another UPdate..

Things have been sUPER busy. I apologize for not keeping you more informed! I handed in the art&history assignment that occupied January's days and nOW it's February and a new assignment is upon us - Antepartal (maternal) Complications. It's a fairly long and difficult assignment, but we (as students) are looking to complete the entire lot of undone assignments by APRIL. Therefore, we've only got until Feb.15, about 2 weeks, to finish this one (which is doable). BUT, I've had the amazing opportunity of going on another mountainous outreach with the same midwife, Mary Jane, this coming Sunday. It's very short notice because the girl who was supposed to go has some crazy diseases (possibly from last time she went on outreach) so, you could pray for that! I'll be gone from Feb.3-Feb.8th and am really looking forward to it. ALthough, this only gives me just one short week after coming back to start and finish the AP complications assignment, plus work, and keeping my sanity. It'll be a fun challenge!

ALSO, I had a mtg. with Krys, the director of my school yesterday and it's official! I'll be staying on another semester to acquire the post-grad experience required by Ryerson before applying to their program. To me, this is REALLY GOOD and REALLY SAD. I am really ok with staying a bit longer, although it'll be more than a year since being home, and Krys has amazing ideas on how I can more easily complete the number of births and hours I need for Ryerson (more on thAT latER!). Unfortunately, I do not have the time or funds to come home at any point through the summer. My goal is to finish by the beginning of December, which would allow me to be home before Christmas!! I miss all of you so much, and your encouragement and support (especially through the remainder of 2008) means so so much. I'll be gone next week on outreach, but will report back to you next weekend =) lOVE

Alexandra Mosqueda

was born last night @ 2:11am, my first handle in TWO WEEKS! Her mother, Kaye, was such an amazing woman to work with. Alexandra, being only 5 lbs 10 oz, peeped out and came out all in the same contraction. She's the smallest baby I've ever delivered, and therefore, thought I'd share her with all of you! Just think about how small that is...a little 5 lb weight. YOu can kinda tell how big she was by the size of my hand next to her, which is basically the length of her trunk. She's beautiful!, strong, and very healthy. Oh, and Bonnie- I gave this beautiful little girl the little pink onesie you sent in my Christmas package. Her mother was very grateful!, a mother of 3 now, i'm sure she'll be able to use a new outfit, instead of those hand-me-downs i'm sure she'll get stuck with! THANK YOU!!

AIJEY's baptism!

My continuity, Aileen Baluran, together with her boyfriend, Jeffery Bunao, asked me to be the "ninang" (godmother) for AIJEY (the CUTest boy EVER, shown above), whom I delivered last April 11, 2007. His baptism was last Sunday, an event I've looked forward to for quite a while! I cannot believe how big he has grown in the past year. He laughs (and cries!), and says "mama" and "dada", and even eats rice like a true filipino!
I was honoured to be a part of this celebration! Here the priest is pouring water over Aijey's head. It was crazy for me to attend a Catholic mass, and then sit through the instructions of the baptism (to which I understood very little!), and what my responsibilities are as a godparent. And then, all the babies were shuffled to the aisle seats (there were a lOT of people there, baby baptisms occur in mass amounts). The priest came around first with oil, and crossed the forehead, and then again to lay hands on and pray for each baby, and then again to pour water, and thEN to cross with oil again. It was kinda funny for him to keep going up and down the aisle, doing each thing once to each baby before going on to the next step - SOMEwhat impersonal. But at least I didn't have to go up to the front.
This is a picture of me, Aijey, and his godfather, Stephen.
And THIS is a picture of the after-party, which was better attended than the actual baptism! hahaa, filipinos go all out for occasions like this, anything for an excuse to make a hECk of a lotta food and eat all.day.long! Relatives come and go all day long, it's amazing! I was glad to be a part of it. and nOw, I'm an official godmother!!

a bunch of bb-sitting.

Last week Monday - Tuesday I agreed to watch Mary Joy's (my continuity) 2 month old little boy - you might remember him, the super fast labor and absolutely no effort as the baby fell out of his mom, thus being named "Hurry John" :) (so great!). His mom wasn't with his father because he has a lot of girlfriends, but I was encouraging them to go out on a date, saying that i'd watch Hurry. Well the date turned into class, and lasted overnight :S Being a mom of a 2 month old is crAZY hard! I got less sleep that night than if I had of been working nightshift! But, it was fun to have the little guy lying around for a bit, I guess!

And thEN, Lois and I have spent the last 4 days watching our director's (Matt and Krys) kids while they took a long weekend to getaway. This was an amazing time for us! Not only did we have our own house, AND our own helpers, AND our own car...we instantly became the moms of an adorable 6-yr old and a pre-teen 11-yr old. And after "running kids all day" (as my mom used to say) I can truthfully say I am able to drive standard! It was interesting! But, for the most part, SO good. And Matt brought us back a box of Krispy Kremes EACh...which we duly offered them to everyone who was still awake at 11 or so when we got home last night!

LIFE is GOOD! ..it's not so hot. and I have been sitting here now for almost an hour without needing a fan! I'm in the middle of our art & history assignment - which I'm having fun with...a little abstract art, and imagining and creating our own clinic anywhere in the world. Hope all is well at homeeee <3

aaaand i jUSt got a filipino license!!

2 thousand&EIGht!

We had reservations at Claude's Cafe de Ville on New Years' Eve - the VIP "zebra" room, a private room off the back of the restaurant (same location as last year..). And, although different from last year's crowd, thIS celebration was definitely not lacking the laughter and excitement! We had organized dinner games planned, complete with questions surrounding 2007. This first picture is of some of the girls dressing for the event.





Lois, Jes and I had to be to work for 10pm that night, so we booked it outta there, rented a jeepney home and continued the party at the clinic! There weren't any labouring women to be checked, so the next few hours were spent hanging out with each girl presenting an animal they had researched. As midwives, we know plENty about human labor and delivery, and as girls we know a thing or two about ..."mating rituals", or at least the courtship it entails. ANYhow, we decided to each research one animal's mating habits, period of gestation, and how the animal gives birth to expand our knowledge of labour and delivery (nOt to mention, the incredible wORld we live in!). It's 2008!!