December 17, 2007
Officially off work
3 days to go... This past weekend I was scheduled to work, but I had to bite the bullet and start my maternity leave. Saturday I was so achy and I had already felt like I had worked for 4 hours. I almost went ahead and went in because, hey, if something happens I work in L&D, but then I had to think about the patients I would be taking care of. I realized that I wouldn't be providing good care, possibly not safe care with as slow moving as I am, so I didn't work. Huge blow to my pride because for some reason most nurses feel the need to work until they are dead, and even then would request for CPR so she could get back to her patients, and I apparently am one of them. I figured no one at work really thought I'd still be pregnant (I sure showed them) at this point, so no harm done. Thankfully they weren't busy this weekend. I called and talked with one of my co-workers and she said they had a crazy woman come up by ambulance for abdominal pain. Normally we get a phone call giving us a heads up that a patient is coming, but I guess there was no phone call. The EMT's apologized and said they just found out that she was pregnant. After talking with the woman, she said she had an ultrasound last week, but she didn't have any idea of last period, EDC, etc. So they pulled up her records hoping to find out how far along she was and it turned out her ultrasound was for gallstones. She wasn't even pregnant. So they sent her back to ER. There are some crazies out there. It's scary because its those people who are likely to fake a pregnancy and take someone elses baby.
December 15, 2007
Well, its a waiting game at this point. We are as prepared as we can get for this little guy.
1. The nursery is ready- diapers, vaseline, wipes, all lines washed and folded
2. My bag is packed.
3. C-section scheduled, pretesting scheduled, complete with requested anesthesiologist available.
4. Small gifts bought for Jacob and Clara, complete with new big bro/sis t-shirts.
5. Various baby-sitters to occupy Jacob and Clara, entertain them and to help them feel they are still special.
6. FMLA set up, daycare set up, several meals frozen for reheating.
7. I even have all the Christmas presents for the kids wrapped and hidden.
I wish I could say my house is clean from top to bottom, but I didn't want to get too carried away. All we need now is the 20th, or for labor to commence on it's own, which I would be just fine with at this point.
Last night we had our night shift Christmas party. It's always good to hang out with people outside the hospital. We always end up having a lot of fun. People who have gone to other departments, have retired or quit usually come back for the party and it's nice to see old faces and catch up. The girl who hosted the party has this game called Dance, Dance Revolution (I think that's the name). It's a video game where you follow dance moves on the screen and move your feet on a mat in sync. I did not partake, but it was funny to watch grown women gettin' down!
1. The nursery is ready- diapers, vaseline, wipes, all lines washed and folded
2. My bag is packed.
3. C-section scheduled, pretesting scheduled, complete with requested anesthesiologist available.
4. Small gifts bought for Jacob and Clara, complete with new big bro/sis t-shirts.
5. Various baby-sitters to occupy Jacob and Clara, entertain them and to help them feel they are still special.
6. FMLA set up, daycare set up, several meals frozen for reheating.
7. I even have all the Christmas presents for the kids wrapped and hidden.
I wish I could say my house is clean from top to bottom, but I didn't want to get too carried away. All we need now is the 20th, or for labor to commence on it's own, which I would be just fine with at this point.
Last night we had our night shift Christmas party. It's always good to hang out with people outside the hospital. We always end up having a lot of fun. People who have gone to other departments, have retired or quit usually come back for the party and it's nice to see old faces and catch up. The girl who hosted the party has this game called Dance, Dance Revolution (I think that's the name). It's a video game where you follow dance moves on the screen and move your feet on a mat in sync. I did not partake, but it was funny to watch grown women gettin' down!
December 13, 2007
Days go by
Man, the days are just dragging by. Today I lined up the anesthesiologist I want to place my spinal. It seems weird that 1 week from today, I'll no longer be pregnant and I will be holding my son. Amazing, but it seems so far away at the same time. I know as soon as he's here, I'll feel like time has flown by, but the last few days of pregnancy last forever. What makes it worse is false labor. Last night I actually thought that it was going to be the day. 3 hours of regular contractions, 3-5 minutes apart, didn't feel real good and I thought were getting stronger (but was probably in my head) and kept coming after a bath and moving around. So I decided "Ok, lets make sure we have everything packed and squared away before we head in" and then...they quit. Okay, so they didn't just abruptly quit, but it sure seemed like it. Very frustrating. I know it happens because I see it all the time at work, but it really sucks because you get all jacked up thinking this is the day, and then, alas, no. Soon enough, though, soon enough.
Tonight I have to work, and after looking at our staffing earlier this week, I'm not excited in the least. We're 2 nurses short. And these days, although I'm the size of 2 nurses, I'm really only worth 1/2. (ha ha). So hopefully we aren't crazy busy. I'm sure we have a couple inductions, a scheduled c/s for the a.m. on top of anything that comes through the door. So probably a typical night. We'll see.
Tonight I have to work, and after looking at our staffing earlier this week, I'm not excited in the least. We're 2 nurses short. And these days, although I'm the size of 2 nurses, I'm really only worth 1/2. (ha ha). So hopefully we aren't crazy busy. I'm sure we have a couple inductions, a scheduled c/s for the a.m. on top of anything that comes through the door. So probably a typical night. We'll see.
December 11, 2007
The final countdown
3 more work shifts to go. Not that I'm counting or anything! Last night was one of my call shifts and of course, I was called in. When we started doing these mandatory call slots this summer, I knew what was going to happen. When I was early-mid pregnancy and felt great, they'd never call me in, but when I was in the third trimester uncomfortable, waddle stage, I would. And I was correct. I think the evening charge RN felt bad about calling me in because she hemmed and hawed for 2 hours with multiple phone calls of "I don't know, maybe we'll be okay, I'll call you in 30 minutes". I just wanted her to make a decision. And when I got there, I'm not sure why she was having any question to call me or not. Oh well.
I took care of a girl last night that was a frequent flier during her pregnancy. She was a week further along than me, and lived at the mission with her 18 month old son. It's really easy to be judgemental with patients like her and I'm not exception, but with her I felt bad for her. She'd come by "cab-ulance" in with pain, and finally they figured out it was gall stones. I had her so many times that she'd come through on the cart and say to me "I figured you missed me so I came to visit". She'd alway have her poor son with her, and he was always in a dirty diaper, never had shoes on and was frequently filthy. So I'd get her a couple diapers, wipes, some crackers and juice, call for pain medication and get her a cab fare back to the mission. I'm not sure exactly how she ended up homeless, quite possible a string of bad decisions, but I kept thinking about how scary it must be to have a child, pregnant with another and have no one for support. She was hooked up with everything she could and she was working with the mission people to get work after she delivered so she could get an apartment within a few months. She delivered the day before, so when I went in to check on her, she first commented on the size of my girth, and then told me she'd come visit me to see how I was a patient. Maybe I'm a sucker for her act, but I really hope she gets back on her feet.
I took care of a girl last night that was a frequent flier during her pregnancy. She was a week further along than me, and lived at the mission with her 18 month old son. It's really easy to be judgemental with patients like her and I'm not exception, but with her I felt bad for her. She'd come by "cab-ulance" in with pain, and finally they figured out it was gall stones. I had her so many times that she'd come through on the cart and say to me "I figured you missed me so I came to visit". She'd alway have her poor son with her, and he was always in a dirty diaper, never had shoes on and was frequently filthy. So I'd get her a couple diapers, wipes, some crackers and juice, call for pain medication and get her a cab fare back to the mission. I'm not sure exactly how she ended up homeless, quite possible a string of bad decisions, but I kept thinking about how scary it must be to have a child, pregnant with another and have no one for support. She was hooked up with everything she could and she was working with the mission people to get work after she delivered so she could get an apartment within a few months. She delivered the day before, so when I went in to check on her, she first commented on the size of my girth, and then told me she'd come visit me to see how I was a patient. Maybe I'm a sucker for her act, but I really hope she gets back on her feet.
December 9, 2007
December 7, 2007
This was posted at work and I thought it was pretty appropriate for labor and delivery
I wish I were a fetus.
I never would be bored.
Sitting in my uterus,
Swinging on my cord.
To worry obstetricians,
I'd be a proper beast.
I'd change positions on the hour,
Transverse, oblique then breech.
To student midwives I'd present
A mystifying case.
I'd hide myself inside the os
And leave an empty space.
I'd tie my cord into a knot,
And wave it through the cervix.
I'd give the midwives such a shock
And laugh off all my vernix.
And when my membranes rupture,
I'd be a right ol' pest,
Presenting large diameters
I'd transversely arrest.
I'd tell my pal placenta,
To get himself detached.
To theatre then the lot of us
Would pronto be dispatched.
And when they start to Caesar,
I'd laugh and think "Tee hee!"
When no one else is looking
I'll come out vaginally!
-Pauline Bryant
I wish I were a fetus.
I never would be bored.
Sitting in my uterus,
Swinging on my cord.
To worry obstetricians,
I'd be a proper beast.
I'd change positions on the hour,
Transverse, oblique then breech.
To student midwives I'd present
A mystifying case.
I'd hide myself inside the os
And leave an empty space.
I'd tie my cord into a knot,
And wave it through the cervix.
I'd give the midwives such a shock
And laugh off all my vernix.
And when my membranes rupture,
I'd be a right ol' pest,
Presenting large diameters
I'd transversely arrest.
I'd tell my pal placenta,
To get himself detached.
To theatre then the lot of us
Would pronto be dispatched.
And when they start to Caesar,
I'd laugh and think "Tee hee!"
When no one else is looking
I'll come out vaginally!
-Pauline Bryant
December 6, 2007
Work and D-day
Monday I worked and was charge RN. I actually thought (how naive) that it would be good, ince I wouldn't have to take patients (yeah, right) and the night had started out slow. We actually sent one labor nurse home on call. So, of course, the flood gates open and I end up admitting an induction. No biggie. Well, 30 miutes after I start pitocin, I have a huge decel. A 10 minute decel in the 60-70's to be exact. About the time I started to unhook her bed to take her to OR, the FHR came back up. Thank God. The last thing I wanted to do was run my pregnant butt down the hall pushing bed for a crash c-section. Plus we don't have in-house OB's or anesthesia, so it would have been ugly. I called the doc, let her know what happened and the baby again looked perfect, and luckily stayed that way all night, but we didn't restart the pitocin. Then, another patient came in, plus our second induction and I needed to call the labor nurse on call in. Nice of her, she never answered the phone. So it ends up I have two labor patients, luckily neither really active, one labor nurse has a delivery and another active labor patient and my second labor nurse has a delivery and a 21 week patient. Usually the charge nurse does "baby care" but I couldn't do it because by this time it was about 5:00 a.m. and I had to do day shift staffing, take care of my labor patients, and watch the other monitors while we had deliveries. It was nuts and hard on this ole preggo.
I'm still doing my NST's 2 times a week at work. I had to actually complain last night about how things were being handled. The last two NST's I had, my co-workers didn't do anything. Last night, I hooked myself up and the RN didnt' do an assessment, didn't ask how I was feeling and wanted to discharge me before I even had a reactive strip. She actuallly told me to unhook myself when I was done. On Monday morning, the RN said to me "I'm taking you off the monitor before I see any more contractions." Now, I know they don't do that with regular patients, but come on. I shouldn't have to do it myself. And lets remove the monitor so we don't see anything we don't want to see. It was a bit frustrating. I mean, I'm paying like every other patient and just because I work there doesn't mean I'm going to analyze my own strip and do my own assessment. I can't be the patient and the labor nurse.
We scheduled a c-section at my appointment Tuesday because the ornery boy is still not in position. So December 20th at 7:15 a.m. is D-day. Only 2 weeks. Unless of course I go into labor, water breaks or something else comes up. It seems so weird to know when he's going to be born. I wont sleep the night before because I'll be able to be nervous, as opposed to if I went into labor, then I wouldn't be thinking about being nervous because I'll be in pain. But, like I know very well, you never know what can happen when it comes to pregnancy and delivery.
I'm still doing my NST's 2 times a week at work. I had to actually complain last night about how things were being handled. The last two NST's I had, my co-workers didn't do anything. Last night, I hooked myself up and the RN didnt' do an assessment, didn't ask how I was feeling and wanted to discharge me before I even had a reactive strip. She actuallly told me to unhook myself when I was done. On Monday morning, the RN said to me "I'm taking you off the monitor before I see any more contractions." Now, I know they don't do that with regular patients, but come on. I shouldn't have to do it myself. And lets remove the monitor so we don't see anything we don't want to see. It was a bit frustrating. I mean, I'm paying like every other patient and just because I work there doesn't mean I'm going to analyze my own strip and do my own assessment. I can't be the patient and the labor nurse.
We scheduled a c-section at my appointment Tuesday because the ornery boy is still not in position. So December 20th at 7:15 a.m. is D-day. Only 2 weeks. Unless of course I go into labor, water breaks or something else comes up. It seems so weird to know when he's going to be born. I wont sleep the night before because I'll be able to be nervous, as opposed to if I went into labor, then I wouldn't be thinking about being nervous because I'll be in pain. But, like I know very well, you never know what can happen when it comes to pregnancy and delivery.
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