Sorry about the lack of photos; I'll upload some for the next post when we celebrate H turning 2 (wow!). In the meantime, for catch up:
2 weeks ago we ended up at MGH's ER. H was no longer as trusting of nurse and doctor's intentions, but she was still great. Everyone was suitably impressed with her arm (surgeon even took a picture on his personal phone, haha) and there was no question that we'd be admitted. By 6:30 Sunday night she'd had her surgery (to drain the golf ball sized accumulation of puss) and her IV antibiotics started. Sadly the ID doctor put H on precautions which meant she couldn't leave her room to play, but it did mean we had a private room for the stay so Steve could sleep over with us. H could have all the toys brought to her, and as her IV ended up in her foot she stayed in bed for almost 3 days straight and played with pretend food. She didn't complain once about the confinement, and with the bombings the timing of us being there worked out great (all surgeons were tied up on Tuesday with amputations). We came home on Tuesday and H has steadily improved. The arm is still draining but that's good, and her abx have finished. Turns out it wasn't Cat Scratch but plain old staff infection. Will be really happy to have this completely over with!
Clinicals are a mess. I'm done with my site officially this week, but I still need 13 births. And a bunch of other visit types. The Georgia site fell through, so I'm down to no options at this point. I'd love to just quit as the more I do this the more I realize I'm not a huge fan of the birth experience but more the gyn side of things, but after almost 3 years and a fortune I think I should see it through. I am thankful I don't have to make the decision to leave my baby for 3 weeks, though. She's been super clingy since her surgery and for the first time drop-offs and her days at daycare have not been going well. She's also terrified to go to bed and worries that she won't wake up in the morning; while she doesn't remember us not being with her during surgery, I don't know what she dreamt about on the drugs. So if I had my druthers we'd just hunker down here at home and not leave.
We've gotten to see a lot of my family these past two weeks. Last Friday we were on lock down because of the manhunt, so we skipped off to VT for an overnight stay. And then this weekend my folks and Anna came down, and Allie and Meghan joined us for a full house. H was blissed out on all the attention of some of her favorite people and is going to be very sad tomorrow when she wakes up to just us. We figured it took 5 days to get her out, so we're going to celebrate her birthday for 5 days. So far she's had apple pie, an ice cream cone, pizza, tons of tomatoes, trips to the park, lots of outside time, and pretty much whatever she wants. I think we'll do sushi on Monday, and maybe just a half day at school. You'll notice we celebrate with food, but it's an easy way to make her happy and prevents the accumulation of stuff. So far she's gotten some great gifts from her aunts (adorable outfits, books and new cooking dishes) and my parents got her a water table which got a practice run today to rave reviews.
I'll get up this weekend photos soon so you can see how cute H is getting....if I can bring myself to come inside, that is. We're expecting sunny weather in the high 60's/70's through the week and I intend to soak it up as much as possible :)
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Halfway
While a lot of small stuff has been going on, nothing of note to really write about. Also, the camera has not been out of its lovely black case so there's not much to show you all.
Speaking of cameras, I worked a great deal this past week. Saw that Walmart had a camera and case bundle (clearly accidentally) advertised for $4. I bought 2 right away and got my confirmation. A few days later they told me they'd shipped just the cases. Hmmm...and then I got an email apologizing for "running out of supply", and that they'd refunded my complete amount, I could keep the cases for free, AND I was getting a $10 gift card for my trouble. Not too shabby treatment!
This past week marked the halfway point for both my pregnancy (because I know for sure I won't be going past 43 weeks this time!) and in catching babies. I now have 23 to my credit, and there was quite the mix of really good and really bad. Fortunately the really good ones are outweighing the bad, so I think this is still the career for me.
As for Bo, he has a few active times during the day, especially when I'm leaning over the birth tub or have a woman's foot resting on my hip...he's pretty protective of his space :) He's been waking me up at 0330 regularly and I have a feeling this trait will continue once he's out. So far he just wants a rub and then quiets down....I'd be fine with him just getting up once a night for a feed! Steve was able to feel him move for the first time last night so Bo's certainly getting bigger and stronger. I know I'm getting a lot bigger. Regular clothes are completely out of the question now as my tummy hangs out, and people are starting to ask when I'm due. Comments don't bother me nearly as much as they did the first time, probably because I have way too much going on to be as self-absorbed as I was with H. Pregnancy books, blogs, classes, day dreams about this kid? Ha. I know what it'll be like, and for now I'm just hoping to survive it. Romanticizing the first year is a biiiiig disservice to all women. The second year is a lot of fun, though :) Anyway, all seems fine on that front. I'm pretty happy with my weight so far (9#'s) and hope to keep it under 20 this time....I gained 40 with H and know that was one of the big factors why I ended with a c-section. Now if the sugar cravings would just end I might have a chance at meeting my goal.
So other than clinicals (which consume 90% of my time it seems) the other big thing going on is H's arm. We've reached the 3 week mark, and it's only getting worse. She finished her second abx this week and for a day seemed OK. Unfortunately the fever returned this evening and she spent a good portion of today complaining her arm hurt. The swelling is increasing and the skin's starting to turn a mottled purple and peel as it's so tight. She has a surgical consult lined up for Tuesday (their earliest appt) but the on-call nurse tonight urged the ER stat. H is sleeping comfortably right now, so we're planning to head to MGH first thing in the morning as long as she stays stable through the night. It's so frustrating to not know how to treat this, and more frustrating that none of the doctors do either. I am not pushy when it comes to medical management because it drives me nuts when family members ram their diagnosis down my throat when I'm working as a nurse and insist on their course of treatment. And I'm not trying to get around the system by going through the ER as it looked like she'd be fine until Tuesday, but now things are worse (of course they are: it's a weekend!). Steve and I have adopted a bit of a gallows humor about this all. Feels like we've been to the ER so many times with it turning to an admission that we now know exactly what to pack. The ER bag, the one night bag, and the extended stay bag. Hoping to just need the ER one, but everything is by the door for when we head out.
Hopefully tomorrow we'll get seen quickly and sent home with a definite plan and some relief for H's arm. Ideally they'd just drain it then and there. Ugh, no training prepares you to be a mom. If she was pregnant or needed a stem cell transplant, I might have a clue. Pray we all have patience through this, would you? And of course healing. And some really good physicians, not 3rd year residents (oh, protect us from residents!!!! at least it's not the month when they're changing rotations...).
That's it. We just bought a couch which is somehow a bigger purchase than all the other furniture in my house combined, but we have a place for guests to sleep! (on the couch, if you follow my logic...). It's pretty much the same as what we have, black leather just without all the holes, so I still have no idea how to brighten up my living room. I did get to pick out two throw pillows and they have a cheerful design, maybe that will do it. I'll post some pictures of the before and after in a month when it arrives. And hoping in a few days to post a before and after of H's arm, all healed!
Speaking of cameras, I worked a great deal this past week. Saw that Walmart had a camera and case bundle (clearly accidentally) advertised for $4. I bought 2 right away and got my confirmation. A few days later they told me they'd shipped just the cases. Hmmm...and then I got an email apologizing for "running out of supply", and that they'd refunded my complete amount, I could keep the cases for free, AND I was getting a $10 gift card for my trouble. Not too shabby treatment!
This past week marked the halfway point for both my pregnancy (because I know for sure I won't be going past 43 weeks this time!) and in catching babies. I now have 23 to my credit, and there was quite the mix of really good and really bad. Fortunately the really good ones are outweighing the bad, so I think this is still the career for me.
As for Bo, he has a few active times during the day, especially when I'm leaning over the birth tub or have a woman's foot resting on my hip...he's pretty protective of his space :) He's been waking me up at 0330 regularly and I have a feeling this trait will continue once he's out. So far he just wants a rub and then quiets down....I'd be fine with him just getting up once a night for a feed! Steve was able to feel him move for the first time last night so Bo's certainly getting bigger and stronger. I know I'm getting a lot bigger. Regular clothes are completely out of the question now as my tummy hangs out, and people are starting to ask when I'm due. Comments don't bother me nearly as much as they did the first time, probably because I have way too much going on to be as self-absorbed as I was with H. Pregnancy books, blogs, classes, day dreams about this kid? Ha. I know what it'll be like, and for now I'm just hoping to survive it. Romanticizing the first year is a biiiiig disservice to all women. The second year is a lot of fun, though :) Anyway, all seems fine on that front. I'm pretty happy with my weight so far (9#'s) and hope to keep it under 20 this time....I gained 40 with H and know that was one of the big factors why I ended with a c-section. Now if the sugar cravings would just end I might have a chance at meeting my goal.
So other than clinicals (which consume 90% of my time it seems) the other big thing going on is H's arm. We've reached the 3 week mark, and it's only getting worse. She finished her second abx this week and for a day seemed OK. Unfortunately the fever returned this evening and she spent a good portion of today complaining her arm hurt. The swelling is increasing and the skin's starting to turn a mottled purple and peel as it's so tight. She has a surgical consult lined up for Tuesday (their earliest appt) but the on-call nurse tonight urged the ER stat. H is sleeping comfortably right now, so we're planning to head to MGH first thing in the morning as long as she stays stable through the night. It's so frustrating to not know how to treat this, and more frustrating that none of the doctors do either. I am not pushy when it comes to medical management because it drives me nuts when family members ram their diagnosis down my throat when I'm working as a nurse and insist on their course of treatment. And I'm not trying to get around the system by going through the ER as it looked like she'd be fine until Tuesday, but now things are worse (of course they are: it's a weekend!). Steve and I have adopted a bit of a gallows humor about this all. Feels like we've been to the ER so many times with it turning to an admission that we now know exactly what to pack. The ER bag, the one night bag, and the extended stay bag. Hoping to just need the ER one, but everything is by the door for when we head out.
Hopefully tomorrow we'll get seen quickly and sent home with a definite plan and some relief for H's arm. Ideally they'd just drain it then and there. Ugh, no training prepares you to be a mom. If she was pregnant or needed a stem cell transplant, I might have a clue. Pray we all have patience through this, would you? And of course healing. And some really good physicians, not 3rd year residents (oh, protect us from residents!!!! at least it's not the month when they're changing rotations...).
That's it. We just bought a couch which is somehow a bigger purchase than all the other furniture in my house combined, but we have a place for guests to sleep! (on the couch, if you follow my logic...). It's pretty much the same as what we have, black leather just without all the holes, so I still have no idea how to brighten up my living room. I did get to pick out two throw pillows and they have a cheerful design, maybe that will do it. I'll post some pictures of the before and after in a month when it arrives. And hoping in a few days to post a before and after of H's arm, all healed!
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