Mommies and Babies

I cannot possibly describe how exciting it is to see women go through the journey of pregnancy and birth! Being a part of it and getting to know them is really beautiful! It's so satisfying to recognize women when they come in for their births and to see them recognize you. There's already a connection because you've been doing their prenatals. Then to see them when they come in for their three day check up or for family planning and to hold their babies and see them being so healthy and growing bigger is really awesome!

On 3/9/09 I witnessed my first home birth, exactly one year later I got to witness another precious baby boy entering the world! Here he is with his beautiful family:


My first home birth, a whole year ago:



Home birth baby turning 1!!!

My first home birth was an amazing and beautiful experience. It's wonderful to look back and to see how the Lord has moved in my life. A year later, I am able to be even more involved in another precious birth! It was a beautiful birth and being able to help catch the baby was incredible!

A few weeks ago, I experienced one of the longest labors I've ever attended. Although it was tiring, it was really beautiful because I was able to make a real connection with the mom. It was awesome to see her actually comforted and reassured by my presence! Because it was such a long, hard labor she really began to trust me as I went through it with her. It really blessed me!!!! It's amazing to serve women and to see it making such a difference for them! I didn't even get to catch the baby because I was holding her hands so tightly, but it didn't matter. I was actually needed by her and that was an amazing feeling! After a long, hard labor, she had a beautiful baby girl! I learned a lot about myself and how I can interact with women during their labors.

This is me holding and weighing the baby at her three day check up


Baby home news:
This is Jusin! I haven't had a chance to mention him before


Justin is chubby and extremely happy! He is great at really making eye contact and allowing you to see into him. He is just so cuddly that he makes me want to pick him up all of the time! He is really starting to lift himself up on all fours. He is constantly and consistently full of joy. He lets your love and smile affect him, which is a beautiful characteristic.

Cindy has such kissable cheecks! She also had really great expressions, she just loves to stare at your face and really reacts to you talking with her. She makes these cute little bird noises when she's talking to you, it's adorable! We have been working on rolling with her and she's really trying hard. Today she started making singing noises because she was working so hard! A few times she's even done it on her own! She's a very lovable girl who has come a long way!



I think Vanessa has had over three or four hair cuts in her short lifetime and I just had to include a picture of how adorable she is with her amazing hair:
A few weeks ago we had a visitor at tlc, it was Lemuel Esquivel! He grew up in the little children's home and was coming back to the Philippines in order to adopt a new baby brother from another baby home here. Lemuel is the reason I first found out about this ministry here! His mom told me about it, the only reason she knew was because of Lemuel! So he is the reason I'm even here! It was wonderful to see him loved on by the staff, they had some great stories about him as a kid. Their over whelming joy and love for him were so evident. If you would like to see pictures from his visit go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=149980&id=1438977332 which is his dad's facebook pictures. It is awesome to imagine the kids who are currently in the home going with their own forever families! What a blessing to be able to see these babies one day, grown up, loving the Lord, and flourishing with their beautiful families!

Speaking of forever families, we said goodbye to Mark last week! He was His sweet mom and dad's first baby! They were so sweet with him, it was really wonderful to see, and really sad to say good bye to him. We're also had to say good bye to Andy! He was recently matched with a family here in the Philippines! It's great but so sad to see them go! The twins in the baby home, Jay and Denis will be leaving with their forever families in May, I'm excited to meet thier families, but once again, sad as well. They are really lively and joyful! They're always happy to see me, and they brighten my day! They already have pictures of their family and their new home where they'll be living soon! They show me "this is mommy, and this is daddy and this is our ate and kuya" It makes me cry! It's incredible! It's really cool to see the process of adoption from this point of view.

Here are the twins with Senon

Senon and the twins are practically all like brothers. Senon is really sweet and always loves to be held and cuddled!

It's really fun to go swimming or to play soccer (every saturday night) with these sweet kids! Here's one of our swimming outings:
This is Calvin, he is really sweet and really attached to the care workers. He loves playing with the older boys and sitting and reading with one of us. These pictures are actually from going to the pool for his birthday! He's totally adorable and has a big personality!

Birthing Home News

Johanna turned 7, which is a huge deal here! Her parents threw a beautiful birthday party for her at the Paanakan, with lots of food, games, dancing, and desserts!



We got a new fridge! What a huge blessing! Thank you Ate Becky!!! Here's Jorge with the new fridge and the old one!

Two weeks ago we had graduation on all three mornings! Around 150 women graduated from the nine courses on childcare, birth, family planning, and nutrition. The graduations were really fun! They would start with women doing things like singing, dancing, and talking about their time at the paanakan in order to get prizes. Then we played lots of different games, served a snack and presented their certifications! One really fun game was when the midwives brought the husbands over and had them dress a toy panda while being blindfolded! The men usually sit off to the side watching, but it was awesome to see them really getting into this game! Helen and the midwives worked really hard so that the women could have a great graduation!

Getting ready



A few days before the graduation I assisted this mom during her labor, it was great to see her with her baby at the graduation and for Lauren and I to give her her certificate!


Panda game




Lauren and I got to give out the certifications and gifts!


The Tuesday group

Three of the women who graduated, Ate Helen, Ate Bhel and me holding a baby who was at her three day check up and whose birth I had attended

Last Sunday we had a new student come to the Paanakan! It's so exciting to add someone new to "our" home!!!! Her name is Miranda, I'm really enjoying interacting with her. She is very sweet, easy to talk to, and easy to get along with! Recently we took a trip up to SM Taytay (local mall where we do our grocery shopping) and she treated me to Starbucks! We've also had a few movie nights together! She's great fun to have at births and to hang out with!

Bazar!

A few Saturdays ago I went to a bazar with Sara and Deborah. It was really fun to see them working in the ministry together, their bond was totally evident and very sweet for me to see. I loved watching them tease each other, it was really fun! At the bazar we set up a stall about the little children's home and Shiphrah Birthing Home. We were selling aprons, bags, stick horses and other merchandise in order to raise money for the ministry. Deborah was great at talking with people about the ministry and giving them an idea of what they really do. She is really great at relating to people she doesn't even know. She is so personal and real with people that it's easy for them to connect with what she is saying. I loved joking with both of them throughout the day as well as buying a few things myself, there was a lot of beautiful stuff there! it was a stretch for me trying to learn how to represent this complex and beautiful ministry in a few moments to a complete stranger! Sara was great company throughout the day as we both agreed that Deborah was better at talking with people! I was blessed to spend this time with them and to get to know them more! Being able to serve in this small way was awesome!







We went to another bazar last tuesday! This time it was me, Deborah, Aubrey, and Lauren. Aubrey did a great job! He was awesome at explaining tlc to people. It was a really long day for him to make it through but he did great! Lauren although claiming not to be a salesperson was amazing at talking to people! She jumped right in and was really bold, especially for it being her first bazar! The space we were given was a lot smaller but there were a lot more people who came through. I got much better at talking to people, and I was much more confidant the second time around. It was a long but great day!