My busiest week for September is over!!!

Wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be thankfully. It started with cohosting Emily's bridal shower Sunday the 18th. Then clinicals at Riley on Monday & Tuesday, PICC insertion class in Indy on Wednesday, babysitting all day Thursday, and NRP recertification in Indy on Friday. Whew! Over 1,000 miles on the Equinox this week...and lots of coffee! The next two weeks are still kinda busy but then I'll get a little bit of a break after that. :)

I think Austin is happy to have his mommy to himself this weekend! :) He is such a sweet baby. Very fast on crawling now. He likes to go after the dogs, dog toys, my laptop cord, my school papers, etc.... theres always something more interesting than his toys. haha! His first tooth is showing a lot more now and is sharp!

Just over a month now til my bestie, Emily, gets married!!

Happy (belated) 9 months to Austin Jacob! :) He had a great appointment yesterday morning! Stats are on the right side of the column but I'll list them again with the percentiles... weight 20lbs 11oz (50th%), length 26inches (5th%) and head 18inches (55th%). Everything has stayed in roughly the same percentile which is a good thing...shows he gaining and growing along his growth curve. He still is a shorty...wonder if he'll have a length growth spurt?!

We had a chat about his development and she is very happy with it all. I told her about my comparisons between his 3 cousins of similar ages and she showed my the Denver Developmental chart and how he is within the normal range on everything. That helped to ease my anxiety. Wish there weren't so many questions/exclamations from people though!!! .."He doesnt have any teeth?!!" or "Hes not crawling yet?!!" or "He doesnt devour puffs/cheerios,etc?!" Gah people! Leave us alone. He is doing it all on time!! Your baby/friends baby/relative was probably the exception and not the rule!

Austin did start crawling this past week on Wednesday night. :) Very exciting!! He also has the beginning signs of his first tooth on the bottom left! We can see the white part so it should come through completely within the next week. :)

He is still sleeping 9pm to 7am. Although on the days where Andy has to take him to my Moms or Maya's he has to wake him up around 6:30am. Very nice that it works out for Andy to do drop off and pick up because I would have to drop him off at 4:15am (on 2 of the days) if he couldn't! We do still have some days where he wakes up at 4 or 5 am (about once or twice a week), eats and then goes back to sleep. I don't mind it AT ALL because I miss him terribly when I am in Indy so I enjoy the extra nursing/cuddling session even if it does make me more sleepy. He is still in our room. The video monitor has arrived (thanks mom & dad) so we just need to hook it up and try it out. Sad that he will be in his own room soon! :(

He is also starting to pull up on the couch ...crazy! He doesn't go all the way to standing but he pulls up on his knees. Loves to read and be read to! Enjoys being outside and going on walks with us and the dogs. :)

He is growing so incredibly fast and I can't believe he is that much closer to being a year old!

Compliance officer finally called me back with her decision today (first call about this started Aug 9th). They have decided that I will not be able to do my spring semester clinicals at Lutheran Hospital due to my previous termination. I said "discrimination against a student". They don't care...they have a statement in their contracts saying they can deny whoever, whenever. Just fab. So I'll be driving for clinicals both semesters. Guess it could be worse...I could not be in school and still not have a job. Hopefully I will have employment opportunities (that arent a bazillion miles away) when I graduate in May.

The next step is Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie. They have an NNP who has expressed interest in the past about the possibility of being a preceptor. Hopefully she still has interest and hopefully since they are now part of IU Health there will be no red tape and contracts to figure out.

So...in short..Lutheran Health Network sucks ass! Sorry for my language but I've tried (nicely) to try to get into both Dupont and Lutheran. Management should WANT students to come and LEARN! The compliance officer did say "I commend you for advancing your education."....ummmm ok ...so why deny me a chance to come learn in your facility? Alll I said was "Thank you."

Remind me why I'm in school again?! My stress level is insanely high right now since I am having a huge nervous anxiety attack about the start of clinicals on Monday. After that I hope things will simmer down. I know clinicals will be challenging...its the nature of nurse/nurse practitioner school. JUST SO FREAKING NERVOUS! I feel inadequate compared to my other 3 classmates that have more NICU experience than I do. Just have to type all these feelings out. I know that most reading this are prolly like "get over yourself wacko." ...you try having the responsibility of small babies looming over your head!!

We had a great labor day weekend! :) We took a family trip to the zoo which was fun! :) Andy used vaction time to make the long weekend even longer so that was very nice. :)

Then on Sunday Austin & I joined my parents and some other family members on a trip to my brother & sister in laws house! Austin got to meet a baby pig and get his hair cut for the first time by his Aunt Cassie!! :)

Back to Indy for class tomorrow. Then clinicals start on Monday at Riley Hospital. Getting nervous about being in that NICU!

Happy September blog readers! Soooo ready for fall...this summer has been crazy hot!

Just over a month and Starbucks will have their Pumpkin Spice lattes available! :) Hope I can get one at some point in October...they are yummy. Yes...I look forward to silly things!

My first lecture class of the semester went well. :) We got out early too...can't get used to that though..she said that'll likely be the only time we get out early. Oh well..at least we don't have to go every Wednesday. Being there from 9am-4pm will be an adjustment though...it's hard to sit that long! But we get an hour lunch so thats nice and its not just our professor jabbering away all day...there is a different speaker most weeks on different topics related to neonates! I have a feeling the 4 of us (yes, only 4 NNP students in this last graduating class for IUPUI) will become quite close.

Also found out that clinicals will likely be 10 hour days (7a-5p) instead of 8 hour days. Not totally sure if that'll be the case but the NNP's usually do 10 hour days (4 days a week) at Riley so I don't know what they do with students since we won't take their full case load. If that's the case I will be sad. :( That would be 2 extra hours away from Austin and would put me arriving home after 7 and he goes to bed at 8:30ishpm. Just gotta tell myself its 2 days a week of craziness. One of my classmates thinks its crazy that I am not spending every Monday night in Indy once clinicals start since the drive is kinda long and we have to be there so early. Oh well...we'll see how I do.

Enjoying every minute with Austin! He is soo sweet and so very active now! Not crawling quite yet but he is able to move backwards and roll everywhere. He also gets up on all fours...but doesn't crawl forward yet. :)

September is going to be very, very busy for us so I might not blog as much. Just a warning. :) Theres 2 extra Indy days in Sept for things our professor needs up to go to in addition to class & clinicals...and we have a cookout, a bridal shower, and a baby shower thrown into the mix!

Two bummer things for ya today:

1) Andy did not get the loan officer position. :( They went with someone with loan experience who lives in Huntington.

2) We did not meet the approval requirements to refinance the house. Actually found out about this Thursday/Friday.

...and we are no closer to getting the sitter arrangements figured out. It was kind of put on hold while we were waiting to see about Andys job. (His half day every other week would have went away). We are thinking of seeing if Kelly has any interest in taking some of the Wednesdays so that Mom can take most of the Mondays and the rest of the Wednesdays. It'll all work out in the end. Not sure how you full time working mommies do it! I am not looking forward to working full time after I graduate. Never thought I would have this much anxiety with others (besides Andy & Mom) watching him!

Still unsure about what we are going to do about this whole babysitting thing now that Kelly had to back out of watching Austin every Monday! :(  Quitting school is not an option...as much as I want to sometimes to make things easier! Easier isn't always better though. I'm such a planner and had this all planned out and now just before school starts we have a issue! Wish my Mom could work part time!!!

Austin seems to be feeling better after his upper respiratory infection that he had last week. yay for that! He was 20lbs with clothes and diaper on at the pedi for his sick child appt last week. Gaining fast! He did not sleep well at all during the night all last week...and he is still not sleeping through the night yet after this all started. :( I know I should feel lucky that he slept through the night so early on (4.5mts) to begin with! He has been waking up between 4:30-5:30 give or take the last couple of nights which is an improvement over early on last week.

Class officially starts today but I dont go down to Indy again til the 31st. We just lost our Monday sitter today. :( Kelly was going to be watching Austin every Monday while I was at clinical starting in Sept but she texted today to say that she will have to be on campus every monday ..she didn't know her online class had all the quizzes & tests scheduled for Mondays on campus. Oh well, not her fault. Just not sure what we are going to do now ...so I'm back to stressing out!

Andy has a interview tomorrow at 1pm for the loan officer position that he applied for within his credit union but at the Huntington branch. Wish him luck!!! :) He is very excited about it and we really hope he gets the position!

We are also in the process of seeing if we can get approved to refinance our house to lower our house payment since the rates are lower than when we first got our mortgage. We will know soon...probably later this week.

Happy 8 months to Austin Jacob!!

Time is flying by like always. Crazy!! Austin is a happy little boy who is learning and growing all the time.

He now:
~is usually able to catch himself if he starts to fall backwards while sitting up
~rolls both ways easily
~spins around on his belly to get what he wants
~scoots backwards on his belly
~gets on his hands and knees a few times a day (just started this a few days ago)
~tries to climb you if you're on the floor next to him
~eats breakfast and dinner like a champ :)
~sleeps 8:30pm-7am (with the exception of the past 4 or so nights where he's been getting up at least once a night:( )
~says dada!! :)  (since July 31st)
~gives kisses (he's been doing this for awhile..not sure if I mentioned it in the 7 month post)
~tried puffs on Sunday & then again last night (we break them up into about 4 pieces...so very, very tiny and he likes them so far)

Loves to play...especially on a blanket on the floor where he can sit up and be surrounded by his toys! Likes to be outside, go on walks with the doggies, go to the zoo and to the grocery store (he's a ham for the other shoppers!).

No teeth yet, which is fine by me and his doc. He bites everything though!! Likes to shake/rub his gums back and forth on his teethers ...silly boy!

Wearing 6-9 months clothes and we are moving into 9 month sleepers this week. Some 6 month stuff still fits...just depends on what it is. :)

I am still breastfeeding Austin...this is an accomplishment! Only 43% of breastfeeding mothers make it to 6 mts and then only 22% make it to one year! One year is my goal. :) It certainly takes dedication, patience, and trust in your body to provide.

Tired of being so stressed out. Why does no one want to take a chance and hire a previously terminated employee?!!? I've tried several places that aren't even remotely related to nursing positions and nothing is happening!!!

Had a quick doctors appt today since I felt that Austin hasn't been acting his normal self...the fill in doc claimed he was ok. Austin's pedi is on vaca. Anyways... he weighed in at 19lbs 4oz! Holy moly! What has this baby been eating?! Haha...what have I been eating is the better question. The nurse didn't tell me the percentile but I bet he's still in the same 50% range. Might have to look it up. Just thought I would share! We measured him at home with a tape measure and he was 25.5in this past weekend. :) Growing boy. :)

Happy (belated) August readers!

Didn't feel like blogging yesterday since it was a Indy class day...and class went an hour longer than expected which put me leaving at the start of Indy rush hour (4pm). Guess I better get used to that since class will be 9a-4p in the fall on the Wednesdays I have it. Sorry for that rant...

Anyways...

Andy applied for a loan officer position at the branch of his credit union that is in Huntington. This would be a good opportunity & pay raise. He is starting to get bored being the head teller in New Haven. Prayers that he gets it! :)

Not to much else to say....well, I take that back, I have A LOT of complaining, worrying, stressing, etc that I could vent about right now but I'll take a rain check!

Getting closer to getting the babysitting days & people worked out. A little less nervous now thankfully. Also thankful that clinicals don't start til Sept 12th. Class starts Aug 31st.

Austin is regressing a bit in the sleep department lately. We've been trying to get him to not nap on me. Its a work in progress. Also having to do a formula bottle the last 2 (or maybe 3?) nights. Makes me sad. :( I hope its just a growth spurt...I don't want to give up breastfeeding. He is still a very happy boy most of the time. :)

Andy may be applying for a new position within the credit union.. he's still a bit undecided. It would be more money but its at a further branch.

Prayers for peace and wisdom would be much appreciated.

So, of course after I blog about Austin sleeping til closer to 8am he starts waking up between 6:45-7am consistently since then. grr! Oh well. He wakes up happy so that's all that matters!! :) This is the one thing that is consistent with babies...as soon as you think you know their schedule ...it changes! Gotta just roll with it.

I was able to get all my assessments done at Methodist yesterday (the NNP had to change my day from Tues to Wed)!! Yay for them having 34 babies to choose from!! I was there from 8am-2pm so it wasn't bad at all...and my lunch was free (not to tasty pizza but that's ok). That hospital itself is ginormous...used to be the 10th largest hospital in the US believe it or not but its not as big as it used to be due to some construction improvements and the fact that most adult rooms are single only (versus double). The NNP that I was with has been there for 38 years....talk about some experience with the neonate population!! :) They have 3 NNP's and I spoke with one of the neos that was there yesterday and he said he'd like to hire more and would like to start going through the possibility of having night coverage (more sleep for the neos..but more job opps for NNP's). So maybe that'll be a potential job location after I graduate...we'll see.

Sorry so long! Still VERY anxious and nervous about how the whole clinical and class issue is going to be resolved as far as who will be watching Austin and on what days, etc. I tear up every time I think about how much I'm going to be away from him for Fall and Spring semesters. Just going to have to have a countdown as soon as each semester starts. :( Just have to tell myself that 1)It'll be worth it in the end and 2) in the fall semester I will be with him more days then I'm away from him.

Happy 7 months to Austin!! :)

He is growing up to fast! So blessed to be spending time at home with him everyday... very much enjoying it while I can. Austin has been moving his bedtime up a lil bit on his own...he is now going to sleep closer to 8:30pm instead of 9 most nights. He also sleeps closer to 8am now instead of 7. Going to feel bad when I have to wake him up earlier on class/clinical days next month. :(

No teeth yet but he still chews on anything...especially likes his cold teethers and anything rubbery (like the bath toy type toys).

Loves the zoo, we've been 3 times so far and he really likes to "talk" to the giraffes! :)

Sits on his own for longer periods of time. Scoots backwards now when he's on his belly. :) Rolls over to his belly while sleeping now which makes mommy nervous!

Finally got news of where I can do my assessments (with 3 weeks left of class). I'll be going to Methodist Hospital in Indy. Wanted to go to Ball Memorial but the NNP wasn't returning my professors calls so she thinks she's on vacation. Luckily these 10 assessments shouldn't be a big deal at all to get done and if there isn't enough variety when I go on Tuesday then I'll go back on one of the weekend days so that Mom won't have to take another day off. Glad my professor has been understanding about all the hospital drama here in Fort Wayne. Still makes me mad but I've gotta move past it. Not totally sure where clinicals will be for fall/spring.

Still trying to work out babysitters for fall semester and working on my anxiety about it all. God has a plan.

Some good news and some bad news to report.

Austin's eye doctor appt went well yesterday. The doctor does not think he needs surgery, glasses or patching at this time. He said if we notice his eye turning in more than 50% of the time then we should come back sooner than our next appt, which is in January. He did some tracking exercises, checked his reflexes with the light, dilated his eyes and measured them. We were there for a long time but it's worth it since I didn't want to let this turn into a big problem. His eye didn't turn in at all while the doc was looking at him of course. It really doesn't happen all that often but better safe than sorry! He thinks his skin near his eyes just might be covering part of the sclera (white part). His eye measurements were normal for age so that's good too! :)

The other piece of good news we received deals with Andy's student loans. We/he got approved to put them in deferment for a while due to our financial hardship. Yay!! That'll help out since our savings account is getting low!

Now for the bad news....

Spoke with a lawyer earlier this week and he wanted me to try to talk to Lutheran Hospital on my own to see if I can get my file cleared without having to pay him for his legal assistant. Finally got an answer today from Lutheran and the lady stated that every person terminated will have a no rehire tag on their file for the whole network of hospitals. She said that by law they couldnt tell me not to apply for positions ...so even though I wasted my time since no one in the network could hire me they were following policy. Frustrating!! Wish that Parkview Hospital would take a chance on a terminated person or at least interview me to hear why I was terminated!!! I'll be calling the lawyer back to update him and see if theres anything else that can be done and whether or not he thinks suing for lost wages is a viable option.

Sorry so long!

Still waiting to hear back from my professor about clinicals. She is supposed to be working on placements for us (5 girls total) this week and next week.

Happy July blog readers! :)

This past week was stressssful for me. The short story of the drama is that I will not be able to do my spring semester clinicals in Fort Wayne (was going to split time btw Dupont and Lutheran). The compliance officer at Dupont made the decision & said me being terminated was to big of a risk for me to come in as a student. :( Very upset!!! I even faxed him paperwork from the judge saying I didn't violate HIPAA. Parkview is not an option since they don't have a NNP to be my preceptor.


This also a big reaon why I can't obtain a RN position lately...there is a no-hire tag on my file for the Lutheran network of hospitals (thats a lot of hospitals) and my termination does not appeal to other potential employers it seems to appear. I was not made aware of this tag on my file until about 2 weeks ago.
So it looks like I will be commuting both semesters now. This is actually going to be quite difficult. Clinicals in the fall are 2 days a week with a 6 hour class every other Wednesday and then Spring semester is 3 days a week with class every other Wednesday. Plus all the driving, studying, ...and taking care of Austin! So even if I had a job it would have to be a weekends only type job!

Ball Memorial in Muncie is looking to be a good option for Spring semester since it'll be a little closer during the worst of the weather. I'll know within a couple weeks where I'll be going for both semesters.

Just pray for me. I'm having a lot of anxiety about how I'm going to handle all the driving and time away from Austin. Also running into a little trouble finding enough people/the right people to watch Austin during all this since my mom cannot take 2-3 days a week off in the fall and then 3-4 days a week in the spring!

So stressed out!! Too many things to list...just pray for wisdom and strength.

Austin had his 6 month appointment this morning with the pedi. :) We LOVE her! So glad I found a doc that I feel comfortable with. Recommend her to anyone who lives in Fort Wayne. :) Stats are to the right but I'll list them in this post too. Weight: 17lbs 7oz (50th%); Length: 24.5in (less than 5th%); Head circumference: 17.25in (50th%). I had the nurse measure his length twice since I could not believe that was all the more he had grown and is now basically falling off the growth chart! His doc wasnt concerned she said its one of 2 things: he either is about to enter the 6 month growth spurt or he is going to be on the shorter side like me. He's always been in the 5th% for length so its all still within his normal range.

Developmentally he is doing fantastic she said! He goes from sitting to standing (while holding her hands) with minimal head lag which is actually a 9 month skill so we are impressed. :)

He has one stubborn eczema spot that is not clearing well on it's own (did I ever mention he has eczema?..oops--I don't think I ever have since we weren't completely sure). So we are going back to using Aveeno baby soap & lotion and will be trying hydrocortisone for 2 weeks. We had been using Johnson & Johnson since we had gotten some from shopping before he was born so we were using that up ...guess that was a bad idea! I've read that it can be more irrtating since it's fragranced so back to Aveeno we go. Fine by me...I love Aveeno much more! :)

He also is going to be visiting the opthalmologist to get his eyes checked and measured. You may have noticed that his right eye will occasionally turn inwards in some of the pics of him on facebook. His doc just wants to make sure it isn't going to turn into a lazy eye. It always looks fine at his appts and usually we don't notice him doing it at home but we are just going to stay on top of it since vision problems run in my family.

No change in his hemaginoma so we will just continue to keep an eye on it. No teeth yet either which is perfectly fine. We also got the ok to start solids twice a day and to practice more with the sippy cup. :) He will remain on his Zantac twice a day for now ...she said we could trial him off the bedtime dose within the next month or two if we thought he was ready.

I think that's it ..sorry so long & detailed!!