Last night when Rob added his blog I realized I was writing about the previous day so have decided to catch up to him so we are writing about the same day! Yesterday began with a slower than at home morning rush as there is no factoring in a 45 drive to school. At about 8:50, Amy and I ambled up to school, I really love that, and she was met by her new friends Jocelyn and happily followed her into the classroom. On my walk home I met of one the locals who is one of the local policemen as well as one of the church ministers. He chatted for about half an hour about island life and the changes that have occurred since council amalgamation! We think we have been hard done by! But I wont get started as I don’t want this to become a political soapbox!! Anyway, it was great to chat with and have a laugh with him.
When I got home Rob was heading out to the airport so I joined him in the ute and we picked up the regular RAN here as well as a visiting midwife, she has the most interesting job! She flies around all the remote island visiting women antenatally and postnatally and has some time every few months at TI hospital in birthing suite. SO essentially she can follow a women through pregnanacy, deliver them and then follow up Mum and bub once home. She says she loves it and that was evident. She invited me to sit in on her appointment to refresh my skills as she said if deliveries do happen then I will be called, being the female nurse. Worried!!!! My midwifery course finished 17 years ago! It was great to sit in with her though and I held a 4 week old island babe and did his 4 weekly check, a bit rusty but its surprising what does come back! Then she had a first time mum at 30 weeks who I helped assess and even found the foetal heartbeat on doppler, felt very proud J.
The cultural stuff here is so interesting. The midwife was telling me that all women go into TI (Thursday Island ) at 36 weeks to be near the hospital centre for their birth. The birthing suite looks out over the ocean and the Mothers birth on an incoming tide. She explained that she watched a multi ( mother who has had more than one baby) stop contracting at 8cm when the tide started to go out and then restart once it turned!! No explanation for this but she said they are very connected to the land and water.
Whilst I was “working” Ben was out on the reef collecting all sorts of interesting things, a beautiful blue clam and a flame file shell. Just amazing creatures! Its great because he can collect them, bring them back here to have a closer look at, identify with books or uncle google, and then return them back to the sea!
Collected Amy from school, bit of a mixed feeling day. Same as all schools, there is some bullying here, not directed at Amy but some of the kids are quite physical with each other, something Amy is not used to. Still, she talked with us about it all and feels happy to go back.
Once Rob got home we went over to the jetty and did a spot of fishing as the sun set. Amy caught the fish!! Not sure what it was but it was great for her. Not big enough to eat but we will return tomorrow……
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