Dr. Update from Wednesday

So I though I better tell that I totally had predicted what would happen at my Dr.'s appointment on Wednesday. I am exactly the same 1.5 cm and now she's moved back up and Dr. Minudri couldn't even feel her head like Dr. Richard's could the week before. So she's sitting in limbo (well, on her head). But she hasn't quite got it figured out that she has to stay down there for her to eventually come out. But I'm realizing that it doesn't do any good to stress about it, so I'm doing project time at work so I don't use maternity leave now just waiting for her to come. I won't worry about her coming until next Wednesday when I have another check-up, then I'm going to want to be induced so we can go home in a few weeks from that.

Dr. Minudri told me that most people come a week before or after their due date and that she isn't overdue until 42 weeks. Who knew?!! Look at all the things I'm learning. So if she hasn't decided to show up by herself this week, we'll talk about induction!! Crazy I hope she comes on her own.

The other really cool thing that happened to us on Wednesday is that a girl that lives across the street, that we just met because she took her cat into the Veterinarian hospital while Chad was on, gave us 2 boxes of girl clothes. They are moving and had tried to get rid of them at the neighborhood garage sale last week and still had two large boxes left! It outfitted us for the next 2 years I swear! It was so nice. Look at the blessings we're receiving for having Chad in school. We met a neighbor that we've never met before. Amanda is so nice, I haven't met her husband yet, but hope them the best in where ever they decide to go!!!

The other thing that I enjoyed about Wednesday was that I got to have lunch with Chad. We met up and got some Chinese food from Safeway and drove to our favorite place, Lawson Gardens. We spent the entire hour just eating and talking and catching up on Derik's (nephew) life. It was good to hear from him!! We're still sad that he isn't taking his vacation to come see us!!

So here are some pictures from the last time we went to Lawson Gardens, (End of May). I just thought some pictures would let you see why we like it so much!! The Flowers!!

Change of mood

Okay I'm finally up from getting about 3 uninterrupted hours of sleep!! It was Heavenly. And so know I have the rest of the day to do whatever I want!! Chad told me yesterday that I need to hop on the elliptical and go for it!. We'll see if I'm that desperate or if my patience has come back.

(I finally added pictures to the pregnancy update/father's day post if your interested in picts.)

So yesterday I got in the mood where I just wanted everything set for the baby and I went to work. Sort of what I guess would be nesting? Anyway the changing pad for our changing table finally came and so I went through the room and organized everything. When I was done with that I tried pulling out anything I need to get done. So I still have a few craft and things that I got out yesterday that I could work on. And I know I need to take advantage of that while I can. I still have my nursing cover to make for breast feeding, and I have some more cloth diapers to make into burp cloths too. And that's all baby oriented. I even have a table runner, (that will go on my piano) that is 4th of July themed that I need to sew, and I also have a chalkboard to finish for a gal. Thanks to my sister-in-law Stacie for getting me hooked up with the cabinet doors. (Oh Jen that means we can make you a chicken wire photo holder!!!)

I also have finally made a blog that I'll have come up on search engines to sell some of my leftover crafts, that I need to get pictures posted so I can get some of this stuff out of my house!!

So I could work on that too. See my options are endless really.

Chad got home last night and was in his own nesting mood.!!HEHE I'm sure he'll love that I called it that. He just wanted to organize and do things the in the baby's room and I'd already done it. OOPS! Didn't think he'd like to do that after being on rotation all day

See I have tons to get done before this baby can come. I'm in no rush right!? I have also been meaning to get some pictures to show everyone how well our tomatoes and peas have done. We also did plant a few stalk of corn too a few days ago and they haven't come yet, but I'm interested to see how they do in our home made garbage can garden!!

So here are our little row of peas. Not nearly big enough pea patch to satiate Chad and I, but we have enjoyed getting a few pea pods to munch on. Yesterday I got 4 good sized pods off for us to share!!

So here are our homemade garbage can gardens. Right now it takes up lots of patio room, but by next week we're supposed to have the rest of the patio poured!! Hooray!!

So this puny little plant is what happens when you let the tomato plant sit in too little of a pot for too long. We're still wondering if it's going to survive.

These next two pictures are close ups of the cherry tomatoes and early rise tomato that are actually on the plants now. I can hardly wait to eat them. But we're going to have tons of cherry tomatoes, so anyone want to call some dibs now?

Here is a picture of the one type of flower that we grew from seeds that sprouted. Little Purple Pansies!! Reminds me of the Primary Song!!

And here are some Gerber daisy plants. I've never really payed much attention to what the plant is supposed to look like, but since they aren't flowering, they don't look like Daisies to me.
(They are the ones right next to the stones)

So Chad and I decided that the flowers aren't really worth trying to grow on your own. much easier to just go by the pony packs and plant them. Then you get immediate pleasure out of how your garden looks and it's easier. The things we pay for conveniences.

Labor? Yeah right!!

So it's about 3 am the day after I'm due, and I've had the worse night. I haven't been able to sleep. I've been up to the bathroom like over 4 times and I'm so warm, even with the fan on. So finally I'm downstairs getting another glass of water hoping that when I get back up stairs that I can breath when I lay down I'll be able to breath. For some reason I'm overly stuffy tonight. Oh can we say Chad's not having a hard time sleeping, I can't get him to stop snoring!!! Which I am glad for cause he has to work/rotations tomorrow and I don't. I get to go to the Dr. so he can tell me that I'm still at 1.5cm!! Woe is me! Sorry for the downer blog, just hate it when I can't sleep!! I know I know, It's just getting me prepared for all those night time feedings, but you know I think I'd be okay getting up that often if that was what I was doing right now.
So I guess now that I'm past my due date that my good attitude about still being pregnant is out the door. I thought I was doing so well, but if I was sleeping right now....I know I wouldn't be so Eeyorish.

Pregnancy update and Father's day

So after that crazy Saturday with my exploding man at work, I started contracting to the point that some of them were a little uncomfortable. But nothing amounted to anything really consistent. After a few days (June 10) I went in for my scheduled appointment with Dr. Minudri and I had dilated to 1.5 cm and had softened some. So I guess it got me a little of somewhere. The Doctor then went on to say that anytime she wanted to come it would be fine. So that got us really excited and we realized that the last two weeks that Chad has been on Small Animal Community Practice would be the easiest time for him, for the baby to come.

But to no avail, this last week (June 17) with Dr. Richards, I was still about 1.5 cm. So not progress really at all. I had talked to my mom a little about her pregnancy with my oldest brother, Brek and she said she was over a week late. So I'm just convinced now that I'm going to be late, just like my labor prediction had said.

These pictures were taken on the 14th of June, so 10 days before the due date.

Chad had been telling me for the last part of this week, that it would be perfectly okay with him, if I went into labor on Sunday, cause he's excited to meet her and so he could get out of this evenings weekend rotation of being in the ER or ICU. He wasn't very excited at all to go in on Father's day.

So this morning I gave him his father's day gift(Boring shirts and ties, but it was what he asked for) and made him German Pancakes for breakfast. He was having the hardest time yesterday coming up with what he'd like for his dinner, so I just ended up making him steak and baked potatoes!! Oh and the one request I got, Coconut Cupcakes for dessert!!! Just can't wait til he gets home to have dessert.

So a pretty uneventful Father's day as I sit here waiting for her to come to really make a true father's day for the first time for Chad!!! Wish us luck and hope that she comes by herself no later than this week, cause we have a trip to go home at the end of July and we want her to be old enough to be out camping and around lots of family!!!

Mom & Dad Joos' visit

So it was great to have Mom come for the baby shower and Dad finally got to go fishing up here. It's been something that he's been wanting to do since we moved up here. So on Friday he spent time down in Orofino and wasn't really successful, but no one else that was around where he was.

So on Saturday we had appointment to do a temple session at the Spokane temple. When we arrived there, guess who could't find her recommend. Yeah it was me. So we were late and didn't get to go in the session that we signed up for. After a call to Bishop Udy by the temple president, we ended up going to the following session. What a dork, but I was so glad that we were able to go after driving all that way.
So here is a picture of us at temple grounds and this is at about 36.5 weeks
Mom and Dad's first time to the Spokane Temple. First time they had been to a place that required an appointment. It was a great time!!! Thanks for the visit!!

Baby Shower May 29th

So I have some amazing co-workers (Renay and Brenda) that threw me a great baby shower. It was on the 29th of May and I'm just now getting to blog about it. So sad, but everyone has spoiled me and the baby like crazy and I had to blog about it. Brenda made the cutest annoucements that had ladybugs on it, since that is the theme we have in our nursery. And then this is Renay house where the shower was held. She had little ladybugs hanging from the ceiling.

We had a brunch, our new favorite thing to do for baby showers since we did it for Brenda's shower last year. We had so many yummy things to eat. Crepe's (Something that I've had a kick for the last half of my pregnancy. Especially with strawberries!!) and quiches that were so good I've never had any better. It was great. I appreciate all the hardwork that they put into this. I really had so much fun and loved being around all these great friends!!!

Upper Level-Katie Everman-Druffel and MJ in the baby carrier, Anna Henderson, Brenda Munson, Me, Brenda Joos (my mom), Anita Parrott,

Lower level- Renay Hillman-Vance, Lincoln Munson, and Cecily Montgomery.

So my Mom and Dad were able to come up so my mom could come to the shower and my dad got to go fishing!! Just what he'd prefer!! That Friday was PALS and a few other things that made a few people not able to come, but I was impressed with how much people are thoughtful and made sure to get gifts there anyway. I really work with amazingly caring people. Something that I will surely miss when we move.

The man that exploded!

So there is so much for me to catch up on blogging about, but I figure I need to write about my experience last weekend at work before I forget all the details.

So on Saturday I had to work which means I was 37.5 weeks along in my pregnancy. I was having a steady morning with a discharge order for one of patient right at the start of the shift. I usually am pretty fast about getting all the paperwork done and really did jump on it fast and let my patient know when a good time a right could come pick her up. I though everything was under control and so I sent the other nurse in the unit I work in to eat some breakfast since one of her patients was just taken to surgery. So I'd really not have many patients I needed to watch (3). Well that what I thought.

So shortly after I sent Cindy to eat breakfast, my other patient(who had his bladder removed due to bladder cancer and had a illeostomy) called complaining of not feeling well. (He was trying solid food for the first time that morning since surgery) So I thought, we just pushed this a little fast, it was scrambled eggs though. So usually a nice soft food to start out with is great, but I pulled back his table and saw some drainage on his gown. So I thought I better investigate....So I pulled back his gown to see a full JP (Jackson Pratt) drain. (Basically it's a depressed bulb hooked to a tube inside his stomach area to drain out blood and other stuff out of the surgery area). So I went and got the container to empty the drain and when I popped open the little tab to empty it..It started spouting out!! I was so surprised. I hadn't had that happen in all my years of nursing. I even told him, "I haven't had that happen to me in the 8.5 years I've been a nurse." I also noticed that his other dressings had more drainage on them than they had earlier. I figured I better go double check what I had for an order to either change the dressing or reinforce them. My patient then started telling me that his abdomen really was hurting!!! I could tell because he was getting up pacing the room because it hurt more to sit or lay down!! He has a history of asthma and had been having quite a strong cough, which is a good thing to do after surgery to move air throughout the lungs and avoid getting pneumonia, but I kept telling him it wouldn't hurt as bad if he'd take a pillow and squeeze it against his stomach as he coughed. Well I hadn't had very good luck getting him to do that all morning.

Well off I went to find this man some pain med... I knew he was horribly uncomfortable. So I got the rest of his morning meds with them, cause he was running a high blood pressure and should probably get his blood pressure meds, right. Well after giving him the Demerol he stood back up and was starting to pace a little as I was preparing and scanning the rest of his meds, when he told me he was going to be sick. (BTW, I never like any patient telling me that) So I jumped to the closet where we have basins and dumped whatever the rest of the contents were out and rushed to get this basin to him. As he turned around on the other side of the bed to grab the basin, I heard this POP POP SquiSH!! and simultaneously saw his gown ballooned up to rival the pregnant woman that I've become!!

At that point I realized a few things: 1. I had a pretty good idea what had just happened. 2. I didn't have anyone in the unit that I could yell for. 3. I hadn't put on my Vocera badge that I usual put on every morning that makes me connected to the rest of the employees in the hospital. 4. I had to get some help some how and take care of my patient!!

So I had the patient lay down on the bed, cause he was still talking and being coherent!! And I used his phone to call the Clinical Coordinator (House Supervisor). So she got there shortly after I pulled back my patients gown and saw intestines peeking out from under the dressing that used to be taped on all 4 sides!! Wow I really hadn't seen that one coming from the my first clues, and I sure didn't think that anything that drastic would happen before I could get his pain under control and take a look at the dressing myself.

I'm just amazed at the team work that comes from working in this little hospital as I had the hospitalist at the bedside and he never left, and two nurses(Cindy and Nikki) assisting me at the bedside while the Clinical Coordinator (Sandy M) contacted the surgeon on call and a 2nd OR crew to come do surgery. It ran very smoothly and patient did well and maintained that high blood pressure clear through. (I never thought I'd be so happy to see someone hypertensive.) Within about 40 minutes we had him intubated and sedated/paralyzed, while the surgeon came and placed his intestines back in in abdominal cavity for transport to the OR, where he under went a major antibiotic washing and they remade his illeal conduit too (the first one was looking a little dusky in color). I was amazed though to see the intestines and how they were filled with air and fluid and that I could see some of the fluid in the intestine as the surgeon placed them back in the abdomen. (Sorry if that grosses anyone out.)

Later I asked the hospitalist and the surgeon how many times they had seen this happen and each of them had said about 3-5 times in their careers. One is a retired gentleman that just does on call surgeries for us and was in the army (I think). The hospitalist had seen most of his in his residency.

So far the outcome is good and my friend is on the recovery. He was extubated on Monday and he took a few steps at the bedside yesterday!! We've come to be good friends and he told me that I needed to be his nurse everyday. "If I've got to be in here, so do you!" he says. Well he gave him self the name of the exploding man (and okayed me writing this blog) as I talked to him about the thoughts that he had as this happened to him. I felt bad, cause I can imagine that would be the worst nightmare to have to live through and then have to live through the increased pain that comes with another major surgery in such a short time frame.

Recently I've had some really sick patients come my way and people have started labeling me as a problem child or a poop magnet. But I'm so excited that with the last 3 ventilated patients that I've helped take care of...they all got better. Well the other 2 have gone home and this one is on the mend.

This was definitely not what I expected to have happen to me coming to work on Saturday, but what an interesting experience I won't be forgetting anytime soon!!! I hope I didn't gross anyone out. I just wanted to keep some of the details for my memory sake, cause hopefully I don't have to see that again.

What a beautiful day!!

So this is something that I've been working on in my own life, and I thought this was a beautiful way to do it.  I was impressed when I heard President Eyring message the first time.

So several Mondays ago the weather was so beautiful, I was way motivated to get things done.  But not only was it a get it done day, but one that I easily saw some of the beautiful blessings that I have in my life.  I've been noticing these gorgeous white flowering trees that I drive by on my way through town.  (They were on Main street on Sunnyside hill), but for weeks they have cheered me up as they remind that good weather is on it's way.  I also notice the the grain in the fields was long enough to just sway with the breeze, just enough that it reminded me of the small waves of the ocean.  It was amazing how it touched me, and just made me happy be there to enjoy these small things that God created for us!!  

I also went to the grocery store in Moscow and I just happened to see this older gentleman doing his grocery shopping, but what was unique about this man was that he was pushing his wife in a wheelchair in front of him as he pulled the grocery cart behind him.  His wife wasn't interacting with anything in the environment and had some dark glasses on that hid her eyes.  I really don't know what medical condition she had, but it made me realize a few things.  First, why was I worried about doing everyday things with a new baby?  I mean honestly, how selfish am I!!  I just realized that I will have it easy in comparison to this man.  Second, what a neat guy to not find someone to either do his grocery shopping or be with his wife as he did his errands.  It got me thinking about how great of a husband I have been blessed with.  Chad does so much for me to make me comfortable and happy even after having put in a full day of rotations even, and with me being in the last leg of the pregnancy and being whiny.  What a good selfless guy I was able to find by some small miracle.  I thank heaven for him everyday!!

So after getting home I was out enjoying the great weather and I decided that I would weed our flower garden, cause I know that Chad had been meaning to do it.  For those of you who don't know Chad, he's a doer!! So when things aren't done, it frustrates him and he loves to have everything looking nice (Especially the yard).  So I knew he'd love to have it done already.  So it took him a matter of maybe 30 seconds of being home before he realized what I had done!!  That's impressive!  But I guess it was cause he was thinking he would do it when he got home that evening.  So I was able to surprise him with that little thing.  It made me feel good, since he's so busy with rotations!!I feel bad that haven't mowed the lawn this year since I've been pregnant and I'm not as good with the plants as he is, but I'm trying to get better at that too.  And amazingly, the tomato plants are doing awesome!!  We planted 3 of them in our homemade planters for people who have no garden area!! So I'll have to get some pictures updates on the soon!!

House of visitors and WSU Graduation Weekend

It's been a crazy last week!! But it was so fun. Last Sunday, I was able to go get Jen Barnes from Spokane for a visit!! I felt bad cause I had to work almost everyday she was here. It was great to get an update and hang out with her. Of course, we had to get some pictures of favorite places or the new places that she hadn't had pictures at.  So we went to go take a look for the bears....but no luck...it was raining and we didn't get to see the bear cubs, just 2 adult bears.

Then on Friday night Julie Hunt came to stay with us for a few night, so she could make it to graduation! It was great to get an update about them and spend some time with her too. (And for some reason we have no pictures of Julie.  

It felt like old times having some of the best friends that I've had here in Pullman back for a visit. I was spoiled. But it really made me miss the others that I haven't seen for a while. And you know who you are! We miss you all terribly, but hope everything is going well for you in all your various places!!!

Pompe's disease

It's been interesting today as I've been at work, I was able to take care of several patients that were outpatients. For those of you that aren't in the medical ring, these are patient that either have a minor surgery/procedure or infusion and then go home in the same day.

Well I had two infusion patients today that had enzyme replacements. One patient has Pompe's disease and has know since about 1997. This patient comes in every 2 weeks for about 5 hours of an infusion of an enzyme replacement therapy that is thought(still in research stages) to at least decrease the difficulties with Pompe's. (People with disease, have difficulty breathing and their muscle deteriorate and so it make them difficult to move around from place to place and some even have electric wheelchairs, if the disease isn't caught and treated.) But the patient still feels like his health is declining slightly, but doesn't dare stop the study because of how fast the decline
would be if he did. I didn't mention that the infusions cost about per infusion $30,000. And they get infused every 2 weeks, $60,000 a month, over $720,000 a year. Can you imagine!!! Crazy and the study doesn't pay for those infusion either!! Thank heaven for insurance!!

Well this patient helped me to learn all about this disease process, cause I haven't seen anyone with it and haven't studied about it since nursing school, but here at Pullman Regional, we are willing to participate with the study of the drug and the paperwork involved. People from several hours away will travel here to get the infusion, cause more local hospitals won't participate in the study and do the necessary work.

But it was interesting to hear from the patient about how there are lots of disease processes that have similar signs and symptoms that Pompe's does, So any of the muscular dystrophies, or even MS, have been found to be misdiagnosis at first. He even told me that infants that die of SIDS may have Pompe's too, cause of the difficulty breathing symptoms. Amazing! I had no idea, but after talking with the person, it make perfect possible sense. Not that I'm 100% convinced that all of these disease processes are really Pompe's. And all it takes to screen is a simple blood test. Now my friend Jade (HEY!!) just had an interesting post about what can possibly happen with blood draws from an experience with her husband. Sorry Ben!! But it's something to think about, and he asked me if I was going to have my baby tested. Gave me lots to think about, and for sure I'm going to ask the Dr. about it on Thursday!!