Sunday, March 27, 2011

Busier than ever

I am probably the busiest I have ever been as I settle back into working life. I'm interning in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at our local hospital, the unit where babies from other hospitals get transferred to for special care. I also help cover the labor, delivery and postpartum floors. I am on my feet and busy the entire time I am there. But, it is fascinating and I love it. I have seen babies born at 28 weeks gestation, babies with congenital abnormalities and babies born to mom's who show up at the hospital in labor and high on crack, just in one week. No more time to sit around blogging like I used to do at my old job...

And while I am loving the job, we have yet to settle into a routine where I feel like I can get things done and still relax. My day is like this: get up, shower, get kids up/dressed/fed/ready, daycare drop off, school drop off, arrive at work, navigate my way around hospital maze for 6.5 hours, return to car, school pick up, daycare pick up, feed baby, unpack bags/lunches from day, make dinner, feed baby, pack bags for next day, feed cats, clean up after cats, feed baby, fall into bed exhausted. NO time for picking up the house, laundry, errands ect. I hate having my weekend dedicated to housekeeping and not having any time for fun.

Right now we are torn as to whether A should bid for weekends or weekdays off. It would be nice to have him home when I am, so we can spend time together. BUT, really, I can use his help more in the morning/evening weekday rush and he gets more chores done when I am at work. BUT, that means we have less time together as a family and for just the two of us. I'd say we should choose whatever schedule enhances our relationship the best, but it's hard to say which one that is- they both have their pros and cons. I can't even imagine what it would be like to have him here BOTH evenings AND weekends...

A revealed to me that his old company from his pre-flight days was asking around if he was happy because they miss his work. It's tempting and would be a 3x increase in salary. But A says he could never again spend 10 hours a day sitting in an office. I like to remind him of that statement everytime he complains about having a sit in an airport...

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Updating our roster

Forgive me, I know you've been waiting to hear...

Babyzilla was born 9 days early and arrived on December 27, 2010. His arrival was hastened due to a combination of growth retardation and virtually no amniotic fluid left- basically, he stopped growing and had no water to cushion him or his cord if I went into labor. He arrived into the world weighing just 6 lbs, 4oz. We ended up having to send a friend out to buy preemie diapers for our little bundle of joy. He is doing well now though and is over 10lbs at 2 1/2 months.

We were completely unprepared for Babyzilla's arrival- we had just assembled the crib and starting washing the baby clothes the day before. We went in for a routine check at the Maternal-Fetal Specialist (well, as routine as one can get when you have to see a specialist twice weekly for months on end) with the intent of going out for breakfast afterwords. We were told "go to the hospital immediately, you need to deliver this baby" and I spent the next 6 hours STARVING because I wasn't allowed to eat until the delivery. A managed to slip away from the hospital to grab a snack... Even though I didn't labor, my doula still came to the delivery and was a huge comfort! Everyone should have a doula!

The delivery was uneventful. I was taken to the OR and was grateful that A is so talkative. His 30 minute conversation about aviation, schools and work with the anesthesiologist kept my mind off the procedure. He also managed to snap some shots of the doctor pulling the baby out. I was so happy that A even got to be there, the nasty storms in the Northeast almost prevented him from coming home. As it was, he arrived home a day late from his trip due to mechanical issues that kept him in TN for TWO(!) days. A was only granted 6 days of emergency leave to be home but combined with his days off, it stretched into 16 days home. He's been back at work since but early comes home and takes over baby care during his days off.

All has gone well thus far. My parents came and stayed for 4 weeks, which was an amazing help. We've also had visits from my in-laws and an aunt. I'm already prepping to start my internship at the end of the month.

Several hours old


Dad leaving for the first time