We are in a state of chaos here at my little abode.
We gutted the kitchen the week after Christmas (yes almost 3 months ago!!)
If you could have seen my old kitchen you would know why we finally decided to bite the bullet and go for a remodel.
And like many remodels it is taking longer than expected.
All I can say it is a good thing that we are all very relaxed and flexible around here for this hasn't been easy.
We have a kitchen in the living room
Michelle decided maybe it was cool to have a fridge right next to the TV - she can play video games and reach in for a drink.
On the other wall is our prep area.
It is such chaos and hard to see but we have food in boxes.
We have a coffee maker, toaster, microwave and electric griddle.
So we are not starving by any means.
But a kitchen doesn't really belong in the living room.
We look like hoarders!!
Trust me though, we have gotten rid of so much over the coarse of the last couple of months and plan to rid ourselves of more junk when we move back in to the actual kitchen.
Here's a look at my ugly old kitchen.......
Finish coming off of the cabinets.
An old 1960's double stove (of which neither stove works - just the cooktop)
Cupboard doors the don't close and old florescent lighting.
UGH- look at that ugly stove!
A dishwasher that leaks
and cupboards rotting off of the countertop.
You can't really see it but the cupboards are coming off of the wall up in the corner.
The pineapple wallpaper may be called 'retro' now but I hated it!
You can't really see the old chandelier in these two pictures but trust me - it is old and dirty.
Functions and provides light but it is an eyesore.
Oh my beejeebers....looking back at this old ugly kitchen grosses me out. And to think that I have lived with it for a long time. I can't wait to have my new, functional, updated kitchen.
Another class is done!! I am one step closer to getting that BSN that it seems I have been working on forever. I finished Pathophysiology. Haven't seen the grade on my big project yet, nor the final grade but I know that I did OK.
Now it is on to Multi-Dimensional Assessment. With lab included where we are going to really get to know our classmates well ~
As our instructor said, "you never know when you will be in another country or in disaster mode without high tech equipment...so you better know how to assess".
Should be interesting.
Now if only I could get in to the homework and get over this burnt-out feeling!
Debbie
It is written by Lynnette Kraft. I have been following her blog for quite some time. Her daughter Anna was born with congenital heard disease. When her daughter was 6 she passed away from cardiac arrest. The book is not just about her daughter's passing but also the life changing effects that her life and death had on the 911 operator, Courtney Becker, who took their call for help that day.
It is a story of the redeeming power of Christ.
How God can use things for His glory.
Things, that to us may be so confusing and painful.
Things that we may not understand, but God weaves all of that in to a beautiful tapestry of His story.
The book is set to be released April 1st, but you can pre-order it on Amazon.
Or go to Lynnette's blog to click on a link to pre-order your copy.
Today is International Women's Day. In honor of this day, I thought I would share this link on A Birth Story in a Bangladesh Slum. (borrowed from a million mom's challenge)
"In late 2011, Philadelphia-based freelance photographer Sarah Bones, part of the collective Photographers for Hope, went to Bangladesh to photograph the urban delivery centers or “birthing huts” opened by BRAC, a global development organization active in 10 countries, in the crowded slums of the country's capital, Dhaka. She witnessed, and captured on film, a dramatic scene as one 17-year-old Fazila, endured a difficult labor – first in the birthing hut, later on the floor of a stranger's hut."
I am passionate about women's health and birth related issues. Maybe one day I will be able to travel internationally to practice. Health care in other parts of the world is so lacking. It breaks my heart that women and newborns have to suffer this way. Debbie
23 years ago this sweet little girl came to live with us
She graced us with her presence on a cold, rainy day
March 2 was her due date
A prompt little girl she was
Mommy was busy with her sick brother....had to get him to the doctor first ~
Then off to the hospital her mommy went
After an hour and a half
Erika was born
She weighed 6 pounds, 8 oz
and was 19 inches long
We fell in love with her personality and her half head of hair
Hair that stood straight out so we had to tame it with bows
She was cute but a little strong willed
and not very patient....when she wanted something she wanted it right away...
She was always determined
always kind
She grew up to be a fine young woman
She has a heart for God
She has a bucket load of friends
She has a boyfriend :)
She is smart
She is pretty
She is athletic
She is thoughtful
She is loving
She is fun to be around
She works hard
She is still determined
She still sets goals and strives to achieve them
She is Erika. My sweet little 23 year old. Happy Birthday baby girl ~ you have been a blessing to us and I am so glad that God gave you to us all those years ago.
Even though you were my hardest one to carry...the pregnancy filled with kidney problems and preterm labor (you were in a rush to be born...you were a runner from the start I guess), I am so glad that you were born. Life just wouldn't be the same with out you. I am so proud of all that you have accomplished and all that you are!
May you continue to grow in grace and mercy, becoming the woman God intended you to be.
I love you with all of my heart,
Mom
More learning going on here...I wish I could post the whole power points for you on some of these subjects for there has been so much information to share...but I'm going to give you the very short version so that this post doesn't get way out of hand ~
The first session of the day was on postpartum cardiomyopathy. A women's heart has more work to do during pregnancy. And some hearts do not tolerate all of the changes in blood volume and extra demands on the heart. The outcomes are tragic as the symptoms of heart disease are often missed in pregnant women. All I will say is that my patients who come in with shortness of breath and a fast heartrate will certainly be checked a little more fully by me (I've already had the chance to ask a doctor for an EKG and an echocardiogram on a patient that had previously had a heart valve replacement)
The second lecture of the day was on postpartum hemorrhage. I didn't learn a whole lot of new information from this lecture for we already have a bleeding algorithm where I work and bleeding orders. Ours are very similar to the ones we saw in the lecture today. Basically you need to have a system in place to handle a hemorrhage ~ for pregnant women can bleed fast and bleed alot. We came in to the lecture to find this on our table:
Only at an obstetrical conference - RIGHT? Can you guess how much blood loss this is??
It is 150ml.
Not really alot. The most important thing is that you need to weigh the loss. 1gm = 1ml of blood loss. We can't just 'quesstimate' as has been done in the past for it is frequently underestimated and by the time we realize something is going on and it can be too late to give appropriate treatment.
After lunch we learned about delayed cord clamping. Delaying the clamping of the cord would give the baby a little extra boost of it's own blood and this may be beneficial.
Here are a few points from the lecture:
• 80 mls of blood gets transferred in the first minute,and 100 mls by 3 minutes after birth
• This blood supplies extra iron of 40-50 mg/kg
• Term infants are born with approximately 75 mg/kg so this increases the total iron to 115- 125 mg/kg
• WHO ( 2012)
• Increase of cerebral blood flow
• Better perfusion and circulation to the gut
• Increased blood pressure
• Increased hematocrit, hemoglobin levels and ferritin
• Decreased iron-deficiency anemia
• Increased duration of breastfeeding
World re-known, Penny Simkin does a good job of explaining the concept:
Know more about labor and birth now then you ever wanted to know?
I actually like attending OB conferences...I always learn so much and I like connecting with old friends and making new ones. And those that attend conferences often have common goals and interests which makes talking and networking pretty easy.
I try to make it like a mini vacation, yes, it is work related but I like getting away to a different city and staying in a hotel. I like trying the local food and doing some touristy type things.
Back to the conference though~
Our first speaker, Dolores Aguilar talked about Centering in Pregnancy. She is from northern California and does group appointments for her pregnant patients. It is a new way of giving care where women learn about their health, are taken care of, are provided with education and form a support group with the other pregnant women. It is quite a novel thought. I then had lunch with Dolores...what a sweet natured woman. And she is really making a difference for her patients. You can learn about the Centering in pregnancy model by clicking here.
Then I heard about Assessing Women's Coping in labor. Instead of always asking about a women's pain in labor (yes, they are going to have pain), we should be asking and assessing how well they are coping with that pain. Maybe we need to quit bringing up their pain and instead help them work through that pain. Here is the algorithm for the coping scale.
The next speaker talked about skin to skin in the operating room. We do lots of skin to skin where I work. The babies are born and go right up on to the mom. Any medications and assessments are done while the baby is with mom. The bath is not giving till hours later. Skin to skin is important for it increases bonding and helps with breastfeeding.
Our c/section patients get to see the baby and touch the baby but the dad does most of the holding in the operating room...once the mother is in the recovery room then the baby is placed skin to skin. Our babies do not go to the nursery for a routine exam as is done in many hospitals but stays in the recovery room with the mother (as long as both patients are stable). We try to keep the delivery family centered as much as possible, whether that be a vaginal delivery or a c/section.
But, the new info from this lecture was that babies should be able to go skin to skin in the operating room too. Impossible ~ no...but it would take some adjusting and convincing of doctors that it could be done.
Watch this cool video to see how it is done. It is a bit long but worth the watch. Remember to turn off my playlist so the two sounds don't compete for your attention. Warning it is a bit graphic (cool to me, but if you aren't used to the blood it may be hard for you).
The blurb from the you tube site:
"Although much effort has gone into promoting early skin-to-skin contact and parental involvement at vaginal birth, caesarean birth remains entrenched in surgical and resuscitative rituals, which delay parental contact, impair maternal satisfaction and reduce breastfeeding. We describe a 'natural' approach that mimics the situation at vaginal birth by allowing (i) the parents to watch the birth of their child as active participants (ii) slow delivery with physiological autoresuscitation and (iii) the baby to be transferred directly onto the mother's chest for early skin-to-skin. Studies are required into methods of reforming caesarean section, the most common operation worldwide."
Our last speaker of the day, Tiffany Montgomery, was so funny. She has quite a sense of humor and was so easy to listen to. She was speaking on "Protecting Mom's and Babies, How to take Legislative Action". Now I have never been one to get involved in political things...but she actually made it sound pretty fun. She taught us how to write letters to our legislative leaders and encouraged us to get involved to make a difference. Did you know there are nurses in congress? Well, people that were nurses before they became congress women. Tiffany even travels to Washington, D.C to support certain bills and speak to the House. She lives an exciting life!
A couple of the bills that are on the floor right now are related to women's health and newborns.
There is one for supporting preterm infants - The PREEMIE Act:
Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal death. In an effort to better understand preterm birth and improve the health of millions of newborns, Congress passed the PREEMIE Act in 2006. The law expands research and other federal activities related to prematurity. The PREEMIE Act of 2006 must be reauthorized. Email your Representative and Senators and ask them to support the health of newborns by co-sponsoring the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act of 2011 (S. 1440/ H.R. 2679).
One to combat Maternal Mortality:
Women in the United States face a greater risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes than women in 49 other countries. The Maternal Health Accountability Act of 2011 (H.R. 894) would provide grant funding to better understand and combat maternal mortality and morbidity
And one for breastfeeding promotion.
Breastfeeding is the optimal form of infant nutrition. Help ensure that more moms can continue to breastfeed their babies after they return to work. Email your Representative and Senators and them to co-sponsor the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2011 (H.R. 2758/S. 1463).
The AWHONN site actually has a page where you can click on a form letter to send to your lawmakers. It is super easy. If these are things that are important to you then click on the AWHONN site and send those letters. You do not have to be an AWHONN member to send the letters (but they do say you are a nurse, so you may have to change the wording a bit if you aren't one). I told you that she made getting involved fun. It is all about awareness.
This was just a quick snapshot of the conference. So much to learn about!
I am a big reader.
I always have a book with me - rather it be a simple pleasure reading book or a more serious bibliography type book or lifestyle change book. In fact ~ in the days before I went back to school, I belonged to a book club and that was a great way to discover new authors or read books that maybe I wouldn't have chosen. When I travel, I always take more than one book with me and love to go to bookstores in different cities. Now that I am busy with school I have less time for pleasure reading. Most of my spare time is spent reading textbooks, yet I make sure to carve out time to pleasure read almost every day. I'd much rather read a good book than watch TV. But I don't often talk about the books that I am reading. Today, I am going to break that trend...
A friend of mine from work recommended this book to me:
If you are a dog owner, or simply a dog lover then you have to read this book!
It flows easily and speaks to the relationship of man (woman) and their dogs. It is written from the viewpoint of the dog...and talks about how a dog can save a person and vice-versa how people can save dogs. The dog in the book tries to figure out what his real purpose is ~ and mostly finds that his purpose is to love his humans (and in turn the humans love him). This is one of the best books that I have read in awhile. I can totally see my dog narrating this and doing all he can to please me. It is one of those books that I just want to "read a few more pages" before I put it down.
Thanks Kim for suggesting this! As a fellow dog lover, I can see why you thought it was worth reading.
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