skin-to-skin and baby registeries

not the cuddly skin-to-skin… no the kind I don’t like. I’ve always hated the feeling of my skin touching (sticking to) my own skin.  To date, my experience with this was thigh-on-thigh. Eew. But, in the last week we’ve got a new one… boobs on belly. oh, the fun stuff has started.  the hard-to-bend straight over-ness. The baby bouncing on bladder-ism.  all of it kind of makes me laugh, kind of makes me nervous about the next 15 weeks! my belly is the “torpedo” kind, it mostly goes straight out, so tying my shoes is already getting challenging… and I doubt my husband is going to be willing to get up at 5:30 in the mornings to tie my shoes before I go to work. Good thing it’s summer and half of my time can be spent in flip-flops!

nice hair-do… that’s what I get for taking the picture AFTER our evening 4-wheeler ride.

My friend made a very good point in an email to me yesterday… I have registered for stuff, but I have NO CLUE whether I’ve registered for the right stuff. I think I’ve got the basics covered… the boppy, the swing & bouncy seat, the jogging stroller… stuff like that. I didn’t register for diapers or many clothes… I think those are no-brainers, and no matter what clothes you register for, people pick out what they like anyway.  Not to mention, my baby will be staying at home with a nanny-sitter coming to him for at least the first three months, so he just needs comfy sleepers, not like he has to look super cute to hang out at his own “crib.”

I’ve bought the things I feel really passionate about having. The car seat I wanted. And glass bottles. My husband can’t understand my adamantness on these things, but I’m pregnant, so I can’t explain it either. They were just what I wanted.

I registered for a co-sleeper-type bassinet, those seem pretty nifty. And a nice pack’n’play (BTW, when did the term “play pen” fall out of favor?? we stuck my youngest brother in a play pen. He never seemed to have a complex with being put in a “pen”… ) The rest of the stuff I picked out are either books, random bottle/feeding stuff, and other things that looked interesting when I was perusing Amazon (oh yeah, we’re registered at Amazon, for those who care).  I won’t lie, I’ve checked out my friends’ past registries that are still viewable on the internet… that gave me some things to think about, but other than that I NEED to know what ya’ll recommend as “must haves.”

First on the list from my friend was an Ergo carrier, she says it’s way better than the Moby in her opinion. THAT’s the kind of stuff I need to know people! 15 weeks seems like a while in my brain, until I really start thinking about it, and then I freak out and realize he’s viable if born NOW and we need to be a little bit more ready for a real baby in our house pretty soon. so ALL opinions welcome! Thanks!

green pokadot tankini

there’s no rest for the wicked. or the grad student.

today my husband, my student-loan-paying-full-time-working-not-in-school-anymore husband, left for the east side of the state to spend memorial day weekend fishing and bbq’ing.

I, on the other hand, have to work the next 4 days, so I stayed home.  And today, I could come up with (and should not come up with) no more excuses to ignore working on my final paper and project for school. but it’s so nice out… so I compromised. I compiled my paperwork and highlighter, found a beach towel, and put on this sweet green poka-dot tankini number…

{which I got at a second-hand store and is in mint (green) condition BTW 🙂 }

and I did research.

  

whalla. sun and studying. bazinga.

and if any of you are super interested in using text messaging reminders to increase completion of HPV vaccination series among adolescents, please feel free to be my research assistant.

have a great weekend (and try not to do anything silly that lands you in the ER…)

-mcmanda

weight-ing game

officially 24 weeks pregnant today. when my BabyCenter email arrived in my inbox, i was reading email in our nurses’ work room. a couple of the girls behind me started reading too. it said something to the effect of and you’ve probably gained about 15 pounds by now. so someone asked me. and i told the truth. at my appointment Monday i was up just about 6 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. i swear to you, women were freaking out. apparently 6 pounds doesn’t cut their mustard. what ensued was a re-hashing of my diet, my exercise level, everything.

and yes, I’ve been having my own little internal worry session over my lack/insufficiency  of gain. between 16 and 20 weeks i gained nothing. in the last 4 weeks I’ve gained about 2.5 pounds. BUT baby is measuring just fine, and so is my fundal height. my doc hasn’t mentioned it… although she doesn’t mention much to me… i think she thinks i have a sufficient knowledge base of a “normal” pregnancy. to a point, she is right. {and yes, i accurately diagnosed my inguinal hernia(s) (there’s one on the other side now, too).} maybe i should have asked if i needed to be packing more pounds on… but she’d tell me the same things i reassure myself with… baby and fundal height are within normal limits, what more proof do i need that things are ok??

basically, it bugged me that i was so criticized about my weight gain. i must not look smaller than i should, no one makes inappropriate comments about that. from here on out i’ll just keep the number on the scale to myself. and for proof of growth, check out the bumpdates page. he’s growing and SO AM I.

“nurses week”

we each attach our identity to some thing. we’re all something. “i’m a runner.” ….  “i’m a Christian.”  ….  “i’m a nerd.” …. “i’m a wife.”

When I was 18, well, I was 18. I really didn’t have an identity. I was a college student. I loved to run, read, and write. (funny, how 10 years later, i’m still a college student, but with less reading, writing, and running time). my dad really wanted me to go to pharmacy school.   really, really, really.  So I went to a private out-of-state college and double majored in chem and biology. (barf, right?) I had a very cliché’ freshman year of college, but luckily didn’t cremate my GPA and managed to stay on the track team. After that, I transferred to a state school close to home back in South Dakota and majored in pre-pharm. For about 2 weeks.

Right before my sophomore year of college I had interviewed for a job as a nurse’s assistant at my hometown nursing home. I can’t even begin to tell you what kind of nightmare job that had always been in my head… I was terrified of old people. And when I was in high school, my mom implanted doubts about my ability to care for other human beings due to my selfish, adolescent attitude.   (in all fairness, I was quite the little bitch for a while there). Back to the story. I applied for the CNA job, got it, and believe it or not, LOVED it. I loved going home at night, being exhausted, but feeling like I had made a real difference (you don’t really make an important impact serving ice cream at Dairy Queen…) I’d helped someone. I put others’ needs before my own. And it paid me back 20-fold. So I changed my major to nursing. (I was SO nervous to tell my dad, but he accepted it pretty well). And I suddenly got a new identity.

I became a nurse. It was actually pretty magical. Lots of other crappy stuff happened in my life during that time. But nursing became me. I became nursing. I was so proud to graduate. So proud to pass my boards. Nursing is part of me. And I kinda think I’m pretty darn good at it. I’m a slow runner now. I barely have time to read anything un-nursing. And, my writing is limited to this blog, Facebook updates, graduate papers, and my charting at work. Nursing seeps into every part of me.

seriously, best job ever…

Being an OB nurse was extra-extraordinarily special. When I worked at the nursing home, I was there multiple times as people’s souls departed this earth. It was an honor to be there at the end of those lives. But the miracle of birth? Nothing beats it. Nothing.

I’ve heard so many very first tiny cries. Seen young ladies become mommies and young men become daddies. Watched toddlers become big brothers and sisters. I’ve actually delivered babies when the doctor couldn’t quite make it in time. Best rush ever! And yes, I’ve seen some bad things, too. Those days sucked. But, as a general rule in nursing, the good out-weighs the bad. Every day there is good. Every day God shows us why the human race is. It makes you grateful. Humble. Small. Selfless.

In a few months, I’ll gain a new identity. I have a feeling I’ll feel even more grateful, humble, small, and selfless. I’ll be a mommy. Which, in my mind is a nurse on steroids. I’m sure I truly can’t fathom it yet.  I’m not sure my heart will be able to handle all of it, but I’ll learn.

I’m nervous about trying to separate nursing and motherhood in my mind. But they are the same in so many ways. Responsibility for a life.  Doing the right things, the best things I know how to do. I’ll learn every day. I’ll cry sometimes. And think I suck and I fail some times. I’ll be peed on, pooped on, puked on, bled on. I’ll have to explain things I don’t quite understand. I’ll need help, need my hubby to take over, need a vacation. But, in the end, I’ll be sucked right back. I love being a nurse. I’ll love being a mom. Maybe that’s why they put mother’s day and nurses week together… because they are kinda inseparable.

So, hug your mom. Hug your nurse. They both want the best for you.

-amanda

 

 

 

just keep growing

happy spring. It seems like it might finally be here to stay. another week has come and gone, nothing too exciting happening around here, which is fine by me. We’re still busy getting acquainted with the new house. The animals seem to like it best of all. They love the room. And they love the good places to nap.

And I keep on growing… while I’ve not seen a stretch mark yet, my tummy skin – actually all of my skin – is super dry. I’ve always been an oily girl, so it’s hard to feel okay with so much moisturizing. I use straight cocoanut oil, like from the jar that you’d use to cook, and slather it all over. Even on my face! It works pretty darn well, considering a little goes a long way, and it’s relatively cheap in terms of body lotions. Believe it or not, when I weighed myself a couple days ago, I’m still at less than 5 pounds of weight gain. This is somewhat worrisome, but I keep telling myself that I’ll catch up later. My fundal height is measuring fine and my fluid levels were normal, so I guess we won’t worry about it??

This cute tank is a gift from my sister-in-law… love it!

And, for a little treat this week… baby stuff! Both my mom and sister-in-law sent goodies!! Look!

We’ll call these “early mother’s day gifts,” okay? Have a good week, everyone!

all the “new” stuff

it’s been quite the week. it feels like everything is suddenly new. new to us, anyway.

• last week I finally moved to full-time day shift at work. ahhh. I feel almost human now. sleep at night, awake during the day. repeat. I’ve been doing the evening shift since I was 18. and 12 hour night shifts since graduating nursing school 5 years ago. it’s so nice to have a relatively “normal” schedule.
• I snuck through another semester with an A. Every semester I say “I don’t care if I get a B.” And every semester I start out not trying, which is sort of shameful (although I really hope our son gets my “school comes easy to me” genes), and I teeter towards the A/B line. Then I panic and try for a couple days. So far this method had served me well. 4 more semesters. Think I can keep it up? Maybe next semester I’ll try. From the beginning. LOL 🙂
• WE MOVED. (please insert a pregnant lady jumping up and down). Look! Our new home! And the only moving tragedy was the loss (like, can’t find anywhere) of one of my work shoes. ONE. weird, eh? the worst part is not needing a new pair of shoes (I love a real excuse for new shoes), but that there was a prescription orthotic in that shoe. Bummer. So that turns that shoe into a $250 loss. Big, fat bummer. Good thing I’ll be meeting my deductible this year anyway!

our new home!

what almost every room looks like 🙂 lots-a-boxes!

nella’s new pillow… no more sleeping in the bed with me!

and gertie loves every new place to lay her fat belly.

• And the pregnancy world. Hit 21 weeks this week. Monday we had our anatomy scan. It is official – I know too much. I found myself not just laying there and enjoying watching our son wiggle around in there. I was busy. Busy counting cord vessels. Kidneys. Heart chambers. Brain ventricles. Fingers and toes. Looking for a complete upper lip. Watching the hands open and close. Squinting to see the measurements on the screen – normal fluid levels, normal femur length, normal abdominal and head circumference. And it was all okay. All normal. Jesse saw the penis again. That’s all he needed to see. It was fun to watch the baby bounce the ultrasound transducer up and down when he got annoyed with the pressure. He’s a busy body and I love it. He moves a lot everyday. Love, love, love it. Check out the bumpdates and baby mcmuffin pages for new pics.
• Here’s the really fun stuff. Got my first hemorrhoid. Not sure how the hopeful pink lady dealt with hers! cause my one little one sure sucks. AND I’m also quite sure I’ve got a hernia. There’s a tender lump down by the crease into my pelvis. And it’s not a lymph node or a varicose vein of sorts. I’m self-diagnosing a hernia. Eh. And I plan to ignore it until my next appointment if at all possible. Last but not least, fit into my first D cup bra this week. NEVER EVER thought that would happen 🙂

That’s all for now. And, that’s enough. Have a good week.

-mcmanda