Did one summary of a non-work day, and now to recap last Monday
***
Monday, October 22nd
1:11 a.m.
Squawks from the nursery. Alex retrieves the Bean from her crib, I feed her side-lying in our bed. Not too shabby, she made it 3.5 hours between feedings.
3ish a.m.
Squawks from my (little) bed buddy, I replace her Soothie, we're both still mostly sleeping.
3:30ish a.m.
More squawks. Replace Soothie. Still squawking, so I just give her the boob.
3:57 a.m.
"Can you please help me?" I plead. Alex attempts to cuddle-and-Soothie her, but she's soaked the bed with pee (I JUST washed the sheets) so he gets out of bed changes her diaper. I roll over and relish the temporarily empty bed - there's ample room for me to move! It sounds like there are elephants tromping through our room. Alex is so not quiet in the middle of the night. And now she's wailing. I take her back and try to placate her by nursing her in bed. She's mostly asleep, but seems really uncomfortable and is grunting and tossing and turning a bit.
4:27 a.m.
She's finally calmed - no more suckling and her hands are behind her head, which means she's out. I'm officially awake, listening to the rain. Contemplate just getting up for the day. My alarm will go off in less than 1.5 hours anyway. Poor Alex has to wake up in 30+ minutes.
4:38 a.m.
Laying in bed with the Bean between me and her heavy-breathing father. On my phone, checking email, news, Facebook. I'm struck by the feelings of inadequacy I get from FB on occasion - "we should have gotten photos taken when I was pregnant," "ugh, she's way skinnier than I am and her baby's younger!", "crawling already? Is Francie supposed to be crawling?!?"
I really should get more sleep, wasn't feeling that well yesterday. Another cold, maybe.
4:45 a.m.
I put the phone down and try for a bit more shut-eye.
6 a.m.
Alex kisses us goodbye. Alarm goes off. Give the baby my boob. Hit Snooze.
6:09 a.m.
Alarm. Snooze.
6:18 a.m.
Alarm. Snooze.
6:27 a.m.
Alarm. Snooze.
6:36 a.m.
Alarm. Pry my eyes open. Turn on bedside lamp. Turn off alarm. Replace boob with Soothie. She's fidgeting, and thrashing, so time for a little help to wake up.
6:41 a.m.
Check texts, Facebook, news. I hope the fluorescent lights of my phone will help wake my brain up.
6:55 a.m.
How is it almost 7? I have 20 minutes to get ready and hit the road. Chris will be here any minute.
7:25 a.m.
I'm on the road, a bit later than I planned, which is typical for me. The roads look kind of nasty, from the steady rain. Why are my favorite a.m. radio hosts not on today? I play Macklemore from my iPhone for part of the commute.
8:01 a.m.
Settling in to work. Checking email, Michael's schedule, starting my To Do list for today. MUST COMPLETE PAPERWORK FOR CCC-SLP APPLICATION!
8:41 a.m.
Did the schedule. Seems like a slow day - for some reason I don't have any outpatients scheduled? Michael is in with one of his outpatients. I attempt to eval one of our inpatients, but first time I tried he was peeing, and the second time he was getting dressed. Nothing like trying to talk to a man when he's neked. Made arrangements to see him at 10 a.m. Plus, I have another patient scheduled to come see me in 15 minutes.
8:52 a.m.
Complete outpatient note from last Thursday. Have to dig deep in my brain to remember this patient and what we worked on. Thank goodness I write everything down. Exchange texts with my college girlfriends about engorged breasts and feeding, etc.
9:59 a.m.
Finished up with my favorite patient - a man with severe aphasia and apraxia of speech. Starting my note on him, thinking about how I should be using this time to pump, but I think I'd rather try and see my other patient first and then write both notes while pumping.
10:31 a.m.
Attempted to complete cog. eval with a patient status post liver transplant who I've been seeing for dysphagia. No such luck. He was basically obtunded. I know I need to pump, but time is getting away from me.
11:58 a.m.
Just now pumping for the first time. Spent the last hour-plus with Michael in his office completing paperwork for my license and then discussing his upcoming trip to Thailand/Cambodia/Laos. And also looking at pictures for the website from his trip to Machu Pichu last year. Have yet to actually discuss my pumping needs with my supervisor. Instead, I just lock and close the door with a bright yellow "Pumping" post-it note on my door and call it good.
12:08 p.m.
5+ ounces so far (4+ on the left, 1 from the right). Eating lunch, leftovers from dinner last night - delicata squash and quinoa salad.
12:20 p.m.
I'm calling it done. Need to go see another patient during lunch and I'm tired of sitting here like a milking cow. 8 ounces in 22 minutes (5+ on the left, 3 on the right).
1:19 p.m.
No patients to talk about at Team Meeting today. I'm about to run upstairs to get myself a Coke Zero before seeing my 1:30 patient. I'm feeling a little bit bored and restless, truth be told. Too much time on my hands today means all I'm thinking about is food - what I would rather be eating, and how I shouldn't eat anything for several weeks on end so I can get back comfortably into my old clothes - sure, most of my pants fit (not tops, boobs are still way too big), but they certainly don't fit right. As a matter of fact, I'm researching CrossFit, P90x, and 30-day yoga challenges as we speak. How do working moms find the time/energy to exercise on the regular?!?
1:32 p.m.
Headed to retrieve my patient. A young male, in his 30s, who has had not one but two strokes - he has right hemisphere dysfunction. I'm working on awareness of deficits, orientation to person/place/time, attention to the left side, and memory strategies (e.g. keeping a dayplanner).
2:45 p.m.
Still drinking my giant soda. Hoping it will give me the energy/motivation I need to see me through the rest of the afternoon. I keep thinking about the errands I would like to run on the way home - returns to Target, rug/runner from Home Depot, some Halloween costume accessories from Michael's. But the debate is on tonight and I want to hang out with my favorite little bean.
3:06 p.m.
Multi-tasking mama. Talking to Home Depot on the phone to see if they carry the runner that matches our rug (they do!) and paying over the phone, meanwhile finishing charting on my a.m. patients.
3:36 p.m
Counting words in a short article about polar bears and their endangerment related to melting ice caps. Calculating the proportion of words read correctly - patient with left neglect and requiring orange highlight plus verbal cues to attend to words on left side of page. Coordinating tomorrow's schedule by phone with Christine. They got slammed in Portland today and might need my help over there tomorrow.
4:50 p.m.
As my days usually go, I get a rush of stuff to do at the end of my workshift. I was technically off 20 minutes ago, but am just now pumping for my second time. Better now than at home, when it just doesn't seem to happen. Sounds like I'm coming to Vancouver in the morning tomorrow, and then heading to Portland in the afternoon to help out with a busy inpatient load. I'm missing my baby girl, but have a few errands I want to run on the way home.
5ish p.m.
Done pumping - 4 oz left and 2+ oz right in <15 minutes. Throw my things together and dash out the door.
6:47 p.m.
Errands completed (dumbest employees ever at Jantzen Beach Home Depot). Finally home. Get to see my adorable baby girl in her floral overalls. "Talk" about our days and then nurse her.
7:06 p.m.
Watching the debates. I hate Romney. Seriously. Mittens is infuriating.
7:23 p.m.
Just made my lunch. Lots of restless energy and not paying enough attention to my child. She still seems to love this obnoxious plastic contraption.
7:28 p.m.
Take the Bean's 31 week photo. Shit! I forgot to get her weighed last Friday on her 7-monthday!
7:44 p.m.
Take the hambone for a walk. Baby it's cold outside. Hat and gloves and coat required.
8:09 p.m.
Bath time for Beano! Tonight were trying out the sink rather than me bathing with her in the big girl tub.
8:21 p.m.
New diaper and PJ's, she's screaming and I'm laying her down to nurse her in our bed. Make it less than 3 minutes before stressing over her cries at the slow, paltry milk flow of the right boob and log-roll over her to feed from the left side.
8:31 p.m.
Her suck-suck-wail gets to me, so I trade nipple for new Soothie. Maybe she's not actually hungry but just wants to suckle? Maybe she has a burp on board?
8:46 p.m.
Called in for backup. Alex plays guitar for Francie in her crib (Blackbird and Let It Be). She still fussed so I'm nursing again. This time she's actually asleep. But I'm gonna wait it out to ensure she's good and out. I love the way her little hand touches my belly and her body curls inside my spoon!
8:55 p.m.
And she's officially out cold. I just LOVE her. Time for a shower and heading toward bed.
9:31 p.m.
Hair washed, teeth brushed, PJ's on. Time to catch up on FB, news, and texts. It's true, Obama, we don't have as many horses and bayonets. Zing! My eyes burn and it's time for me to try for shut eye.
9:47 p.m.
Squeeze in a cuddle with the hubby. Here's hoping the Bean wakes me no earlier than 1 a.m. ...
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