News from the night shift

I confess to being a bit surprised but relieved that Xmas is over already. Here in Perth it was 41C, and today (Boxing Day) it was over 44C. Yikes!!!

The lead up to Xmas was all a bit truncated by three night shifts on 21-23rd ending at breakfast on Xmas eve. I had a baby or babies every shift, or at least saw them born, including breech + breech twins born vaginally. Yahoo! Normal birth IS possible. It was a fabulous birth, spontaneous labour. The woman had had 3 previous vaginal births with no trouble and although a CS had been booked the obstetrician on duty when she came in labouring said "Go for it". So a delighted registrar got a chance to do TWO breech births at once, a flexed breech (butt first) and a footling breech (one foot first). I saw it all from very close-up and it was so wonderful and interesting and the Mum was so pleased and the babies were so cute! Girl and boy twins with only 5g difference between them (2.45kg) , same length and head size. Born at 7 mins and 1 min to midnight! Too cute for words. A month early, but in great condition and each hopped on for a feed in the first hour. Everyone was very pleased with themselves.

Today I have supervised my first student midwife birth (easy-peasy, it was her tenth) and then gone to theatre for a CS for a small baby, a month early, who went to the nursery for respiratory distress. Mum will get to see him this evening (probably by the time I write this). She had a big cuddle on the table for ten minutes before he went. He is only 2kg, a tiny scrap of a fella, not helped by Mum having an IV drug problem and brain damage from a drug psychosis. Sad. I also got a big spray of his blood on me from his cord :( An hour or two later, back on LBS I answered a bell and entered to find a midwife holding a 5 second old baby who had shot out of his shocked but exultant Mum. There was a lot of love in that room I tell ya, sobbing with happiness the pair of them.

As a rule I don't cry at births. Not because I'm not a sook - I am extremely open about tears and cry at the drop of a hat. I honestly expected that I would be a secret sniveller at births, but I am so busy that I rarely even mist up. I do well up when I see a man cry though. And this Dad in the sudden birth room was sobbing with pride and delight, and I confess to feeling a bit moist (it passed very quickly).

Anyway, I'm off to bed as I am on shift again in 9 hours time, and I need my beauty sleep! In a hot bedroom. With a fan. Its expected to be 22C overnight. Sheesh. Wish me luck for sleeping!