And I worked the night away.......

That is one bad thing about having a busy evening shift and then coming home to bed. I dream about work ALL night long! I dreamt about my patient from last night and did vital signs on her all night! That sucks!

It was a good shift though! I saw/assisted/whatever a delivery last night! It is strange the pattern that happens to be forming lately. I get all these moms who are 3-4 cms forever and then shoot to fully dilated (10cm) within an hour! What is with me!!! hee hee...no it's not me! It just makes for very eventful deliveries that the doctor's can't seem to make! Yikes!

Ahhhh...well, I'm going again tonight! It should be a good time!

Today begins another week....

I don't mind mondays generally. Sometimes the weekend is so full that I look forward to the week! That sounds a little strange, but true sometimes! Especially this weekend...it was pretty full! But with great things! It was filled with Nightwatch, a Kareoke party at our friends' place, cleaning the house, church, napping and a family gathering.

Saturday morning/afternoon I got to spend 4 solid hours with my good friends Stephanie and Loraleigh, eating yummy waffles and praying for one another. I love those two! I love the encouragement and prophetic times that happen when we are together!

So, today I get to go back to work. I'm actually looking forward to the evening shift! I must say, the day shift is just tooooooo early for me! I'd far rather sleep in and stay up later! Also, a bonus about today's shift is that I get to go for coffee with Kendra first and then we are both working the evening shift! How fun is that! I will be seeing her face around the ward! That is so cool!

So, I want some time bumming around the house and getting ready before I'm outa here! Have a great day!

Dizzy....dizzy....dizzy......

Ahhhh. I'm feeling a strange sense of dizziness. I think it came from being cooped up in a small, unventilated classroom ALL DAY LONG. I suddenly felt extremely dizzy by 4pm....and all the way home on the bus. That is not the best place to feel dizzy!

But, the bright side is.....I'm finished the labor part of orientation! It was very informative but WAY too long! They don't even make us sit that long in school! It was quite tortureous at times! And I just CANNOT hide it when I'm dying!!!! That is one very bad part about my personality! I'm often an open book...and in those kind of instances, it is NOT a benefit!

So, back to the ward I go....I like that! It is a little more nerve-wracking, but a lot more fun! And the days go by quickly! So, tomorrow, bright and early, I'll be back there!

But, as for tonight, I think Shane and I are going to use a lovely gift certificate that he recently won from work, to treat ourselves to dinner and therefore a date at Moxie's! I'm not in the mood to eat anything that we have here at home and I haven't prepared anything! So, someone else cooking my meal sounds GREAT to me!

Hello all!

Good times keep on rolling! I worked this fine day...ahhh...holiday monday. But, it is great for the reason that administration isn't around on weekends or holidays! I like it better that way!

I had a nice day at work! I was wondering how easy it would be to fall back into sync....since I haven't been on the ward for a week due to orientation. Well, today I got 3 of my own patients...and their babies. I felt so proud.....like a real nurse! I had my mom and baby checks done nice and early and popped in multiple times throughout the day, even just to chat with mom. I like being able to do that with my patients! And when they are only mine, I have the freedom to plan my time management in my own way! I like that too! That way I can make sure everything gets done, and do it right away. I don't want to be one of those nurses that says they will do something and always forgets! That sure doesn't build trust with your patients!

On another note, I've been having terrible sleeps at night this weekend! I toss and turn for hours! No fun at all! And I'm dreaming away once I finally get to sleep...sometime good, sometime yucky dreams. Last night was another sucky night. I'm sure hoping tonight is a whole lot better!

Well, I'm just waiting for my hubbie to come home from enjoying the long weekend monday golfing with a good ol' friend. Good for him! I suppose I really should clean the house, since we didn't get to it this weekend!.....but maybe I'll have some God time while I still have the appartment to myself!

Ta ta for now!

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.....

I generally like the rain. I like the feeling I get on rainy days....wanting to curl up on the couch, read a good book, have a nap, snuggle....
But today I wish the weather were nicer. We are supposed to go out to a bonfire at my dad's place tonight....and I'm not sure what will happen with the rainy weather! That is disappointing!

I love sleeping in saturdays! I've been so tired this week....and I really don't like that! I'm going to make my hubbie and myself some pancakes for brunch....yummy! I'm getting pretty hungry!

Good things are happening in my life. I like my life. I like my marriage. I like my home. I like my job. I like the people I work with. I like my housegroup. I like my church. I like my dancing partners. I like Winnipeg. I like my family. I like my God times. I like my Best Friend and His presence near me. And He does seem quite tangible in the last few weeks. I like it that way!

A nice day today.....

I had a nice day today getting a bunch of stuff done that needed to be done! I had a nice visit with my wonderful friend Loraleigh. I got to chat with her, talk about what God is doing in our lives and the dreams for our futures, see her beautiful children and get my baby fix holding Manoah!

Then I was off to the dentist! Generally I fear that place, but my dentist's office is so happy and visually inviting that it takes some of the scare away. The hygienist was also great because she talked to me about nursing (she took 2 years of it) and it really took my mind off the procedure. I didn't even have much time to watch tv! I love that they have tvs! And a good report! No cavities and the dentist says I have beautiful teeth!

I then went to the University to get some paper work done for student loans. That is a bit of a pain, but I'm incredibly thankful that I got today off so that I could get all these things done! Now it is done and I won't have to start paying them back as soon! It was strange to be back on University property! It feels like it has been a while!

I am now on my way to pick up my hubbie from work. I was able to come home and do the exam for a course I am taking in between! It was all about prayer and this exam was easier for me to answer than the other two. I guess I have more to say about prayer than Christlikeness or humility. Boy, that humility one was a tough one!

Anyways, enjoy your evenings! I will enjoy mine....ahhhh....relaxing with my hubbie, going to the Y, and getting to bed early! Right on!

I am blessed.......

-to wake up beside my husband this morning
-to sleep in
-to have snuggle time this morning! ahhh.....snuggles!
-to have warm showers
-to have a yummy brunch made for me
-to have a day off
-to spend my day off with my best friend (on earth.....second to Jesus, of course, hee hee)
-to have a car to drive around during the day.....to visit BestBuy
-to have a great new Bible to read
-to have great friends and family to call and email
-to have a nice, cozy appartment which I love and call home
-to have plans in the evening which are fun
-to go home with the husband and not have to say good-bye
-to know that tommorrow is a nice day full of church, Encounter God night and other events
-to know that tommorrow is another day off...and therefore I can sleep in longer than normal!

Ahhh.....yes, blessed.

I'm flying high tonight!!!!!!!

I had a great night at the hospital! I finally got a laboring patient and got to be apart of my first vaginal delivery of my senior practicum! It was incredible and I'm totally wired!

It was such a special time and the family that we worked with was great! The dad was the greatest coach! This was a young, unwed couple, but they were great together! Dad was coaching her through her breathing, her contractions, giving her water or ice chips every few minutes and wiping her brow with a cold cloth! He was so sweet and at times he sounded like an eager waiter! I even told him he sounded like a waiter!

Dad, mom and both grandmas were crying at delivery....and because of all the crying around me, I totally was tearing up! I didn't have tears fall, but I totally started to cry along with them! It was really special!

I got to do so many things that I haven't done yet! I got to watch another epidural being put in (yuck! yuck! that looks so wrong!), did two internal exams, tried to start another IV, a whole heck of a lot of charting, learning how to read the graphs of baby's heart rate and the contractions, baby's initial assessment, length, weight, head circumference, baby's first bath, help out with baby's first breastfeed, give baby a needle in the thigh, etc. etc. It was a jam packed evening and incredibly fun!!!! I will definitely do that again!

I absolutely loved it! And working with a great family makes it all the more enjoyable! Dad requested a picture of baby with the nurses....so I'm in the baby pictures for life! I'm so honored to be apart of such an incredible time in peoples' lives. I'm so blessed.

Another episode of LDRP.....(instead of ER......)

Yesterday was a good evening again! I got to try my first attempt at starting an IV. Now, my preceptor took me over to triage to let the nurses there know that if they had any IVs or blood work, they could call us in LDRP and we would come on over and do it! We came at the right time because just then one of the nurses was going to start an IV. The patient was the perfect one to do my first IV on...though of course I would never have told her that it was my first time!...because she was pleasant, relaxed and had pretty visible veins to work with. It worked fairly well....but I did feel like I was all thumbs setting everything up! I picked a vein and went for it. I got in...through very thick skin!......got blood back (we want that...to make sure we are in the vein)....started the IV drip to see if it would flow. No flow. Bummer. I must have hit an inconvenient valve. Well, I didn't want to poke mom twice, so my preceptor did the next try. She's a pro at IVs. Well, she did the same thing. Stupid valves. The seasoned nurse finally got the IV in....and made a big mess in the process. So, my technique was great....we just picked a candidate with a lot of valves. Darn it! Maybe next time!

I'm starting to catch on a little more about teaching moms how to breastfeed and making sure they are getting good latches. I spent a good half and hour with one of my moms yesterday trying different holds, assess the latch, etc. I was right in there! It sounds so funny to hear the words coming out of my mouth..."have you tried the football hold?", "now make sure baby's mouth is wide open" (I'm trying to keep my words sensored here for all the males who aren't comfortable with the topic of breastfeeding!).....I'm starting to sounds like I know what I'm doing and can offer mom tips about what to do and how to do things more effectively! That feels good!

I also got to do my first initial newborn assessment. You look baby over from head to toe, check out every area and make sure everything is visibly working. It is fun! It is like a little investigation....until baby is crying and you just want to hurry things up so that baby calms down! You assume the role of inspector. Inspecting for birth marks, all 10 fingers and 10 toes, bruises from birth, etc., etc. There are many big words on that assessment sheet....so I'm going to have to try to remember what they all mean, in case I see a baby with any of those variations from "normal".

So, I could say a bunch more...but then my blog will get too long! Tonight is my last evening shift until the end of the month. I get the weekend off! I haven't seen my hubbie, besides a quick kiss he gives me as he is leaving for work in the mornings, since tuesday evening! So, I'm very excited to see him tonight when he picks me up at 11:45pm!!!! I got home to a very cute little note last night at 12:30pm. We have a white board in the kitchen and he had written in big letters, "I miss my wife and my buddy", accompanied by a sad face with a little tear. Awwww.....isn't that sweet! That is a nice welcome home in the middle of the night!

Eating up the Word.....

Just thought I'd post a little thing about the prayer room....from Joel's comment on my last post. I absolutely loved the time in the prayer room last week. It was so great to commit an hour or two a day to drive across the city and intentionally pray for an extended period of time. I'm totally blessed that Shane and I could do this together!

I'm totally enjoying my time at home this week. I purchased a new Bible on monday night and am enjoying it thoroughly. I am still taking my "hour in the prayer room" times.....while I'm at home and Shane is at work, where I read/pray/worship for an hour uninterrupted. That means if the phone rings, I won't answer it. And that is a big step for me! It has been working really well this week because I'm working evenings so I have the mornings/early afternoon to myself at home. When I switch to the day shift, I will just have to be a little more intentional about taking that hour when I'm not alone at home.

So, peace is still around. God is very present and I am really enjoying my times in the Word. I just have been feeling a little stressed right before my shifts. I think it is just getting used to everything. I'm feeling good today though!

I had a great shift yesterday evening with a new preceptor.....I worked with my second preceptor for the first time yesterday. She is super nice...but she does test me more than the other girl. She is really informative though and super affirming. She is always telling me and others what a great job I'm doing! That is really nice to hear! I told her the certain skills that I'm nervous about doing and she walked me through a few. I started an IV on a towel last night, just for practice! I haven't started one yet on a human....and really am not looking forward to causing anyone any pain!

So, off I go! I think today I might have a laboring patient according to what my preceptor said yesterday! That would be fun! I'll let you know what happens!

I guess I may have a little stress filtering through my mind and the subconscious. I have been having crappy sleeps filled with dreams of work each night, yesterday included. I am constantly working with moms and babies in my dreams. Last week I even woke up after a night shift worried that I had to breastfeed my baby because it had been 2-3 hours since I have previously! I reassurred myself that I didn't in fact have a baby and therefore had no need to breastfeed! For goodness sakes!

So, I'm off to work in the next 2 hours....and though I'm excited to be there, I'm still a bundle of nerves. I'm a little worried about what this shift will hold. I have no idea what I'll have to do! And the fear of the unknown frightens me! I'm really looking forward to knowing what I'm doing one day and not being so brand new at this all. But, in reality everyone has to start out knowing nothing and it can only get better and more comfortable from here, right?

So, if you think of me this afternoon/evening, would you say a prayer of peace? I want to be saturated in the peace that passes all understanding so that I can handle anything. I want to be so secure in my destiny in Jesus that smaller things and anxieties don't throw me off. I really want my perspective about the time I am given to spend with these families to be my ministry and one of my areas of serving Jesus. I don't want to get so busy in my head that I forget to pray throughout my shift. That is so important!

Thanks so much to all of you that encourage me, affirm me and comment! I really feel your support and thank-you for your prayers! They mean a lot to me! Your support is so special to me during this new and a little frightening time. So, buckle up Kristi........here we go!

Tickled pink!

I just got off the phone with my unit manager. You know how I was a little bummed by my schedule when I first got it? Well, she is proving to be pretty nice to me! Some orientation dates were arranged for me next week. These new dates were going to put me on a 12 day stretch between classroom and ward days. That is a long stretch!!! Too long for me, I'd say! So, she calls me this afternoon to tell me that she took me off an evening and is giving me the saturday and sunday of the May long weekend off as well! Isn't that incredibly thoughtful!?! I'm so pumped! That means that my next two weeks...besides the next 3 evenings....are all day shifts during the week! That is a sweet schedule!

Also, she has heard awesome things about me from the nurses on the ward! I'm so honored! They have said great things like I'm willing and eager to learn and jump in, I'm fitting in well, etc. The unit manager is very pleased from what she is hearing about me, being only 4 shifts into my practicum! Yes, favor Lord!!! This is positive ammo in regards to future employment!! Yippeee!!!

Day #2 off!

It is pretty nice to have a few days at home in between shifts! I like days off! Yesterday I relaxed around the house, cleaned the appartment, had a whole bunch of time in the prayer room (well....I made my bedroom the prayer room) and made lasagna for my family who came for dinner. In the evening we went to Blessings and I got a new Bible!!! I'm so excited about it! It is kinda annoying to try to follow along with a different version during church and some verses that I know from childhood just sound the best in NIV. Also, my Bible has no index in the back and I was finding that very frustrating, espeically during Encounter God Nights and in the Prayer Room when I wanted to find a specific verse but didn't know where it was! So now I have an index! I wouldn't have known how important that is to me even a year ago. But it really is!

Today I slept in and dreamt that I was in Mexico with family members and classmates from nursing and junior high! But, I was annoyed with people and trying to find Shane, so it wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been!
I'm off to the get these ol' eyes tested.....I'm bracing myself for the need for new lenses. I really can't get around needing new lenses because my present ones aren't even the right prescription! Cheapo! Yep, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes!

Enjoy your days! I'm going to read a bunch of my new Bible hopefully and read up on some material for the hospital! Tonight is set aside for my hubbie and I! I'm looking forward to some quality couple time! Adios!

And I love my job......

Ahhh....the sigh of a content, tired, happy student nurse. What a great shift. And since my hubbie is sleeping since before I returned from the hospital, and I don't feel right about calling anyone to chat at midnight, I will share my evening with all you blogger friends!

Tonight I had my first laboring patient. The other shifts I've always worked with the moms and babies after delivery....not during. Tonight was supposed to be my first shift with my other preceptor on LDRP. The way it worked out though, she became charge nurse and I was buddied up with a diffferent nurse, another young, nice, fairly newly graduated nurse (which is so totally not intimidating...and I really like that!).

Our patient was ideal. Lots of family support, hardly flinched through each contraction. The only way you knew she was contracting was by watching her toes wiggled under the blankets.

Let's just say, the evening got pretty exciting after we came back from supper. I ended up seeing the beginning of a standard, low-risk labor, which progressed into some concerns, and ended up finishing off with an emergency cesarean section. The best part was that I wasn't able to do everything the nurse normally would do, being the first day with a laboring patient, so I really was able to take more of a supportive role for mom. I rubbed her tummy, talked her through procedures, made her smile a few times with my comments and questions, and had the brainspace to spend some of my time praying. Especially as things were progressing into more concerning symptoms, it felt like I was standing back and watching the whole drama unfold, even though I was right in there. Because I wasn't crazy busy and focussed on charting and preping for the OR, I was able to pray for the mom and baby...technically with the laying on of hands really, because I was feeling her contractions with my hand and rubbing her arm, leg, tummy...depending on what was happening....in support.

I loved assuming the role of advocate. Though I don't pretend to know a lot, the amount that I do I am definitely willing to teach and share with the patients I work with. I felt like an advocate multiple times when relaying messages of the mom's wishes and rephrasing things to mom that the resident was saying! Oops....maybe I shouldn't have done that.....but heck, no! I am the patient's advocate and mom needs to understand in terms that she can comprehend, what is happening. It also is more of a challenge when the medical staff have accents. Then I really feel like I have to translate!

It felt so great to be in the middle of all the action! It felt like the medical thrill in movies! I happened to be the one at the head of the bed as we started to wheel the stretcher from the room to the OR.....so I became the one pushing the bed down the hallway and into the OR. Oh, I had a few such moments that just felt great! By, the end of the shift, as I was riding the elevator down to the locker room, all by my lonesome, I did a little victory dance in the elevator!

So, to my patient of the night who gets a very special mother's day present, all you mothers, and to my very own mother,
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Ahhhh......and the night passed by.....

Sleep didn't come to me so wonderfully this past night. Perhaps it is because I slept the day away. But, I think it was more about being overheated....then I just toss and turn!

Today is the last day of our church's 24/7 Prayer Experiment. I have had an incredible time being apart of the prayer movement that our church has participated in this week. I don't want it to stop! Prayer has gone on in our prayer room each hour since last saturday night! That is awesome! Shane and I have managed to commit this week to making it over to the church each evening. I didn't think that I was going to be able to make it there all week because of all my night shifts, but the idea of missing a day in the prayer room and not being at the corporate times was too disappointing to think about. So, forget that, I went anyways! And felt all the better because of it!

God's presence has been so strong in that room all week long. The peace that floods your soul when you enter and stay a while is pretty inviting. You just have to return! I have found drawn to this lifestyle. I want prayer to be my way of life. I want prayer to be me and Shane's way of life and the way we conduct ourselves, our future plans and eventually the way that we raise our children. I don't want the same old, mundane existence. I want the fullness of what Jesus has for us! There is power and excitement in following Jesus!

So, I'm praying that today the prayer doesn't stop. I'm praying that those who have participated and carried this thing this week would be challenged to keep on going. Rise up praying generation at WCV. Oh intercessors, rise up for this is the time. Things will be different. You have prayed and God has heard. There is no turning back now. Let us continue wholeheartedly. Pray, pray, pray without ceasing.

A crazy night for all........

Last one of the week, and the craziest of all. It was a very busy night! I realize that I'm so incredibly new at this and it just takes a little bit of craziness to show me that I have a whole heck of a lot more to learn!

Our night was run, run, run and don't stop. From crazy baby temperatures (too low or too high), over the general maximum amount of patient per nurse, crazy breastfeeding issues to fussy babies that don't want to pee but need to, babies with IVs (which I haven't worked with before) and generally great moms.

It was a busy night, but I felt a little out of my comfort zone with all the activity. Boy, how am I going to learn it all???? And I feel like the nurses all just "know" all the answers, but where do I find them? It can be a little overwhelming and a little frustrating....but all in all I'm having a good time and I'm not too stressed at all. I have a really relaxed preceptor who totally doesn't stress me out! Thank-you Jesus!

Off to bed! Nite!

I think I'm getting the hang of it!!!

2 nights down and 1 to go! And I feel even better this morning than I did the last! That is pretty good! I'm not going to admit it....but I think I'm not minding the night shift...don't tell anyone!

Fortunately I was able to sleep a solid day away yesterday....9:15am - 5:30pm! I'm so thankful for that! By the time 11:30pm came around I was a little sleepy because I didn't take an evening nap but I got an hour in at work which helped!

I am getting increasingly comfortable handling such teeny, tiny, new babies. They really just melt my heart. So far the ones I've worked with have been SO cute! I just love working with them! Though they aren't patients that you can reason with or even really communicate clearly with...so that can be a little difficult!

I did my first PKU this morning...which is a metabolic screening test they do on all newborns at 48 hours before they leave the hospital. You have to give their heel a little poke and color in these 6 little circles with baby's blood. It sounds a little sadistic saying it like that...but it is the general point. Anyways, I did my first 2 early this morning. It is so fun to have such a little one drapped across your lap. They are so warm and cuddly, and if they aren't crying through the process, some make cute noises right on your lap!

So, yes, I did another night of postpartum, no laboring moms. There is so much to learn that it is good that my preceptor is trying to get me knowledgeable on postpartum before I get thrown into labor and delivery. We've been full with postpartum! Even to the point of no extra beds on the unit! But, who knows what tonight will be about because over half are being discharged today! It could be interesting!

I'm off to have a bite to eat and then off to bed for the day! Good night! And have a nice day to all of you who are up and about!

I'm alive!!!

I made it through my first night of practicum! I'm alive, had a fine night and am off to bed for some sleep!

Thank-you for your prayers!

ps...no birthing stories from this shift because my preceptor and I worked with postpartum moms. But I got to pick up and handle brandnew babies!

Time is drawing near.....
One hour to go before take-off and one hour and forty five minutes still the fun begins!!!!

It is practicum start night and here I am eating and blogging before I get ready to go! Shane and I went to the corporate gathering in the prayer room this evening. It was actually a great idea for me to go. Originally my plan was to spend the evening sleeping at home before I do the night shift. I got some great tips and answers from Kendra (I'm increasingly thankful for that girl!), great supportive prayer from my ladies, and the peace in the prayer room was good for my soul tonight! I'm so blessed by all the support I feel by the people that I am growing to know more and enjoy more at the Centre. I really feel part of what is going on and I love it!

I'll try to give you an update in the next few days about how the start of practicum is going! Though I hope to sleep a majority of the day away! Also this is night 1 out of 3 so we'll see how it goes! If any of you are up at night, whether with a baby or for any reason, say a little prayer for me, k? Thanks!