48 hours of my life . . . Back to Work

This one goes out to my Aunt Cassandra who asked me to blog about my life at the hospital.

So if anyone wondered what my first real day back was like . . .

21:00 -Try to go to sleep. Emmy is restless and wanting to eat.

22:00 - Emmy is finally sleeping. I cry at the thought of leaving her the next morning.

03:30-5:00 - Emmy decides to start sleeping well. I stay awake anticipating her waking with every grunt and stir.

5:15 - Glare at my alarm as it goes off.

5:45 - Check my email and find that the overnight team tried to call to sign out new patients as the census on our floor has exploded.

5:50 - Go to pump the milk Emmy decided not to drink overnight and find that the cord on my pump has shorted out.

6:00 - Pull out of my driveway.

6:25 - Ride the elevator up 12 floors and get signout on several new patients.

6:45 - Realize I have forgotten all my passwords. Call Aukai and have him email my password cheat sheet.

6:55 - Finally log onto the computer. Go to introduce myself to my new patients.

8:05 - Run down 7 flights of stairs to find a lactation consultant and beg for some adapters for the hospital breast pumps. Realize that I left all of my bottles on the 12th floor.

8:20 - Run up 7 flights of stairs.

8:25 - Ask my senior if 8:30 rounds are really going to start on time. She assures me that they are and I groan as I realize I don't have time to pump.

8:45 - 8:30 rounds start 15 minutes late.

10:30 - My friend looks at me and subtly asks if I need to pump. I nod, and then look down to find that milk has leaked through my nursing pad, bra and scrub top.

11:00 - Rounds end.

11:15 - Inform my senior that I have to go pump, and run down 7 flights of stairs.

11:30 - The bag I am pumping into falls and milk spills all over my lap and chair.

11:45 - Run up 7 flights of stairs.

12:00 - A patient walks in to wish the nursing staff Merry Christmas. I recognize him as someone who could barely lift his thumbs earlier this year.

12:30 - Walk in late (again) to noon conference.

13:00 - Go up 12 flights of stairs.

13:30 - Realize that what I thought was the photocopy of an admission note from overnight was in fact the original. Cross out the many notes I have taken on it and hang my head as I place it in the patient chart. *sigh*

14:00 - Frantically check labs and make phone calls.

15:00 - Informed by nurse that I must move my milk to a special fridge set aside for breastmilk. Shake my head at the irony of putting my baby's food in a fridge labeled "BIOHAZARD."

16:00 - Afternoon rounds. Half way through my male attending asks if I am breastfeeding and if I have found time to pump. He informs my senior that I must pump every four hours and will probably need her to take my pager. I don't know whether to be embarrassed or to kiss him.

16:30 - Afternoon rounds end. Start a new list of tasks.

16:45 - Transfer a patient to the PICU and run down three flights of stairs to find an intern who can show me how to use the new discharge set-up.

18:30 - Aukai calls. He has found a cord that will work for my pump. Take an elevator down 12 flights of stairs to grab it from him. He asks me if I have time to eat dinner with them. I look at my sweet children, give them kisses, and say "no" as I run back to the elevator.

18:40 - Cry as I take the elevator up 12 flights of stairs. Run to the call room to pump again.

19:00 - Back to work.

20:00 - Push ativan on a seizing kid.

23:00 - Listen to a new baby crying across from the call room. Cry as I think about Emmy and then remember what Aukai told me: "Just be grateful your children aren't the ones in the hospital."

23:30 - Pump and update sign-out.

01:00 - Pump and lie down. Lay awake in bed for 1 hour before dozing to sleep..

02:30 - Get a page to check on a patient.

03:30 - Lay back in bed.

05:30 - Alarm goes off. Shocked at how much sleep I have gotten and wonder if my pager is really working. No overnight admits? That is unheard of for me! Pump and then go to start printing off sign-out.

06:20 - Start updating my colleagues about overnight events.

08:00 - Call a pediatrician about a patient who was discharged the prior night. Leave multiple messages.

09:00 - The pediatrician who I called pages my senior, livid that she hasn't heard anything about the patient who was just discharged. *sigh* Slip out and use different messaging options until I finally get through. Apologize profusely.

10:30 - Sign-out ends. Start discharge paperwork for those who will be leaving over the next 24 hours.

11:30 - The child who couldn't speak a week ago suprizes us by tolerating juice and crackers.

13:00 - Give up on finishing the paperwork and finally sign out for the day.

13:15 - Reminded by attending that I was supposed to be out of the hospital by 13:00. Sigh and tell him, "That's assuming I didn't get here 30 minutes early yesterday." Pump.

13:40 - Finally step outside the hospital, late, again.

14:10 - Step into the house. Give Emmy and Ashton a kiss on the head before putting my scrubs directly into the washer and jumping in the shower.

15:30 - Watch a movie with Ashton and Emmy while Aukai takes Isaac to violin.

14:15 - Emmy and I go down for a nap.

16:00 - Aukai grabs Emmy and I keep sleeping.

19:30 - Wake up to help Aukai put the boys to sleep and spend some time with Aukai and Emmy.

21:00 - Emmy goes to sleep. Start getting ready for bed.

Pouty Emery

Love this picture Holly took of Emery on her blessing day. She

was fed up with being photographed.

Happy

Emmy laughed for the first time yesterday. I was holding her while working on something, looked down and saw a big smile on her face. I smiled and said, "Hi Sweetheart!" and she laughed. So happy I got to see it. :)

Comfort

While making lunch I heard Ashton say this:
(In the typical sing-song voice he uses with Emmy) - "Mommy has a knife, but don't worry Emmy. She's not going to cut you. She is cutting a tomato. I picked it . . . "

Isaac: "Mom, next time we have art I get to bring home my pinch pot!"
*Emmy startles and cries as Isaac runs up and yells this in her face*
Isaac: "Oh, I bet she got scared because I said the word 'Pinch.' She probably thinks the pot pinches or holds pinches. It doesn't really pinch Emmy."

Em and Ash

So, once again, Ashton insisted on posing with Em. They make a pretty cute pair. : )

Dreamy

So, seeing as the upstairs is done, I finally, for the first time, on my third kid get a NURSERY! That means, for the first time, I get to think about really decorating a nursery. :) The fact is, the "nursery" is really going to be a place to keep all of Emmy's baby stuff and will double as a guest room until she is about 2, but hey, I can still have fun, right?

Cruising the web I ran into this dreamy set by Serena and Lily. We found a BEAUTIFUL hardwood daybed at an estate sale that Emmy will graduate to. I love this color and think something like this white Ruched Quilt would look fabulous next to the dark wood Something like this citrine with a bubble gum pink and red?

The designer included this custom applique with the set. The bird is a wonderful touch.

On another twist, I still cannot get over this room. I apologize that I cannot remember where I found the image, but I LOVE this eclectic design. .(Mom, can we say "Bohemian tendencies?") I wonder where I could find a rug like that . . .

Catching Up.

The past couple weeks have been filled with . . . well . . . a lot.

1. My wonderful twin sister came out with her ADORABLE (and HUGE) 4 month old son! Being the amazing person that she is, she single-handedly took us from utter chaos to organized (or at least as organized as she could get us in 2 days). We enjoyed showing off the botanical gardens and our favorite place to eat, a local Russian restaurant called D'vin. It was very hard to say goodbye!

2. After eight hard months of work, Aukai has finally completed the upstairs . . . or at least enough for us to live in. (Pics to follow) :) The carpet came in the day after Holly got here so she helped us move. The boys are finally out of the family room and in a real room of their own! With a DOOR! It feels a lot like I imagine Emmy feels when we unswaddle her each morning.

3. My parents came out and we had a wonderful visit. The boys enjoyed a full week off school, filled with spoiling. Remarkably, they still seem to be the sweet boys I knew 1 week ago. :) My dad came with a whole list of things he wanted to do, including seeing the arch and about 5 places to eat, most of which Aukai and I hadn't tried before. Yum. :)

4. Emmy was blessed at church.

5. Emmy started smiling (socially) about 2 weeks ago, but has really kicked it up this week. She had her first real tears 3 weeks ago. She is holding her head well, tracking, regarding faces and is very social. We took her to a pediatric neurology party last night, and everyone commented on how she is calm, very alert and developing well. It means something special when peds neuro people say that. :)

6. I went back to work on Wednesday. I think I cried for a full week in anticipation. Fortunately they put me back on clinic, so I don't hit the full swing of things until after Christmas. It helps that I know she is left with the most awesome dad in the whole world.

7. Isaac has been cracking me up lately. He is so articulate that sometimes I forget he is only 6.

a.Last week, Holly asked him if he wanted some mashed potatoes. He looked at her, confused, and said, "What's a potato?" (We don't eat them much). Holly explained that it was a vegetable that grew in the ground like a turnip or carrot. He thought for a second and said lightly, "No thanks, none for me today."

b.Isaac has had a bad cough, one that has caused him to throw up several times in the past couple weeks. After returning from Ted Drews, I heard *cough, cough, cough* *pause* *gag, sputter*.

"Isaac, are you OK?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm OK. I thought I might throw up, because I felt it come up in my throat. But then I swallowed. And guess what. It didn't taste bad because it was ICE CREAM!"

Silly boy. :)

8.. Holly surprised us by giving us a new lens for our camera! I am still trying to get used to it, but here are a few of my first attempts: