Esther going home!

Thank you for praying for Esther ... God answered your prayers and she recovered well from her shunt surgery. She didn't miss a beat and was wanting to eat a couple hours after ... she loves her food. She is now off her oxygen and able to get out of the nursery and stay with her mom in the ward. We visited mom today in her "room" and she had the biggest smile on her face. God is good. She will probably go home next week. We will miss seeing her when we come in every morning - she is a special baby and God preserved her life through your prayers.

Pictures!

Mr. Makubwa "kangarooing" with mom
Little Esther

Big Esther and mom

Baby Update

Greetings to all!
We have had a busy couple of weeks in the Special Care Baby Unit. We have experienced a tragic loss of a baby and we have seen God's hand at work in his special children. We call them our "miracle" babies for it is only by His hand that these little ones are doing so well. We thank you for your prayers for them. Mommy of "big" Esther wishes to pass on her thanks to all of you for your prayers. Esther is doing so amazing! For a baby that a lot of people said there was nothing more they could do for her, Esther proved she was a fighter. She was our first Bubble CPAP and now she is crying to be held. She does not want the syringe for feeds but wants her Mommy. Please continue to pray for Esther as she has a big day on Monday when she returns to surgery for a shunt placement for her hydrocephalus.
Baby Makubwa and Little Esther our premies are doing wonderful and are growing well. Mr. Makubwa loves being held by his Mom in Kanagroo Care . He is still fighting an infection but he too is a fighter.
We are working on our relationship with the nurses and feel friendships growing. We gave our first lecture today on Gestational Age and Physical Assessment. We have had positive feedback and our class size is growing.
We are spending our weekends baking. While we are not ready to open a bakery (the bread turned out like a brick) our goodies are not so bad. We have not given up on trying to make yummy homemade bread. Soon we will be ready to try our cooking skills out on guests. Any volunteers? You are welcome and our door is open.....a bird came in the other day but left promptly.
Our walks up the hill are getting a little easier and we have run into a troop of baboons a couple of times. They come for food as the weather is dry here and everyone is praying for rain.
Blessings to all!
Mary & Louise

Our first posting!

It has been a struggle to get this blog up and going with our dial-up internet connection.

We have been here for exactly 2 weeks and are settled and adjusted to Kenyan time. We have learned that we can cook and have actually survived! We have surprised ourselves with homemade cinnamon rolls and BBQ chicken pizza! You are welcome to come for dinner! We have shopped at the local market known as the "Super Duka" and have also bought our fresh fruit and veggies from the local ladies at the "veggie market."

We are starting to develop friendships with the nurses in the unit. There are only 2 RN's plus 2 student nurses staffed per shift and they have a census of 26-29 babies - so they are very busy. It is a challenge to get time to do teaching at the bedside when they are busy with many tasks. Please pray for opportunities to instruct at the bedside. There are a couple premature babies that were born our first week here that have many hurdles to overcome - pray for little Esther and Mukubwa. Kijabe is a referral hospital for spina bifida so we also have several babies in the unit recovering from surgery.

We are also developing relationships with the moms. They are very involved in the care of their babies and come in to the NICU and feed their baby every 2 hours around the clock ... don't know when they get any rest! Please pray for big Esther as the doctors have told mom that there is no more that they can do for her. She is a fighter and has made it through prayer.

The lectures for the NICU course have started and will be given once a week (Friday) for the next 6 months. We are giving several of them, so pray for wisdom in preparing the right material for the nurses.

Thanks again for your continued support of us - you are vital to this ministry.

Blessings,
Mary & Louise