated to me very often. And if it does and I ask some questions because I’m trying to understand, then people get a bit frustrated and tell me that it’s not important! So I’m trying to pick which questions I think are really important and just ask those! Like today for example: we had a pregnant lady and her husband come to see us. It was the first time that we had met them and I was asked to do the medical history and first prenatal check up. But the lady, Sonia, doesn’t seem to understand English so I keep looking at DJ to translate for me! And some questions Sonia just didn’t seem to want to answer so then her husband would answer for her. I was getting a bit frustrated because Sonia was going on and on about some things and I was supposed to be taking down all the notes but nothing was being translated to me. So then I would ask only to be told that the answer was no. None of the details were translated!! So annoying! I decided to quietly hum a worship song and kept smiling sweetly at Sonia to get rid of my frustrations! In the end I think she really appreciated our help. But I still think that it would be so helpful to learn more Tagalog!! I’m not sure how to go about doing that! I try to ask lots of questions and I’m constantly asking how to say things in Tagalog and then I write them down and try to repeat them as often as I can. I’m going to see if any of the young people that I’ve met at the Baptist Church next door, want to teach me for fun! That seems to be my main challenge right now! That and I’ve started not being able to fall asleep and then waking up in the middle of the night after only sleeping a few hours! I was sleeping on the same schedule and didn’t seem to suffer any jet lag my first week here that I thought I wouldn’t have a problem sleeping. Maybe it’s just a weird week and it will pass! At least I’m feeling a lot better! Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for me!! I can totally feel the support and encouragements from ‘home’!
So we are waiting for one more mom who’s due anytime! Then they aren’t expecting any births for about a month! The next mom is Rafel. Her and her family are the ones who live in the slum area that burned down! We went to visit her again today because she was supposed to have come last week for another check up but she never showed up! Probably because of all the rain and stormy weather! People don’t like to go out then. We convinced her to come to the clinic today. I was shocked again at the place where they live! I really can’t understand how anyone could live like that! But I know that they are doing the best that they can! I think some of her neighbors were surprised to see a foreign person visiting her and quite a crowd gathered outside the doorway of her place. One of the guys there was holding a cute, young girl and tried to tell me that I could have her! The poor thing was probably so confused because (I think it was her dad) was telling her that I was her mommy!! I just smiled at her and told the dad I couldn’t possible take her cuz he would miss her too much!! The sad thing is that I think a lot of people there would give their kids up just like that!
So Rafel did come tonight and her blood pressure is still too high!! She has supposed to have been on a strict protein diet and to have been drinking lots of water! I gave her a glass, finished the exam and then took it again and it was much better! But if it doesn’t stay down we are going to have to send her to the hospital to deliverL She’s praying it stays down cuz I don’t think she can afford it! And maybe also cuz she likes us?! Lol
Well, I think I’ve probably sufficiently bored most of you by now!! Lol If this is too much info but you’d still like to get an idea of my week, then just check out my blog. I’ll put up the pics of the new baby!!:) He’s so cute!! His name is Razal!!
Lots of Love,
Sherina

A less exciting week

This girl was so cute with her colorful umbrella and huge eyes!! She kept calling me auntie!
Once I started taking pictures, the kids just kepting wanting more and more! I think they're a little lacking in attention!
These 3 girls were 'my girls'!! Hope I can see them again!
They stood right outside the truck til I left! Even tho it was pouring rain!
Big kids and little kids wanted to get a picture with me!

Me and Karen at the Passion Conference.
My young fan club at the concert! They kept walking by me all night saying something that my friends translated for me, meant Barbie! Silly boys!! They were so excited to take a picture with me! For such a large city, I sure haven't seen very many western people!
The conference was really good!
Chris Tomlin did most of the worship.
Me and boyfriend!! Just kidding, mom!! A street vendor outside the concert. We were waiting in a long line for almost 5 hours before we got in so had to do something to pass the time! lol

So, this week has been really boring compared to my first week here! And on top of that I've been a bit sick:( Caught a really bad cold from one of the patients last week so I've been feeling really miserable! Doesn't seem right to have a cold in such a hot climate!! lol Since being sick I have found out some interesting beliefs the Filipino's have in regards to being sick. First they think I'm sick because I was out in the rain! And I'm not supposed to eat mango when I'm sick cuz it will make my throat itchy!! The Philippines has amazing mangos so I usually eat at least one everyday!! I tried to say that I didn't think that would happen to me! And if I exercise and I'm all hot and sweaty, I have to wait til I cool down before I can shower!! So gross!! All I wanna do is have a cold shower! But I'm trying to listen to what they tell me as much as possible! This week has also been slower because of the weather. It's been really stormy here!! Thunder, lightening, strong winds and lots and lots of rain!! When the weather's like this people don't like to go outside. So the Friday morning clinic got cancelled and we had fewer than normal patients visiting us at our place. One lady, Rafel, is due soon and has really high blood pressure. She has no money to deliver in the hospital but with her health the way it is, the midwives are hesitant to deliver her baby at our place. I'm a bit concerned about her. I just pray for her and if we haven't heard from her by Monday, then I will see if we can go track her down! So the most exciting part of my week was the weekend. Friday night I went to the Passion conference that was being held here in Manila. I'd never heard of it before but its been going on since 1997. Right now they are in the middle of a world tour, going to major cities all around the world. They will be in Vancouver at the end of Oct I think. Chris Tomlin was the main worship leader. And there was a really good speaker too. Lui Gigliano (not sure how to spell his name!!). There were 8,000 people there. Mostly all Filipinos!! We worshipped together, and prayed together and you could really feel God's presence there! It was powerful! I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to be there! Then on Saturday afternoon I got the opportunity to go to a nearby mountain village with some people from the Baptist church that I've been going to. They have a children's ministry there with about 150 kids. They teach them songs, Bible stories and feed them. It was really neat to go and see all the kids! And they really seemed to like seeing me too!! I think I have some new friends. I hope I can go back and see them again!!:)Well, that's about all for this week. I'll try to put some pics up on my blog of the concert and the kids. Hopefully I'll be feeling better next week and I'll have some more exciting things to write about!Love and Prayers, Sherina

Auntie Cecil's Maternity Clinic

At Auntie Cecil's Clinic I got to do all the vitals for the prenatal exams!!
Some of these pregnant moms are so young!!
It was fun listening to the baby's heart beat and palpating for the position the baby was in!!:)

Today was fun! We traveled to another poor area when another midwife is working. She has a cute little clinic in a very dirty, poor, slum area. It took us a bit to get there cuz of all the traffic. Every Friday they hold a prenatal clinic and all the pregnant ladies in that area come. I got to do all their check ups today. So I weighed them all, took their blood pressure and pulse and checked them all for edema. Then was the fun stuff! Measuring the fundal height and finding the position of the baby and then listening to the fetal heart tones!! Many of them were young girls and it was their first pregnancy so they were a bit shy and nervous. I got to pray with each one of them. Hopefully I will see most of them again next Friday. There are 9 pregnant ladies that are due anytime. One is 41 and a half weeks already!! So maybe there will be another birth soon!!:) DJ went with me to this midwife, Cecil’s clinic, but next week I would have to try and find it on my own!! DJ is going to another island for a few days next week, to visit at another maternity clinic. I tried to pay attention on the way back so hopefully I will be able to find it againJ Cecil’s elderly mother prepared food for me and DJ in their really poor hut, so we had to eat a little. It was good but I was a bit nervous cuz the kitchen was really poor and dirtyL But her mother was so sweet we couldn’t refuse her!
Each day something interesting happens! So much to try and keep you informed about! But I am trying my hardest!! For most of you its probably already too much info!! But I know there are a few, like my mom!! Lol, who really want to know everything!! I try to put up a few new pics on my blog site every time I email so if that’s all you want to see that’s cool too!
Thanks for all your responses!! I love it!!:) Miss you all!!!

My First Birth!!!

My first birth!! The baby boy just minutes after being born!
I got to do his vitals and help with the neonatal exam!
It was hard work!! Can you see the sweat?? lol Gross!!
Mom and baby about 2 hours after the birth!! This is Ritchel the same lady I was doing a prenatal exam on the day before!! She's so sweet!!

Wow! What an exciting evening!! One of the pregnant ladies that we visited yesterday in the squatter area arrived at our place early this morning in labor. She had contractions all day and it was taking forever! I finally ventured out to the internet in the afternoon to send you all the email I wrote last night and then I hurried home so as not to miss anything! I was so hungry and when I got back we started cooking soup. It was going to be a few hours before it was readyL I went upstairs to do some reading and then they called me and said, “It’s time to push!” Ritchel wanted to sit on the birthing chair so she was in the squatting position. That is one of the easiest positions to give birth in. I got to wear a pair of sterile gloves and helped hold her leg during contractions. A few times she peed on us! It only took a few hard pushes and the head was out. I was praying like crazy cuz I didn’t see the baby moving or hear it breathing or anything and it seemed to take so long for the rest of the body to come out! I know the enemy is always out to kill, steal and destroy and I was not gonna let him have this baby without a fight! One more push and the body slid out and was laid on the mom’s tummy. The umbilical cord was clamped and cut and then the baby was handed to me!!!:) It was a little boy. If it had been a girl they said they would have named her after me!:) Awww! I wrapped the baby up and held him close and sang to him. He was covered in blood and slimeL But I didn’t care! It was so precious to hold this newborn baby!! He quieted right down as I sang to him and didn’t start crying again until we had to clamp and cut the cord about an inch from his belly button. But I sang to him again and he stoppedJ I wiped away as much blood and slime and then we gave him to his mom so he could start breast feeding. It took a few tries before he latched on but he was really hungry. If the placenta had not already come out, breast feeding encourages the placenta to come out but it also helps the uterus contract back. While the baby was breastfeeding I listened to his lungs and heart. He sounded healthy. I took his respirations and pulse. Then came the mean part of injecting him with Vitamin KL He didn’t like that. After a good bonding time with mom we did a newborn exam on him. He passed with flying colors! Such an incredible experience!! And she made it look pretty easy. People say that maybe I’ll change my mind about wanting to have kids after seeing this but I think it’s only made me want them more!! Just a few things missing for that tho!! Lol
The crazy thing bout tonight was, just after the baby was born, the thunder and lightening storm got so bad that it knocked out the power! It was so loud that I kept jumping every time there was a clap of thunder! It just added to the excitement of the evening. I enjoyed a cold shower in the dim candle light. Oh and then later, when I was dishing out some soup, I met the mouse as he jumped off the counter by my bowl down to the floor by my feet. I was so proud of myself cuz I didn’t scream or make any sound. I was perfectly calm!! But if he comes to my bed right now I think I will freak a little!! Lol Tomorrow we have to be up early to travel to another clinic to do prenatal exams so I’m gonna try to get some sleep. Might be kinda hard cuz its so muggy and hot!! Just wanted to share a bit of my eventful night with you while it was still fresh in my mind! Even tho I don’t think that I’ll be forgetting this night for a long, long time! Lol
Thanks for all your prayers!! Keep them coming cuz where this family lives, every day could be a struggle for the newborn baby and for the mom!!

The Squatters, Another slum, July 23, 2008

This is Ritchel, she is due any day now! It was really easy to find and hear her baby's heart tone with the doppler.
Measuring her fundal height.
Mary Ann is in the middle with the yellow shirt on. She has been pregnant 6 times but lost one baby at 6 months gestation:( She didn't believe she was pregnant til she heard her baby's heart beat with the doppler!! Hopefully now she will stop drinking beer! The other lady, Chonchita, is her neighbor. She is 30 and this is her 4th pregnancy.
This made me laugh when I saw it!! I don't know if you can make it out but there are roosters under the rice! Chicken n Rice anyone??!! lol

Today we took a tricies, then a bus to a nearby slum area. They call it the squatters. So many families make shift homes in such a small area! It took some doing to find the lady that we were looking for. She is a first time patient of the midwives so this was the first time that they met her. Her name is Mary Ann and she is 30 years old. This is her 6th pregnancy!! She lost one baby at 6 months gestation but the other 4 are still alive and she is in her 19th week gestation with this pregnancy. We did a complete medical history, took her vital signs and tested her blood for anemia. I got to measure the fundal height and use the Doppler to hear the baby’s heart beat. She said that she didn’t really believe she was pregnant this time til she heard the heart beat and she has been drinking beer at parties. We strongly advised her to stay away from alcohol and gave her some prenatal vitamins to take. She was really friendly and even sent a neighbor to buy us soda and crackers to show her appreciation. She fed her 1 year old baby and 3 year old daughter orange soda too!! L DJ and I are planning to teach some parenting courses and nutrition and prenatal care are some of the topics we will cover. We are going to plan out the course and then go invite mothers from the slums to come to our place. Hopefully we will get a good turn out and that the ladies will take what we teach them to heart! While we were in this slum area we also did follow up visits with 3 other pregnant ladies. One of whom is due any day!! They are all so appreciative of the free care. Most would have no access to any prenatal care without the service of Mercy in Action! It is so important for these poor women to have regular prenatal check ups to catch high blood pressure and other serious complications and to detect any stress the baby may be in early enough so that a referral to the hospital could be made before its too late! Midwives, DJ and Imelda, are just beginning to become known among the poor areas here. Many pregnant ladies or their families are skeptical of the free care and are often advised to seek the services of a local witch doctor, called a Helo. But as the women start to talk of the good care, prenatal vitamins, and around the clock availability of the midwives here, their ministry is starting to grow. It was really touching today to be able to pray with all of the ladies. I really felt like a bond was startedJ I’m excited to get to know them more and be there when they have their babies! It’s so hard to play the waiting game! I now have a cell phone for emergencies so that if I’m out, DJ or Imelda can text when a pregnant woman comes here in labor!! It’s an experience that I don’t want to miss!! So it was another interesting day! And at the end of everyday I try to help DJ and Imelda with cooking dinner. They are trying to teach me a few new words in Tagalog each night. They always laugh at me as I try to pronounce them and get it wrong! The hardest one for me to say is: Do you need any help? Which is: Ka ee la ngan mo nang too long? We’ve laughed about this one for 3 days now!! But I’m determined to learn as much as I can!! And when I’m not learning Tagalog, I have my head buried in a Labor and Delivery textbook. I only have about 30 of such books to read in the 4 months I’m here before I go to the southern island!!
I know that I’ve probably been writing a bit much right now but don’t worry; it will probably get less and less!! The more familiar I become with the culture here and the more that I learn my way around, the less time I will have to write! Lol So enjoy it while you can! :P
So far I haven’t even been home sick or cried silently into my pillow!!:) Thanks so all of you that have responded to my emails. That helps a lot!! I miss you all!! And I can’t thank you enough for all of your continued support, encouragements and love!! Means so much!!
Love and Prayers,
Sherina

Manila, Philippines

This is Rockell and her husband Ron. It's her second child and she is so appreciative of the care!
This is one of the alleyways we walked thru. They got a lot narrower and dirtier than this!! lol
This is the other lady who lives in the slum area that had a bad fire! They live in the charred ruins!!!

It is hot!! I actually slept pretty decently last night but I work up so lethargic because of the heat! I wetted my hair down but it dried so fast! DJ, my roommate, and I cleaned the upstairs room we are going to be sharing. I completely sweated thru my shirt! I have a double foam mattress on a wooden frame. I thought I was going to break it when I first sat on it! Lol We lugged my heavy bag upstairs and then I tried to unpack it! Lol But there is not really anywhere to put things. All my clothes are so wrinkled from being rolled up in Ziploc bags but there aren’t any hangers so I laid them all out on the back of a chair! More than half my stuff is still in my bed which I stuffed under the bed. The upstairs room is way hotter than downstairs!! DJ and Imelda, the midwives, are busy cleaning and cooking downstairs. I’ve asked them several times if I could help or if there is anything that I can do, but I think they prefer to do it themselves. Or maybe they think I won’t do it right! Lol Probably right! I think I’m gonna start having about a minimum of 3 showers a day! The cold showers feel so nice! They actually heat up water on the gas burner and have warm showers! I feel like I should be doing something useful right now but I guess it’s going to take more than a day to fit in! So maybe I’ll go ask again and if not I’ll take a shower! Lol
So I went back downstairs and it was lunch time. They teach me new words in Tagalog at mealtimes but unless I write them down I can never remember them! Lol My new words are fork, spoon, plate, cup, rice, rice accompaniment and delicious! Which are: tandori, kotchari, palot, basso, gainin, oolum, and masaram! I’ve already learned: how are you (Kumustaka), thank you (salamat) and tired (pogod). After lunch we went to do some house calls on pregnant ladies who are due any time! We walked to the nearby slums to check up on these ladies. We turned down an alley that was about a foot n a half wide, and trekked thru the garbage and sewer water that flowed thru the alley. It smelled great in there too! Lol Everyone we passed looked at me like I was crazy to be walking down there! After winding around on many alley ways, we called out at this door way and a neighbor let us into the house. It was very dark and the ‘house’ was about 6 feet by 6 feet. A mother, her 3 daughters 2 of their husbands and 4 soon to be 6 grandchildren live there! They were so appreciative that we had come! DJ and Imelda told them that I was one of their sponsors and that’s how they are able to receive this free prenatal care. The one pregnant girl seemed so young and it was her second! They were really shy but curious about me so they managed to ask me a few questions. The first one is how old are you and the second is are you married!! LOL Both answers seemed to shock them! They were probably barely 20!! I felt so privileged to have been welcomed into their home. It was so neat to see first hand the work that is being done by the midwives here! I’m excited to witness the birth of their babies and start a relationship with these womenJ The second lady that we visited lived a few blocks away in a part of the slums that had been burned a little while ago. 320 families that lived there had their homes burned down in a bad fire. This family still doesn’t have their home rebuilt and they live in the charred ruins!! It was quite shocking!! They have one bed with a matt and burned dresser. I’m not sure where they even cook. They have 2 children with another one due any day!! I couldn’t even imagine living in such a situation!! We took this lady’s blood pressure and listened to the baby’s heart beat. Her blood pressure and been up a bit last time and she was worried that DJ and Imelda might refer her to the hospital if it was still high. She was so happy that it was normal today! I have no idea how people live like that! I don’t think they have the money or means to rebuild their house. And now they are bringing another life into it! Breaks my heart! I wish there was more that I could do for them!! Its hard cuz the slums are everywhere here! But I believe that people that God brings across your path are the ones that you are meant to help! I’m just not quite sure what that’s going to look like right now. But I’m excited to make friends with these ladies and families!!:) Ahh!!:) I just had a nice, cold shower! Feels so much better! I’m going to do a bit of reading and then hopefully go to bed early. These births could happen at any time so you have to get rest when you can. I’ve got a lot of textbooks to read in the next few months and I’m trying to read up on labor and delivery as much as possible before the first one. I’ll try to put up the few pictures that I’ve taken of where I live, the alley ways and the 2 ladies.
Love you all!!!
Sherina