This morning, just before the end of my shift I had a lady come up from urgent care, really cracking on. Regular contractions started at 6 a.m.,  SROM at 630 a.m., arrived on delivery unit at 700 a.m., delivery at 720 a.m. Things generally happen that fast for a reason, and this is why I think this one did:

A velamentous insertion of the umbilical cord into the membranes, instead of the placenta. Sent chills up my spine. I asked and got permission from the mom to take these pictures and explained the significance. I love how birth always keeps me on my toes!

Update on the diet and exercise plan… I am down 21 pounds. I am still either bike riding 13 km or walking 6.5 km 3x a week and loving it. Walking and biking on the Corniche (the waterfront) is wonderful right now, the weather is decent and not so hot and the view is beautiful. Here’s a pic of my friend Karen and I biking a couple of weeks ago:

On hot days or days when the sand is a blowin’ I walk the mall. Gets a little boring after a while though. I also started a new diet program. Although Atkins was working for me, I was getting bored to tears with it. There are a few companies here that prepare and deliver food to order daily. I chose one that not only is providing me with a low calorie, low fat option, but is also providing me gluten free food AND it’s organic! They deliver all 3 meals and 2 snacks each evening… that’s the food for the next day.. There is LOTS of food and the variety is excellent. I had Lebanese for breakfast and Indian for lunch today, for example. Dinner is a chicken Cesar salad with gluten free croutons… yum!

Well, off I go… need to walk the dog, feed the cats and get over to the mall for a nice long walk. I hope everyone is having an amazing February!