Pooped Puppy

Here is what a good day at daycare looks like:

Her daycare posted another video of her that you can watch here or below. 

Yowza

We had a leaky faucet in the bathroom and bought a replacement for it over a month ago.  Finally got around to installation and could not get the old drain out of the sink.  We called a plumber and the estimate I got today was $380.56.  Three hundred and eighty dollars???  That's absurd! Is there anyone out there who is handy with plumbing and good at working in tight spaces with no visibility? 

Trying to rest, trying to keep busy

The hip pain is as bad as ever.  Tylenol, massage, heat/cold packs, swimming, narcotics, and physical therapy have done nothing to help me work through the pain.  I haven't been to work in 7 days, the longest break I think I've had except for Christmas.  My doctor and PT said they supported me in stopping work altogether.  My manager accepted my offer to continue working but with drastically reduced hours.  I told them I could do 4-6 hour shifts, 3 times a week, with a day off in between each to rest.  I haven't gotten the new schedule yet but I hope they send it to me today.  I also hope that I can work at least that much.  Walking is very painful and so the hardest part is getting into the hospital and up to our unit to start the shift.  Once there I think I'll be ok.  This lovely back brace helps me a little bit.  It's not an SI-specific brace, but a basic maternity support belt.  I wish I had bought a month earlier for when I was in New York. 

So basically I sit at home and rest.  This means lots of TV and movies while I craft.  I'm almost done with the sweater vest.  I became obsessed with these dahlias and made four.  I'd make more but I'm out of hot glue :-( 

I also very slowly attempt to clean the house.  Today I have managed to wipe down the kitchen and dining room counters, sweep the kitchen, and started laundry.  Oaf.  It took several minutes for me to drag the laundry basket into the basement, but I made it! 

This weekend was fun because it was Amanda's school play!  My parents came to visit to see the show.  We had an awesome dinner at Virgilios, my favorite pizzeria.  Saturday morning Ben and I attended an "express" childbirth class from my OB's office.  Overall it was worthwhile, but we could have done fine with an extra-express course.  Also I think it might have just scared Ben more than helped him.  But it prompted some good discussion and we feel more prepared to tackle labor together as a team now. 

After class we went to the mountains to see the show.  The kids did such a good job!  I'm very impressed with how they pulled it all together in the last couple weeks.  Amanda is an amazing director and I can't wait to see what else she can get these naive mountain kids to do!  (The photo is from dress rehearsal last week)  I think it's funny how proud they were to have a "choreographer from Denver!"  I'm the big-time ;-)

After the show we all went back to our condo in Bailey for the night.  Mom cooked a delicious dinner and Jem went crazy smelling the strange house.  We woke up Sunday to beautiful views of endless evergreens.  This deer was in our driveway!  Mom made another great breakfast including nitrite-free bacon!  Oh heaven, I have missed bacon!  Late morning they started their drive back to GJ and Ben and I made the short drive home.  It was fun to have a little sleepover out of town. (credit Ben for the photo, more on his flickr account). 

So now you're all caught up with my life!  I'm 37 weeks now and technically "term."  Kickpuncher has given no indication that he wants to come out (no braxton-hicks contractions, no lightening), but I'm hoping it's sooner rather than later.

Photo Shoot

Pregnant Rachel, originally uploaded by Ben Mason.

We went to Belmar Ponds to take some huge belly pictures. They turned out pretty nice, although I look really tired in them. Ben is a great photographer and I love that he's enthusiastic about going on photo shoots with me. There's more pictures in his flickr photo set, follow the link above.

Knitting wee things

Here are two things I've made for kickpuncher. 

This vest has been a slow work in progress since January.  It's hard to stop and start the pattern because I had to make many adjustments to the gauge.  Also the instructions are British, which are surprisingly different than American instructions and take a bit of time to decipher.  It's a cotton yarn I bought at Fancy Tiger. 

This little hat came together in just a few hours.  I bought three skeins of this sweet green cotton yarn in SoHo and it has been calling to me since I got home.  Yes, I have three other knitting works in progress, but WIPs be damned!  I wanted to make a soft, tiny hat for kickpuncher's spring debut.  It only took half a skein!  Babies are so tiny . . .

Hipster Hate

This week brought on a new pregnancy woe - SI joint pain.  It started Tuesday with a little pain.  By Wednesday I was limping, unable to lift anything at work, and struggling to get up out of chairs.  Thursday I missed work (after much ado, argh-I hate our management) because the pain was so bad.  I went to my midwife who diagnosed SI pain.  I got a prescription for Vicodin and a referral for PT, who can't see me until next week.  The outlook is bad, that this pain will come and go until the end of pregnancy, and return for all subsequent pregnancies.  I found an article here that describes what I have perfectly.  Basically the relaxin hormone is doing its thing to get ready for delivery, but it over-loosened the ligaments surrounding the sacral-iliac joint.

I tried a Vicodin and it didn't work any better than Tylenol, which is to say not at all.  I've had heat and ice on my back round the clock.  I had Jenni give me a massage and Ben bought me a supportive brace.  This morning my pain is still here but only 60-75% of what it was yesterday, so I'll go to work tonight.  I hope it's an easy night.  And I hope the weekend is relaxing and makes the pain go away.  And I hope I find time to try swimming at the rec center - I bought a swimsuit two weeks ago and haven't had time yet.

Last week I put my foot down and said I wasn't taking call anymore.  It was too difficult for me to have interrupted sleep and to respond to patient needs alone.  I'm so glad I ended it.  They worked out a schedule where I cover evening shifts during the week.  The hours are unpredictable but I get to sleep in every day and that makes a huge difference in my well-being.  I get up slowly and eat a decent breakfast, and even have time for a little leisure and errands.  Well, if this blasted SI pain wasn't holding me back.

35 weeks

Instead of counting up I'm counting down.  5 weeks until my due date.  The last few days I have felt very pregnant.  Achy in my back and joints, tight in my belly, moody, tired, everything you expect.  I think kickpuncher is going through another growth spurt.  I'm to the point where I'd be happy if he came.  Yes, it's early.  But I'm ready for him and done being pregnant.  I'm feeling very wistful for the olden days. 

I miss:

• feeling chilly
• my flat stomach
• sleeping on my stomach
• sleeping through the night
• waking up feeling refreshed
• eating bacon
• eating hot dogs
• eating cold deli sandwiches
• eating undercooked eggs
• eating a meal without causing shortness of breath
• drinking caffeine guilt-free
• standing up without groaning
• bending down without groaning
• tying my shoes from a standing position
• clothes that fit
• changing the cat litter (HA!  That one's for you Ben)

Sadly I realize that most of these will not be resolved immediately upon delivery, or even the next couple years.  Here's hoping I have a marvelous, fun, exciting, joyful summer.

Craftiness

One of the great outcomes of being pregnant is that it brings out the craftiness in women. I have been slowly working on a knitted sweater vest and already finished two flannel blankets. But I have also received some wonderful handmade items by other women I love.

This is a cuddly soft teal and blue blanket knit by Betty. The amazing thing is she learned to knit just to make this! It's her first project and I'm super impressed. The model doll is named "Squints" and came from a friend at my shower.

Yesterday I opened a surprise package in the mail and found this beautiful quilt. Grandma Lois made this for the baby to play on. I think it will be perfect for spreading out with some toys. The fabrics have different fun textures too. The model is, of course, Link from Wind Waker Zelda. I couldn't resist getting him in NY.

Finally, check out this amazing amigurumi set of animals my mom crocheted. They are incredibly darling, but I think the Octopus is my favorite. I don't know how she finds time to do such things, but these will be treasured for sure.

(Photography by Ben, styled by Rachel and Ben. We used our cool photo studio set-up that Dad got us for Christmas to take these.)

New York New York

Amanda beat me to blogging our trip, and did such a great job summarizing that I'm afraid I can't add much to it!  So here are some of my favorite photos with brief explanations.  See Amanda's blog and the flickr accounts for me, Ben, and Jenn for more travel bits. 

Beautiful produce and crafts at the Union Square Farmer's Market.  I got some art prints for the nursery from this artist. 

Second breakfast was at Le Pain Quotidien.  Loved their bread and spreads. 

Third breakfast was hot cocoa from Chocolate by the Bald Man.  Next time I'm in NY I'll have to stop here for dessert.  The waffles and fondue looked really good. 

The Tim Burton exhibit at MOMA was fun, but I think I enjoyed seeing the other classics even more.  And the benches.  I was a big fan of the benches. 

I'm glad we made it to a deli.  I had a rueben in the hospital cafeteria yesterday because I can't get this sandwich out of my head.  I love pastrami and cole slaw!  Ben attacked a true NY cheesecake and declared it delicious.

Bebe Neurwirth made this show for me.  No one can do isolations like that girl.

Ben and I skipped the second museum in favor of extra sleep the next day.  We leisurely got up and walked to Rockefeller Plaza.  They had Easter lilies and gorgeous azalea trees.

Mavi and Jeff met us at Jing Fong in Chinatown for dim sum lunch.  By the way, I have no idea why I look so grumpy in most of my pictures.  Maybe because my mouth was always full?  I seriously had a great time during the whole trip.  I apologize to my family if I looked like a grumpy toad the whole time. 

After dim sum we shopped around SoHo and got our second round of Pinkberry.  I picked up some beautiful yarn to add to my basket of beautiful yarns with no purpose yet.  Then we had a fancy-pants dinner at BLT Fish.  This restaurant tried their hardest to make me dislike them, but I wouldn't let them.  First, many of you know I hate seafood.  Yes, all seafood.  Yes, I have tried "this is the best though, it doesn't even taste fishy" many times as my fellow diners entice me to try again.  I still hate it.  So I ordered the only non-fish item on the menu, filet mignon.  Normally this is no biggie-except for the whole rare meats are bad when you're pregnant thing.  I had them cook it as much as possible without ruining it and they did a perfect job.  It was still delicious.  Everyone else seemed enchanted with their fish entrees.  Ben got to make up for all the fish-less meals he endures at home. 

After Lend Me a Tenor (which was really good and funny) we found dessert and snacks at Junior's across from the theater.  I realized that I had ordered pickles and ice cream, how cliche is that?

Here's mah swag, lots of fun things to take home, aside from my fun memories.  I love traveling with my family!  I hope it doesn't slow down once we have a kid.  (I foresee a fantastic trip to Disneyland in 5 years or so). 

It's a wonderful town!

Just got back from New York City!  My family took a weekend vacation and we had a fabulous time.  Shopping, shows, and lots and lots of food.  I love to visit NY and each trip is different because there is so much to do there.  Tomorrow I hope to do a proper recap of my trip with photos.  Coming home I'm always struck by the wonders of home comforts.  Here are some things that I appreciate about being home:

• Clean mountain air
• Soft 2 ply toilet paper
• Shopping without the crowds
• Mexican food
• My animals

But New York has plenty of awesomeness to make giving these up for a weekend completely worthwhile:

• Pizza.  Seriously, the pizza. 
• H&Ms and giant-sized Anthropologies
• Good live theater every night of the year
• Pinkberrys
• And a new edition to my food-love list - Le Pain Quotidien

I could do a whole list that's just food.  Looking at my photos, about half of them are what I ate :-)  Here's me and Ben in Rockefeller Plaza.  More to come soon.

What do I do about this??

I didn't think she could jump in there!

Afternoon dialysis

Just thought I should write about a not-so-bad day at work, so people don't think I'm a slave to a horrible job.  There weren't any patients planned at our two smaller hospitals yesterday, so I got to be on call all day instead of starting after my shift.  I slept in until 9, then showered and donned my flannel pants, a t-shirt, and my pager.  I set to work on the craft space and got it completely organized.  I vacuumed the basement and did dishes.  I had a nice lunch at home and did some paper crafts. 

Just as I was wondering what to do with my afternoon the pager went off.  Apparently the doctors forgot to tell us about one patient who needed dialysis, and the nurse was wondering when he would be dialyzed.  I switched to scrubs and got to the hospital by 2 pm.  The patient was fairly stable and the doctors and nurses nice to work with.  I had some machine trouble shooting that delayed my start time, but I was able to leave the hospital at 9 pm.  Not bad at all!  I was able to get a decent shift in, with call-back pay, and now I was anxiety free for a good night's sleep, knowing that the call 2 nurse would have to get the next page, if there was one (there wasn't). 

Unfortunately, there were some signs that I'm not as tough as I used to be.  I can't leave a patient who is on treatment, so I couldn't go to the bathroom while I was there.  My stomach was cramping up badly and I was trying not to drink so I wouldn't make it harder for my bladder.  Halfway through the patient's treatment his blood started clotting the tubing.  I had been giving him saline flushes every 15 minutes but I could see a total blockage was coming anyway.  I rinsed back his blood, clamped him off the machine, and paused treatment to start a new tube set-up.  Normally I hate clotted systems for delaying the treatment but this was a blessing from on high!  I dashed to the bathroom for some much needed relief before re-connecting him. 

But what's really weird is that around 7 pm I started having cramps again.  After an hour I figured out that these were probably Braxton Hicks contractions and they. hurt. bad.  Remembering that dehydration can lead to cramps I started chugging my water.  Not much relief.  It actually hurt to stand up and walk around with them.  As soon as the patient was transported back to his room I dug out the granola bar I had brought, and gave myself another bathroom trip before finishing cleaning up the room.  They came about every 10 minutes and felt like really bad menstrual cramps, but just on the my right side and back and down my right leg.  I hobbled out to my car at 9 and per Ben's advice grabbed dinner at McDonald's on the way home.  I felt much much better as I started eating real (ha!) food and by 10 pm the cramps were totally gone.  I haven't had any pre-labor contractions yet so that was really weird.  I think I pushed myself a bit too hard at work and shouldn't have gone so long without eating.  My coworkers have been encouraging me to get a doctor's note so that I don't have to do call anymore.  I thought it was too soon but after last night I'm rethinking it.  Today I'm still cramp-free, but I'm having a harder time leaning over and climbing stairs.  I get winded really easily.  It looks like the third trimester is finally catching up to me. 

Baby Shower Photos

Miranda posted pictures from the shower on her flickr site.  Here are some of my favorites!

The beautiful table and snack table. I love the Jones soda display!

Macarons!  They made macarons!  These are the hot new item among internet foodies (cupcakes are soooo 2009) and they can NOT be found in Denver.  I have never had one and had been whining about that fact for months.  They are also notoriously tricky to make.  These were as dreamy as I had imagined.  

The amazing party hosts

They had a craft project for making customized onesies.  I love every one of them!  It was perfectly fitting to have a craft project at the party rather than silly games. 

There are many photos of opening gifts.  This one is a set of amigurumi animal toys my mom crocheted.  They elicited much cooing, as you can imagine.  I'm going to try really really hard to keep these away from Jem.

Friends came from far and near.  Here are we three buddies from high school, two of us slightly bulgy compared to then.  I had friends from college the first and second time around, and from work and church.  I need to call up all these girls more often!

Love this picture of me, my sister, and my mom.  So glad she could brave the winter weather to drive out just for the party!  So glad Amanda lives in Denver where I can see her all the time!

A Springtime Baby Shower

Saturday I had the loveliest of parties hosted by Miranda and Sarah.  They provided delicious and beautiful snacks and desserts, tangerine and turquoise decorations, and invited a variety of friends from all different points of my life.  It was wonderful to see all these special women from school and work over the years, and I'm so grateful to have their influence in my life.  My mom also drove all the way from Grand Junction to attend!  I trust that Miranda will soon post pictures on her site, or email some to me so I can post them.

I feel much better about welcoming a baby into our house.  We got a lot of cute and practical clothes, footie pajamas, and I might venture to say that we have enough onesies. Gasp! I also got a nice start to his library and toy collection. 

My parents helped immensely by shopping for a crib and changing table!  The baby now has a safe place sleep and I feel less anxiety about my lack of nesting so far.  We have a place to sleep, clothes to wear, and a good carseat courtesy of Ben's parents.  Throw in a pack of diapers and we could be set if needed.  Of course there are many many small things that make life easier.  I have a wishlist on amazon to keep track of all the little things we can pick up between now and the birth.  Sometimes I feel overwhelmed at how much I need to do still.  Here's a list of things accomplished to make me feel better:

• Nursery room emptied
• Carpets cleaned
• New craft space established
• New couch in the basement
• Finished a handmade flannel blanket
• Toys
• Books
• Queen bed for me and Ben
• DVR and netflix queue for late nights and being stuck at home
• Saved up money to cover the hospital bill
• Got a portable AC to survive the hot summer 
• Registered and toured at the hospital

Things to do still:

• Arrange and fill-in the nursery with supplies
• Find a dresser (maybe?)
• Fix the bathroom sink and fan, and anything else that breaks between now and May
• Paperwork to HR for maternity leave (cannot complete for another month)
• Take a birthing class
• Finish the sweater vest I'm knitting
• Give the bathrooms a deep cleaning
• Pick a pediatrician

So that's not too bad, right?

It's curtains for you! Lacy, gently wafting curtains!

I started this post earlier and just got time to finish it now.  Not work-related and not cranky.  

I'm 30 weeks pregnant now.  Big enough that patients ask whether it's es nina or es nino.

I got the carpets cleaned Monday so I feel like I can really get the nursery started.  Good thing, because my dear friends are throwing me a baby shower this weekend.  My latest obsession is curtains.  See, I want these:

But those are curtains from Anthropologie.  Dearie me, I just can't rationalize paying $200 for curtains. Target and other stores were dead ends.  I'll just have to make my own.  After an hour staring at the fabric racks in Fancy Tiger I came up with these two:

The consensus so far is for the bird print.  I love the colors and the birds.  But when I hang the two in the room I feel like the teal damask does better over a large space.  It's also heavier fabric so it would function better than the bird print for drapes.  I'm still mulling it over.  Feel free to drop me your opinion.  My other other decoration for the room is this wall art from blik:

Work makes me cranky

At the end of a hard day my impulse is to blog about it.  But I try to hold off, wondering the rant will really make me feel better.  I already released a lot to Ben, so what's the point of putting it here?  Feels like garnering pity.  Still, this is my journal.  I won't go into detail, but it was yet another crazy busy day of
trying to treat too many patients in too short of a time
constant push push push to get people in our chairs
many catheters and fistulas busting
working with a doctor who is difficult
getting lost in the hospital system while trying to give meds or get patients beds or lunches
starting the day off short-staffed
being assigned to charge nurse when I really shouldn't be charge yet
being on the phone 95% of the day
endless questions from the techs about when so and so will be picked up
wrestling with machine malfunctions

I come home from days like this feeling incredibly unappreciated and ready to quit.  We are still short-staffed with no end of in sight.  Too many hours with too many demands and too many promises broken.  Oh Rachel, we probably pushed you into the charge role too fast, let's back off and have you gain more experience [then they assign me charge every time I'm at our big hospital]. Oh Rachel, you shouldn't take care of isolation patients while you are pregnant [then I have to do a hepatitis B+ patient, among many others]. Oh Rachel, take it easy while you're pregnant, be sure to eat well and drink a lot [then I'm the only RN, meaning I CAN'T leave the room to take a break for the whole shift].  Maternity leave is looking more and more like a glorious summer vacation.

Sweet Action in the snow

Biscuits+jam ice cream is wonderful!

Spinning Yarn Mad Libs

Ben makes fun of the many terms and steps involved in making yarn.   Here's how you do it:

Take your washed wool and brush it into roving or a bat using paddles.
Take your roving and draft it into a bobbin of yarn using a spindle.
Take your bobbin and wind it into a hank using a niddy noddy.
Take your hank and wind it into a ball using a swift and ball winder.
Take your ball and knit it into a hat using needles.

Quick thoughts

• Last night I had to do an emergency.  Not bad, I got home by 12:45.  It meant I could sleep well knowing the call 2 person had to take the next emergency.  Free and clear.  I had a rude doctor and a mean patient.  Luckily I sucked up to both of them well enough.  The ICU nurse is the one who took it hard from them.  
• Ah, a glorious long weekend off.  No work until Tuesday!
• Monday I'm going to the dentist after at least 2 years off.  Hurrah for dental insurance!
• I bought some lilies and my house smells amazing!
• Ben bought me the chocolate chip bagels I've been craving for two weeks.  Don't get excited, it wasn't, like, a "pregnancy" craving.  I just really really wanted some.  That's a good way to start Saturday.
• I finished choreographing the opening dance number for Amanda's musical.  I hope the kids pick it up fast on Monday!
• Amanda and I have a fun day planned - Alice in Wonderland, then dinner out, then craft and watch Every Little Step at home.  
• Kick-puncher is still kicking and punching.  He has weird sleep cycles.  
• I want to buy a portable air conditioner/swamp cooler for this summer.  Our room is always unbearably hot.  I have a free trial of Amazon Prime that would give me free shipping.  Is it crazy to buy an AC in March?  How would I even know if it works well enough?
• Yesterday as I was cleaning up the clinic before going home I chatted with Ben on my cell.  I was scrubbing human blood off the floor while merrily talking to my husband, and was struck by how NOT morbid it felt.  
• I have a lot of spending money and don't know what to do with it.  I hoard it and then forget it, never taking the splurge.  Any ideas?

Pressed for time

Crap, yo. I bought some decoration for the nursery and it has
arrived. I guess i need to seriously start working on that room. I'm
7 month pregnant today. Time is running out! But today is my one day
off over two weeks and it's booked full with an OB visit, grocery
shopping, choreography rehearsal, and putting my aching feet up for an
hour tonight. I worked four 12 hour shifts in a row (3/4 going into
OT), then 6 hours call back right after on Sunday. Today i'm off but
I have four more in a row starting tomorrow. Looks like saturday will
be nursery work day!