Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Oops!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Shadow Shift
I shadowed at the clinic I'm going to be working at today. When I think of clinic nurses, I admit that I thought their job was easy. It seemed that all they did was vital signs. Oh my goodness, it couldn't be farther than the truth. You would not believe how many phone calls and the amount of paper work they have to do. They have to do pre-authorizations for insurance companies (this is a very hated task) and call pharmacies for prescriptions. They have to return all phone calls that come in from patients but can't leave any information on answering machines, so there's a lot of phone tag that goes on. This is in between checking patients in and collecting lab tests, doing x-rays, and helping with procedures.
It's a very small clinic. There's one doctor and one nurse practitioner that work there. There are a total of three nurses, which includes me. :) One of the nurses came from the ER, one came from adult rehab, and there's me, with NICU experience. The ER nurse just started in August and the rehab nurse two weeks ago, so it's kind of like the blind leading the blinder. I'd be lying to say I wasn't a little nervous. I've floated to post-partum, but that's the extent of my adult experience.
I really like the other two nurses, which is good because we'll be working a lot together. I like the feeling of a small unit. I think we will get to know each other really well. The NICU has 120 nurses, so you can imagine the difference between the two.
The doctor and nurse practitioner are very patient which is awesome because there were TONS of questions asked. They didn't get mad or frustrated at being bugged all day.
I'm so excited for this job! Both of the other nurses love it there. They couldn't say enough good things about the job. The only downside for them is figuring out the computer charting and ordering. But, that will come with time for all of us!
I'm going to shadow a couple days next week and then start the formal training. I think I'll get a couple of weeks of orientation and then I'll be on my own. Wish me luck!
It's a very small clinic. There's one doctor and one nurse practitioner that work there. There are a total of three nurses, which includes me. :) One of the nurses came from the ER, one came from adult rehab, and there's me, with NICU experience. The ER nurse just started in August and the rehab nurse two weeks ago, so it's kind of like the blind leading the blinder. I'd be lying to say I wasn't a little nervous. I've floated to post-partum, but that's the extent of my adult experience.
I really like the other two nurses, which is good because we'll be working a lot together. I like the feeling of a small unit. I think we will get to know each other really well. The NICU has 120 nurses, so you can imagine the difference between the two.
The doctor and nurse practitioner are very patient which is awesome because there were TONS of questions asked. They didn't get mad or frustrated at being bugged all day.
I'm so excited for this job! Both of the other nurses love it there. They couldn't say enough good things about the job. The only downside for them is figuring out the computer charting and ordering. But, that will come with time for all of us!
I'm going to shadow a couple days next week and then start the formal training. I think I'll get a couple of weeks of orientation and then I'll be on my own. Wish me luck!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Last Weekend Shift!
I worked my last night shift! I am so excited to be done with nights. Did you know that people who work nights cut 7 years off their lives? That's how hard it is on your body.
I can't believe I'm going to have a normal schedule. I still am not entirely sure what my schedule is going to be, but I know there will be no weekends, nights, or holidays! Yey! It's going to make such a difference. Mike is very happy that he will no longer have to do "daddy daycare" on the weekends. The normalcy will be worth the pay cut!
I will definitely miss my coworkers and the babies in the NICU. There's nothing like seeing a 1 pound baby that fits in the palm of your hand. You will not believe the amazing things that go on in the NICU! I'm going to try and stay PRN, which means I'll pick up a shift here and there if I want to. This should help my baby fever stay away! :)
I can't believe I'm going to have a normal schedule. I still am not entirely sure what my schedule is going to be, but I know there will be no weekends, nights, or holidays! Yey! It's going to make such a difference. Mike is very happy that he will no longer have to do "daddy daycare" on the weekends. The normalcy will be worth the pay cut!
I will definitely miss my coworkers and the babies in the NICU. There's nothing like seeing a 1 pound baby that fits in the palm of your hand. You will not believe the amazing things that go on in the NICU! I'm going to try and stay PRN, which means I'll pick up a shift here and there if I want to. This should help my baby fever stay away! :)
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Parent-Teacher Conferences
We had Ethan and Mia's conferences on Tuesday. They went really well! We met with Mia's teacher, Julie, first. Here are some things that she said about Mia:
-her speech has come a long way
-she's talking more and more every day and it's clearer
-she's very sweet
-she's very quiet in class
-her two friends in class are Katelynn and Brody
-she tends to daydream in class but she's easy to get back on track
-the speech therapist said that she's starting to speak in 3-4 word sentences (she does this at home.) Do you want to know the sentence the speech therapist had recorded down? "Ethan hit me." Mike and I had a good laugh from that.
-she still needs a bit of help counting. (We weren't at all surprised by that.) She starts counting like this: 1, 2, 9, 8, etc
Ethan was next. Here are some things that his teacher, Allison, said about Ethan:
-he has a sweet disposition
-he is quiet but is talking more and more
-he is sometimes hard to understand
-he is starting to answer questions in class
-there are only 5 kids in his class and they all play together really well
-he also needs a bit of help counting. (Again, we weren't surprised by that.) He counts like this: 1, 2, 9, 6 etc. She did, however, tell us that she'll get him back on track by saying 3, and he'll finish 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. He's holding out on us! We had no idea he could do that.
-he is starting to talk in 3-4 word sentences in school (he does this at home)
Both teachers were really impressed at how far they've come. We couldn't be prouder!
-her speech has come a long way
-she's talking more and more every day and it's clearer
-she's very sweet
-she's very quiet in class
-her two friends in class are Katelynn and Brody
-she tends to daydream in class but she's easy to get back on track
-the speech therapist said that she's starting to speak in 3-4 word sentences (she does this at home.) Do you want to know the sentence the speech therapist had recorded down? "Ethan hit me." Mike and I had a good laugh from that.
-she still needs a bit of help counting. (We weren't at all surprised by that.) She starts counting like this: 1, 2, 9, 8, etc
Ethan was next. Here are some things that his teacher, Allison, said about Ethan:
-he has a sweet disposition
-he is quiet but is talking more and more
-he is sometimes hard to understand
-he is starting to answer questions in class
-there are only 5 kids in his class and they all play together really well
-he also needs a bit of help counting. (Again, we weren't surprised by that.) He counts like this: 1, 2, 9, 6 etc. She did, however, tell us that she'll get him back on track by saying 3, and he'll finish 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. He's holding out on us! We had no idea he could do that.
-he is starting to talk in 3-4 word sentences in school (he does this at home)
Both teachers were really impressed at how far they've come. We couldn't be prouder!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Matt and Jenna's Reception
I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures of Matt and Jenna's reception. I wish I could have gotten some more pictures. I didn't seem to take as many as I usually do.

The kids absolutely loved the cupcakes. No surprise there!


Nathan and Riley. They love my little brother!
My old man. His speech at the reception was so funny. I wish we would have recorded it.


I had to include this picture. She's probably going to kill me, but it's worth it.
My little sister, Kelly, and her boyfriend, Eric.




Riley dancing with a random person. She seriously went from random person to random person that night. I had to keep asking Jenna who had my kid! She is so outgoing.
Mia has a little crush on Eric. It's pretty cute. She asks about him all of the time.
The kids absolutely loved the cupcakes. No surprise there!
Some More Randomness
The kids are starting to show-off for us. One of their favorite things to do is flip upside down on the couch.

I came out to find the girls laying side-by-side eating fruit snacks. It melted my heart! They do sometimes like each other :)
I came out to find the girls laying side-by-side eating fruit snacks. It melted my heart! They do sometimes like each other :)
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