$98 later...

That's how much the total bill was today when I paid for my RN level test and ordered my pin. Nursing school is expensive! We still have to order lamps that we light at the ceremony and if we are walking in graduation, gowns. I don't think I'm going to the graduation, I'm only getting a certificate. Next year I'll get a diploma so I will probably go then.

The test will be on March 27 at 1pm. That'll be 40+ people vying for 30 positions. My positive attitude this year is telling me that I don't have to worry about it. I'll get in. I'm planning on getting in.

The pinning ceremony will be on the morning of May 2! Wow, I can't believe it is that close! They haven't given us many details yet. Our pictures will be taken sometime in mid-March, the ones with the funny hats. I will probably be crying at the pinning ceremony.

I signed up with sparkpeople the other day. It was after I realized I was eating over 2000 calories a day. I will never lose weight that way. My BMI is way too high!! I've cut it down to about 1300-1500 the past couple of days. I've been trying to do some exercises too. Lucas will get down and do the streches with me. He looks so cute.

I cut my hair off a couple of weeks ago. I agonize for so long over what I'm going to do with my hair. This time I just did it without thinking about it much. Except for all the weeks that I was thinking I needed something different. I really like it! I have to wash it everyday now, I can't just put it up into a ponytail anymore. But I like it.

Ava's birthday is coming up next saturday. I can't believe she is four. It's so hard to believe she is getting that big. I think we are having a party on that day. Jay is supposed to be planning but he really hasn't officially invited anyone. Ah well, it'll go good.

Being in maternity is making me feel like my kids are getting so old. It was two years ago that I was pregnant with Lucas. Time slips by so fast. I'd like to be done with school but then my kids will be even older.

Because it's on my mind..

Today was my final day at a hospital for OB. Last week I got to see my first vaginal birth. That's it, just the birth. The mother was having her seventh baby! She pushed three times and the baby was out. It was amazing! It was really neat to hear the dr announce the baby's gender. I could never wait till that day. The parents were so happy, it's a beautiful thing to see.

Then today at a smaller hospital than the one I was in before there was one pt. She was having her 8th baby! She agreed to let me be in the room watching. They had planned on having their baby at a birthing center but a non stress test showed the baby's heartrate to have no variability. The midwife thought it was best that she go to the hospital. Except for a short time in the morning her baby was doing great! 

I got to see her through all the stages of labor. She knew exactly how her body responded to labor, she was telling us what her reactions would be in transition and such. She got to a point that she felt like she might have to push. The Dr was there in between other things he had going on and they were discussing giving her a straight cath since it had been a while since she'd voided. She just starts pushing. The baby's head was out after one push! (If I hadn't had kids myself I might expect that this is how labor and delivery goes. Two super fast deliveries, they really made it look easy!) The baby came out face down like she was supposed to and the Dr guided her head to the mother's left where I was standing and I saw it. The baby was still covered in vernix but I could tell she had a complete cleft lip. I'm sure the dr knew when he was suctioning her and said that it was a cleft palate as well. He very calmly stated that the baby has a cleft palate in the same tone of voice that he told them it was a girl. I think everyone in the room was just shocked. The baby was about two pounds lighter than her previously lightest baby, the cord was very small. They had to study it to make sure there were three vessels. But the baby was stable. She obviously had problems latching but the nurses and midwife worked to get them information and the right kind of nipples for the baby. 

I was in the room when they were making calls to family to let them know that the baby was born and that it was a girl. The father gave all the major information then just threw in that the baby had a cleft palate. When the mother made a phone call her voice cracked on those words. Some words I'm sure she couldn't believe were coming out of her mouth. After we moved her to her postpartum room the mother stated that with all things considered (at one point they were thinking the baby was going to die) this is a good outcome for them. I'm not completely sure how the father is dealing with it. He was pretty stoic. I don't remember him holding the baby. Maybe that's the way he is or maybe he was still in shock. Not the joy that I saw with the first delivery. Mom did bond with the baby though she spent some time in the nursery because of her blood sugar and her temperature being low.

Maternity

I finally got to see a baby born! It was a very long day. I was at the hospital from 630am till just after 5pm. It was exciting and stressful and just what I wanted.

We showed up and got changed into the scrubs that they prefer that we wear. A nice green color, a change from our usually required white uniforms. We sat in conference with the nurses while our instructor consulted with the pts that it would be alright that a student would be with them. All but one mother agreed. Each mother has her own nurse, which is nice. The pt I was assigned to had had her membranes ruptured almost 36 hours when I came in. The poor girl had a birth plan written out with few interventions and ended up with a c-section. It was roughly 42hours after her membranes had ruptured. We were scheduled to stay until 4 but my instructor was nice enough to stay afterward so that I could go in the room and see the c-section. She had a tiny, healthy (!) little boy. I think the only things that worked out from her birth plan were the baby being with her at all  times and him not having a circumcision. That is as long as he stays healthy.

I can't wait till next week so I can try to see a vaginal birth and maybe do mother/baby care.

What an exciting job!

School and the usual stuff

We're back to our normal routines. I get up in the morning and go to school. I come home and Jay has left for work. I get the kids dinner and we play for a bit. I get Lucas to bed then Jay comes home for his lunch and helps put Ava to bed. Then he leaves and I study until I am too tired or until he comes home at 11. It'll be nice when Jay is finally on first shift. He'll have to give up his supervisory position obviously.

Ava is getting so mouthy. She doesn't hesitate to tell me no when I ask her to do something. She still thinks she is a princess and Bubby is prince charming. She loves to talk on the phone to grandma. I had to dial the phone the other day so she could talk. That's a big change from just a few months ago. 

Lucas has been licking. Licking hands, faces, the desk, walls, the lid to the trash can (yuck!). I don't know why he is doing that. It's another weird thing about him that we never had with Ava. He's silly. I think he does it now because we'll laugh about it. He's getting his hair cut for the first time tomorrow. It's still really short but it is out of control. He has some hairs that are longer than the others and they stick up everywhere. 

School is going pretty good. I lost my A in Pharm already but I'll get it back. I'm doing really well in the other two classes. In about 2-3 months I will officially be a nurse. It's exciting! My first Maternity rotation is on tuesday.

Thankful Thursday.

I'm thankful for the brand new year.

I'm thankful for my two beautiful, healthy children.

I'm thankful for my supportive husband.

I'm thankful for getting into nursing school.

I'm thankful for my health.

I'm thankful for my family.

I'm thankful for my in-laws.

I'm thankful for this house.

I'm thankful for all the possibilities that are in my life.

I'm thankful for Jay's stable job.

2 down, 4 to go.

Semesters that is. I just finished my second semester of nursing school.

In just a few short months will be my pinning ceremony. I'll take a test and become an LPN. It's so surreal. I'm getting so close to finishing this thing up. I started on this road just two years ago. It seemed such a long time to go before I would graduate, now I have less than a year and a half.

This semester coming up will be an exciting one for me. We are finally doing our maternity rotation. I'm so excited. I can't wait to find out what group I'm in and when I'll get to do my rotation.

I got assigned to LaGrange for my Med/Surg rotation. I was hoping for something a little closer to home since LaGrange is a 45 minute drive in good weather. This is winter and it's already turning out to be a rough one. The instructor for that hospital is the main instructor for the class. I was told that if you are assigned to be with her it's because she wants you to be. Some assignments from last semester weren't done right or something. I just hope she wants me there because she wants to get to know me better. It's probably because I wasn't detailed enough on my focus sheets. I hate those things!!

In other news the kids are doing great. Lucas is saying more words every day. It's exciting to see his understanding of the world broaden. We have all been sick a couple of times already this winter. Both times stemming from Thanksgiving/Christmas parties. Lucas and I went to one together on Saturday, I'm just waiting for what we brought home this time.

Ava is still not pooping in the toilet. She had a rough day yesterday. I think she holds her BM's till they get too big for her to handle and it hurts her. It's a vicious cycle. I try to tell her if she holds it it just makes it worse to go. 

She is getting so smart. There really is not hiding anything from her anymore. She picks up on so much. She remembers things from months ago. She remembers them as yesterday however. She just told me today that she wanted Santa to bring her a Chihuahua. She has said that she wants a dog before but now she has a specific breed in mind. 

Midterm

We just finished up the halfway point of the semester. Time is going by so fast! I can't believe this semester is almost over. I'm liking Med/Surg I think a little more than I expected. I feel like I am just passing my classes this semester. I know I have a 3.0 in Peds so far. It's horrible. A students are not doing their best in this class.
My Peds rotation starts in the begining of Dec. Three more weeks of Med/Surg. Then I get the whole week off at Thanksgiving! I'm so excited. I don't know what I'll do with myself. Probably study for finals, of course. And shop for scrub tops.
Last week I got to see a PEG tube insertion. It was very interesting! It's amazing how all of this stuffworks.
I like Med/Surg but I still think I would like to do OB. We'll see next semester.