I forgot to eat lunch on Monday. You don't understand - that never happens. I had to pop over to Mexico quickly to drop off a dental lamp for one of our missionaries to pick up so he could ship it to another one of our missionaries in Loreto, navigate what felt like the entire county of San Diego in a 12 passenger van while looking for preemie nipples for the new 1 month old, 3 pound baby that got dropped off at Gabriel House the day before, scour thrift stores for clothes for him since we had nothing, create and put out a news flash to let the world know about him (and how to pray for him!), buy food for the dental team that I was in charge of the next day, strategically pack the van in a way that allowed me to get as much stuff across as I could without getting in trouble and forced to pay an importation fee for bringing more than we were allowed, and continue planning trips for 3 different teams that are coming to Gabriel House soon. It was the craziest day I've had in the office so far, but when I got home and finally sat down, it felt sooo good. Checking all that stuff off my list was very satisfying!

Yesterday was equally as crazy...

I left the office at 6am with a NICU nurse and her husband in tow. We crossed the border without any problems (even though we had A TON of stuff in the van, including no less than 15 cases of Pediasure) and picked up Dr. Tamez, who oversees the anesthesia during dental days at GH.
We made it to GH by 9 and hit the ground running - the mobile dental unit was already there and set up and kids were waiting to be seen. Drs. David and Erika Cervantes and Dr. Israel saw almost every one of our kids - Sergio missed out because he was at school, Emiliano wouldn't even go outside, let alone to the dentist. I tell you - that kid may be blind but he totally knows what's going on. Tomas didn't make it to the dentist due to his lack of teeth and being a month old :)

Ruben has always needed anesthesia because he absolutely freaks out as soon as he sees the dental unit roll up. He's the first kid seen at 8:30, and by the time the team leaves at 4, he's just awake enough to stumble to his bed. That stuff knocks him out, and it's a little scary, honestly! Last time the dentists came, we tried something new, and made a big show of giving him a "cleaning." The dentist poked around in his mouth a little and didn't really do anything, but we wanted him to start having positive experiences without needed to be anesthetized. This time, he was refusing to go and pretty adamant, but I was just as determined. I'm not proud of it (okay, who am I kidding, I kind of am) but eventually, after much coaxing by each dentist to no avail, I offered him a lollipop if he'd let the dentist clean his teeth. While I realize the irony of sugar on a stick after seeing the dentist, I reasoned that he was going to get one anyway, so I might as well work the dentist into it.
Success, as you can tell from the picture!



I spent a little bit of time with Tomas, our new baby who was dropped off on Thursday. He weighs about 3 pounds and is a month old and has some serious physical deformities, like nothing I've ever seen before. He was having so much trouble eating - it would take him over an hour to suck down an ounce of formula. ONE OUNCE! The NICU nurse who just happened to be with us (God's timing is so perfect) spent hours with Renie and Jan, helping them learn how to care for him. Who knew that you have to keep a preemie warm so his body doesn't waste precious calories raising his body temperature?! Same goes for sucking on a bottle - that uses way too many calories. I brought some special preemie nipples that were a total game changer for him - he got 2 ounces down in about 45 minutes.

See the Spiderman cake?!

I picked Sergio up from school - I felt like his mommy! It was so fun. He had a bunch of pictures with him that he was so excited to show me - he had a birthday party a few days ago. It was great to get a glimpse into his life at school! It's so incredible that he's there - it's a special school for kids with disabilities. The teachers are all specialists, class sizes are small, it's a public school (free!), and it's longer than a regular school day. It's just so good for him to be there.







I'll be at Gabriel House a lot this month, which I'm really excited about! Next week I'm headed down with a nurse who will be there for three months - again, perfect timing. Christy, the woman who works in the baby room, already has a ton of work to do. Throw in a very sick and fragile baby who needs to be fed every 3 hours and she's just slammed. I feel so bad for her but it was great to be able to say that in just one short week we'll have a nurse there to help her!
The week after that, I'm bringing a team down from Northern California for a few days, and then the week after that, Jan and I are bringing a....wait for it....you're not going to believe this....PHYSICAL THERAPIST. Oh yeah baby. I tell you - the things I get excited about these days. Preemie nipples! Marshmallow lollipops! Cough assist machines! Physical therapists!
She's the daughter of our missionaries in Cabo and just finished PT school in Mexico. So not only is she a therapist, but she's Mexican and was trained at a Mexican university. Cultural barriers? Nonexistent. She'll be with us for about 3 months too. Yay!