All The Exciting Things We Did This Week.

Well, these posts seem far less exciting when they cover one week at a time rather than one season.  Surprise, surprise, I still got ramble-y and tangent-y.  Trevor is still plugging away one dental school applications, shadowing local dentists, school work, Army work, you get the idea. 

In addition to the usual excitement of grocery shopping, dishwasher unloading, dog walking, and the like, I/we kept fairly busy this week.

Myra randomly started doing this pose a while ago, and when she does we call it "yoga."  Here she is doing "yoga" with Daddy.

I work, as in actually go to work, one day per week.  I work as needed/sporadically from home the rest of the week, too.  I am a case manager for our local transitional housing program which is something I love.  We provide housing subsidies on a short term basis (up to two years) while meeting with the recipients regularly to help them get back on their feet (that's pretty vague because that can mean many things...whatever they need to accomplish, we do what we can to help).  Grandma Christy comes to watch Myra and they have all sorts of fun. 

Myra had a semi-rough night Tuesday night.  We're leaning towards blaming our barley trial, but she's got some teeth coming in so it's really hard to say for sure.  Barley has a fairly low pass rate among FPIES kids, but there's no knowing until we try.  She loves it and we need more grains, so we'll see how the rest of the trial goes.  Regardless of the cause, lack of sleep and/or interrupted sleep turn me into a slacker the next day.  Although I was a total monster, I got used to never, ever sleeping during Myra's first four months, but I'm out of practice and growing a human now.  Side note: some day I will post the email I wrote to Tosha in the middle of all that CRAZY about everything we had tried and how desperate I was.  I'm sure it's littered with profanity and "I don't like my baby" (it was a horrible, awful time, even though I loved Myra and I knew something was wrong and it wasn't her fault, it was all around ugly).  I digress.

Speaking of her FPIES, I recently learned many FPIES kids do just fine with Dum-Dums suckers.  Since we are a family of multi-generational dentists, I haven't really been on a search of candy she can have, but the girl deserves a treat sometimes!

Thursday was a busy day.  We had a WIC appointment right away in the morning.  I always schedule them right away to get it out of the way, so I don't have to plan my whole day around it...then I wish I hadn't.  I just have to say this: WIC is an amazing program.  They have single handedly saved us.  The cost of formula varies a lot based on how it's purchased (confusing, I know, click here to read the specifics).  Although Myra's formula intake has gone down a little as her food options have increased, WIC still pays out $491.20/month for Myra's formula.  Because of insurance contracts and other exciting stuff like that, we would still have to pay $207.79/month out of pocket after insurance if we would have to purchase it ourselves.  That's not including the cost of Myra's special foods (we have to get certain brands and some "novelty" food items because of all the hidden ingredients in other brands).  Bottom line: WIC has been a huge help.  They are now providing her Neocate Splash, essentially a hypoallergenic nutritional supplement/Boost type drink, in addition to her formula ($132/month).  ANYWAY...we had a WIC appointment Thursday morning.  Our little smarty pants has figured out that doctor's appointments go like this: nurse comes in, doctor comes in, nurse comes back=shots.  Apparently she's narrowed it down even more because she was totally fine with the WIC nurse until she put on gloves.  Then she got really nervous, wanted to sit on my lap, and eventually started crying-all before the nurse was even ready to do her finger poke (hemoglobin and lead test).  Myra was a pretty tough cookie and there was minimal drama after the fact, but the anticipation is not cool.  We had lunch with my boss at Applebee's and Myra spent her time jammin to the music and finding all the apples (in the logo) she could.  She had a view out the window, so she pointed out "truck," "car," "cycle (motorcycle)" the whole time, too. 

Myra isn't the only one with food allergies.  Rowdy is on a grain-free lamb food.  It was easy when Myra couldn't have any of the foods Rowdy can't have (he gets itchy, gnaws on his paws, flaps his ears all day).  Now that she can have corn, she loves to feed him her Kix and Chex.  We're working on it, but in the photo above she thought I couldn't see her feeding him if she didn't look at him while she did it...

ECFE (Early Childhood and Family Education) is back in session this week!  I'm on the Advisory Council, which is tons of fun, and we had our first meeting of the year.  We started planning the events we'll be doing this year, divvying up duties, and learning about some really cool new programs coming to our area (like the Dolly Parton Imagination Library).  On Friday, Myra got to start school.  She is in the toddler class for one year olds.  We go every Friday for an hour and fifteen minutes.  The first fifteen minutes is free play then circle time (welcome the kids, sing a few songs).  After that, the parents go to a different room (separated by a divider left open just a tad, so the kids can come find us if they want).  There is a topic/focus for both kids and adults every week (kids: physical motor skills, sensory activities, listening and understanding, exploration, etc. adults: what to expect at one, one year old play, food and nutrition, how to get stuff done with a toddler in the house, etc.).  Myra loves going, the kids get to play and explore while having a focus topic; I meet wonderful people and love learning new things.  In fact, we still get together regularly with the moms and kids from our very first ECFE class (0-3 month newborns).

First day of school 2014!

Saturday was babywearing meeting day!  (I will soon be putting together a post on our group's blog about what exactly happens at meetings--I will link it here)  We have learned so much and met some awesome people from our group, so when it works out to get to a meeting we love going.  Myra likes playing with the kids, we get to try other wraps and carriers, and I get to help other care givers learn about babywearing.  In a nutshell, we start with introductions, have a demo (this month we talked about soft structured carriers, the backpack style ones, then split up into small groups to help people learn what they came to learn).  The photo below shows about half of the people who were there.

 

 

And a couple extra photos from this week:

 

Our little book worm.  She's reading a book called "Birds Have Beaks" all by herself.  She turns the pages and says "beak," "beak," "beak."



Always a little bigger by the end of each day.  No surprise, but a bit bigger than I was at 18 weeks with Myra!

 

 





Causes: Nurses Week.

It's nurses week and I'm so glad I easily found a willing author for this post as I have had many wonderful nurses over the years!  Nurses can definitely make or break a medical experience for the patient and loved ones.  I love Chelsea's perspective on the missed time from family and the importance and meaning of her job. Thanks to Chelsea for writing this Causes series post and Happy Nurses Week!

Nursing!!

Stats:

Name Chelsea

Current position: RN. nurse supervisor: at a care care center through Fairview Health Sevices:

Years of nursing.   Offta… years in health care: 10 (as soon as I turned 18 I took my first job in the health care field). Worked years as a licensed nurse: 8.

 

I’ll address the question I get most often first: why did I become a nurse?.  My mom is a nurse, half my family is in healthcare-it was what I knew and what I knew I could be good at.  And, I'm a practical gal- I knew I'd always have a job, make decent wages and the schooling wouldn’t put me in debt until my 40’s.  I don’t have a fabulous story of “the one nurse who changed my life” or “ the dream to change peoples future”. Sorry, I’ve got nothing.  

The question I think is more important to ask nurses is “why did you STAY a nurse”. Nursing school does not prepare you for the job- you can memorize labs and vitals and procedures but true nursing is so much more. It's LONG hours and unpredictable patients and even more unpredictable families, it's mandatory overtime, holidays, weekends, stress, back pain, staff turn over. It's seeing people at their worst while having to be your best- how many patients think back to the nurse they screamed at for more pain meds- you won’t remember us, but we remember you. Nursing can be completely physically and emotionally draining- and a lot of nurses then go home to care for young children and their families- how do you cope when there is no limit to how much of yourself you give.  I have been through every stage of work burn out- more than once. My last jobs 1^st day orientation was to watch a video on work burn out to help nurses identify the signs more quickly- it's inevitable and it's awful. This is a job where no matter how how you try you can't leave work at the door.

I have seen far too many nurse quit in the first year, sometimes first 6 months. For most, I feel nursing is a complete shock when you start your first job. 

To say yes to “ can you work every other holiday is one thing” but how many  Christmas Eves away from your family do you take? As I become older and start thinking of starting my own family I am more aware of the sacrifice of parents. Just last Halloween I was working the evening shift and watched as husbands, grandparents, brought the nurses’ children into my work so their moms could see them in their costumes and I thought “someday my husband will be doing that”. And I pay more notice to the the nurses sharing pictures they get on their phones of their children Christmas morning before they start their am med pass. My own fiancé knows all too well of the 12am phone call on New Year's Eve as I spend another ball drop in my scrubs.

And yet, (besides right now) for the ones who stick the job out you don’t hear us complain. One of my favorite things about nurses is the mindset that “we are all in this together.” How can you complain about missing a girls night out when your co-nurse may be missing her child's 1^st step. You learn that being upset about having to work a mandatory extra shift will not make that shift go by quicker. Our patients lives don’t stop for weekends or nights- nether does our job.  We do it for the passion of taking care of others; a passion they may fade or waver slightly, but is always present in every nurse.

 

I currently and have always worked  in geriatrics or long term care. Its not the most prestigious, fast paced field but its without a doubt where I belong. It can be changing -. everything you think an 80year + person couldn’t do I can firmly say, “ oh yes they can!” I always say if I can mentally survive a double shift working in a locked dementia ward then I can survive anything. And it can be wonderful- to be a part of someone's livf every day- to meet their families, to hear their stories, to become the familiar face they know. 

 Many years ago I had a nurse mentor say to me:

     "When people are born that nurse or doctor will look at the clock and state their time of birth. In sense that is when their life book begins. Their pages fill with stories, memories, and milestones. And when all is said and done, when the book is almost full, they come here [a long term care center] and we get to help them fill the last pages of their book. We are there on the last page- and we have the power to make that one last positive story. Wither it be making sure they are pain free, calling in a beloved family member to be with them or maybe ourselves taking the time to be there with them. And we call the time of death. We are the last sentence of their book."

My job is an honor. I am blessed to meet every patient who comes my way who trusts me with their book. To trust I will give them the care they deserve.  

Click here to see a list of the other posts in this series.