Well, we knew this day would come and here it is. Nic's first night shift at Langley. He worked a few in Lubbock right out of nursing school, which meant that I would jet out of school as fast as the kids in order to have dinner with him before he went in. It was an adjustment. At the same time, I was pregnant and working with some very dramatic 14-year-olds, so I was more than ready to go to bed with or without him. That time around, I only woke up to pee. This time around, things are a bit different.
Audra's sleep during the night hasn't been very consistent. There is usually one night a week when she won't wake up at all and I'm singing my praises the following morning. Then it seems the very next night she may wake up 2 or (Lord help me) 3 times. I haven't exactly pin-pointed the source of her waking. Is she hungry? (I feed her each waking.) Is she just wanting company? Is she in pain from teething? I wish she would be more consistent so I could figure it out. Sometimes when she wakes, she talks and coos like the sweet, happy girl she can be. Other times, it's an abrupt cry that doesn't end until I get to her side, or until she starts eating (those times make me think teething). Waking up multiple times to feed a baby and put her back to sleep is exhausting. If I do it all under an hour, I consider myself lucky. But about 25% of the time, she'll fall asleep eating and I'll ever.so.slowly. and gently set her down in bed and her eyes will spring open. Then she'll start crying and I'll have to pick her back up to rock her to sleep all over again. Sometimes even the second time, she'll wake up. Nights like that, Nic usually ends up giving it a go because I'll have been awake going on 2 hours at that point. He's saved my sleep many MANY times. I'm a little nervous to not have his help. SINGLE PARENTS, HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU DO IT?!? Nights when I've gotten up 2 or more times with her, he'll usually get up with her in the morning and let me sleep in to make up for lost time.
Now he's working nights. Which means he won't be there on those random nights she refuses to go back down. And he'll be ready for bed at 7 am, which means I'll definitely be waking up with her. He assured me he'll find a way to help me catch up on sleep, but it would take some time and him getting used to his new schedule. And I believe him.
I know a lot of you reading this also have new babies, or had a baby once upon a time. Do your babies wake up all the time too? What do you do to help with your exhaustion? I know a few of you are going to tell me to bed share with Audra. ;-) But Nic and I decided a long time ago that isn't something we want to do. We just need our own "us" space. I'm fine with holding my baby until she falls asleep, and when she's out of the crib, I'll lay down next to her in her room when needed. But we don't want her falling asleep in our bed at night. So getting up with her is a must. Do your babies ever wake up once they hit the bed? Do you have any tricks to make that exchange easier? Currently, we do a lot of light shaking/vibrating/patting, and rocking while in the chair. When she's good & asleep, we get up & continue to vibrate her while we walk to her bed and while we lay her down. Even when she's down, sometimes we'll lightly shake her little body or vibrate the mattress to ease the transition. Usually all that does the trick. But like I said, there are those few times when she wakes right up as soon as her body hits the bed and we start all over again.
So nights are not typically silent for this family. It's a good thing I really love her. I can't breathe her or smell her or kiss her enough, and I admit that feeding her in the still of the night will forever be one of my favorite memories. I just don't want to do it every day. ;-)
As always, I hope you're happy, healthy, & well!
Love you all!
Showing posts with label nursing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nursing. Show all posts
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Off we go into the wild blue yonder...
Well, I've alluded to this post many times, but was unable to really spill until now. I did say something way back during the summer, before Nic graduated nursing school, but since he got hired at the Heart Hospital we've kept things pretty mum.
He had done his clinicals at one hospital here in town, and initially interviewed to work there- as they'd encouraged- as graduation approached. The outcome of the interview was that they absolutely LOVED him... but he wasn't in the best interest of the hospital since he'd told them about leaving for the Air Force. They openly said that the job would have been his if they didn't know he was going to leave. He interviewed at a second hospital here in town, and literally the exact same conversation took place. I guess he was hoping that they'd still take a chance on him and would be happy for his loyalty to our country by rewarding him with the job. But no such luck. They said they loved him, but wouldn't risk taking on someone who would be leaving within the year. They advised him to not tell those with whom he next applied. So that's what he did. The honest guy I married had a real moral issue with this, not to mention was dying inside from a) keeping a secret, b) not being able to share his excitement about that secret and c) being afraid that somone would find out and he'd have to come clean before he was ready. Needless to say, we aren't the secret-keeping type. But alas, his departure date is approaching and he had the conversation and put in his two weeks. They weren't exactly thrilled, but in the end they wished him the best and things are going smoothly. He has only one more week left there and then he's all mine for about 3 weeks until he leaves.
People have asked if I'm getting sad and bummed that he'll be gone, and the answer is OF COURSE! He's my husband and I love every second I spend with him and I actually MISS HIM when he's gone! BUT I also know that he's going to be right in his element and I think he'll really love what he's getting himself in to. He'll have cell phone and internet access and I'm sure we'll talk daily or at least every other day, so it won't be the end of the world. AND it'll be less than a month before I see him again, and then we can see each other a bit more regularly.
Each time I talk about him leaving, I get the standard, "Where is he going again?" and "How long will he be gone?" In general, people are easily confused by our timeline (and I would be too) so I'll tell you as much as I know. He hasn't officially gotten his orders yet (which is why he waited so long to put in his two weeks) so there' still a teensy chance this timeline could change, but I'll update you below on as much as I know. Since the arrival of Little Miss Audra is clearly intermixed in there, I'll add that too, because most people eventually get to the question, "So what does that mean for you and the baby?"
May 2011:
Nic is 1 out of 30ish to be accepted into the United States Air Force Nurse Corps that year. He gets a heads up of this probable timeline in advance.
October 2011:
We find out WE'RE PREGNANT! His first concern is leaving me during this exciting and predictably difficult time.
December 2011:
My dad (a retired Army Colonel) comes to Lubbock and swears Nic in as a military officer. This makes Nic an officer on 'reserve' status since he hasn't officially started his training and full-time employment. This ceremony took place at the World War II Memorial, next to Nic's grandpa's brick and was quite a special day.
End of February 2012:
Nic leaves for Commissioned Officer Training (COT) in Montgomery, AL. This is a one month deal where he learns the ins and outs of being a military officer. He can't leave the base nor can he have visitors (until graduation). But like I mentioned before, he'll have phone and internet access, when he has time (which will be minimal).
End of March 2012:
Nic graduates as a Commissioned Air Force Officer. This is the beginning of a long and adventurous road! His parents, my parents and myself will be joining to celebrate the event and also to see how cute he looks in those uniforms. ;)
Beginning of April 2012:
He'll have about one week at home, and then Nic will leave to San Antonio for the Air Force Nurse Transition Program (NTP). This is where he'll learn what it means to be a nurse in the Air Force. He's already received his degree in nursing (an obvious pre-requisite) and this is his step into Air Force nursing. This will be more like his clinicals in that he'll follow an Air Force Nurse and will be able to come and go from the base as he pleases (& have visitors as often as he wants). This will allow us to see each other while he's there. San Antonio is about 8 hours from home.
June 2012:
Audra is due to come around the 4th! Nic's NTP doesn't officially get over until the 21st. This is the part that initially had us worried. He's done some research and is comforted by the information he's found: he'll be able to come home for the birth and will possibly be allowed to stay home and not return to the program without consequence. Staying home depends on whether his commanders feel that he's excelled enough and learned what he needs to know, and if it's near enough to the end of the program. This month holds the major question mark. We'll just have to put it in God's hands and see how it goes!
July 2012:
They give him about a month from the end date of his NTP to his official start date at Langley. Yup, that's the Langley you may have heard of in movies. It's on the east coast in Hampton, Virginia, about 30 minutes north of Virginia Beach. Needless to say, we're quite pumped about being on the ocean and away from all of this dry DUST! What we're nervous about: having only about a month and a half (or so) between giving birth, recovering, showing her off to everyone, getting our house packed up, and then moving 27 hours across the country to a new home. OH and somewhere in there, finding a place to live. Just thinking about it gets my heart racing. WOWZA that is a LOT of things to do with not a lot of time! AND what we'll REALLY be wanting to do is just stay home and be a family! That will definitely happen, but maybe not for as long as we'd like. Duty calls!
August 2012:
Nic will now be working daily as a full-time Air Force Nurse, and I"ll be staying home (at least for a bit) with the baby. We'll be in our new home on the east coast, and *hopefully* things will be coming together quite nicely.
And there you have it! Now I say all of that like it's set in stone and that's just the way it'll be. But I know as well as anyone that sometimes God has a plan that's different (and ultimately better!) from our own. I'm just saying that as of now, that's what we're predicting to happen if all goes according to plan. You'll definitely be updated as time goes on!
Now that he's put in his two weeks, we can talk a lot more about the Air Force and how excited we are to be starting a new adventure in our lives. Well... technically, a couple of new adventures will be starting at about the same time! He's quite pumped about this, so if you're reading and have questions or want to chat with him about it, just shoot him a message & he'd be happy to talk with you. :-)
As always, I hope this update finds you and yours happy and well!
~*Stefanie*~
He had done his clinicals at one hospital here in town, and initially interviewed to work there- as they'd encouraged- as graduation approached. The outcome of the interview was that they absolutely LOVED him... but he wasn't in the best interest of the hospital since he'd told them about leaving for the Air Force. They openly said that the job would have been his if they didn't know he was going to leave. He interviewed at a second hospital here in town, and literally the exact same conversation took place. I guess he was hoping that they'd still take a chance on him and would be happy for his loyalty to our country by rewarding him with the job. But no such luck. They said they loved him, but wouldn't risk taking on someone who would be leaving within the year. They advised him to not tell those with whom he next applied. So that's what he did. The honest guy I married had a real moral issue with this, not to mention was dying inside from a) keeping a secret, b) not being able to share his excitement about that secret and c) being afraid that somone would find out and he'd have to come clean before he was ready. Needless to say, we aren't the secret-keeping type. But alas, his departure date is approaching and he had the conversation and put in his two weeks. They weren't exactly thrilled, but in the end they wished him the best and things are going smoothly. He has only one more week left there and then he's all mine for about 3 weeks until he leaves.
People have asked if I'm getting sad and bummed that he'll be gone, and the answer is OF COURSE! He's my husband and I love every second I spend with him and I actually MISS HIM when he's gone! BUT I also know that he's going to be right in his element and I think he'll really love what he's getting himself in to. He'll have cell phone and internet access and I'm sure we'll talk daily or at least every other day, so it won't be the end of the world. AND it'll be less than a month before I see him again, and then we can see each other a bit more regularly.
Each time I talk about him leaving, I get the standard, "Where is he going again?" and "How long will he be gone?" In general, people are easily confused by our timeline (and I would be too) so I'll tell you as much as I know. He hasn't officially gotten his orders yet (which is why he waited so long to put in his two weeks) so there' still a teensy chance this timeline could change, but I'll update you below on as much as I know. Since the arrival of Little Miss Audra is clearly intermixed in there, I'll add that too, because most people eventually get to the question, "So what does that mean for you and the baby?"
May 2011:
Nic is 1 out of 30ish to be accepted into the United States Air Force Nurse Corps that year. He gets a heads up of this probable timeline in advance.
c
(Sorry for the blurry pic.)
He notified me of this exciting news by bringing me my own Air Force shirt to school. It was quite an exciting day!
October 2011:
We find out WE'RE PREGNANT! His first concern is leaving me during this exciting and predictably difficult time.
He's not fond of this photo, but I like the classic look on his face, when he starts to think of all the things to come...
This was a still shot taken from the video I had running when I told him the news.
December 2011:
My dad (a retired Army Colonel) comes to Lubbock and swears Nic in as a military officer. This makes Nic an officer on 'reserve' status since he hasn't officially started his training and full-time employment. This ceremony took place at the World War II Memorial, next to Nic's grandpa's brick and was quite a special day.
Making it legal... signing the documents!
[See one of our FB accounts for more pictures.]
End of February 2012:
Nic leaves for Commissioned Officer Training (COT) in Montgomery, AL. This is a one month deal where he learns the ins and outs of being a military officer. He can't leave the base nor can he have visitors (until graduation). But like I mentioned before, he'll have phone and internet access, when he has time (which will be minimal).
End of March 2012:
Nic graduates as a Commissioned Air Force Officer. This is the beginning of a long and adventurous road! His parents, my parents and myself will be joining to celebrate the event and also to see how cute he looks in those uniforms. ;)
Beginning of April 2012:
He'll have about one week at home, and then Nic will leave to San Antonio for the Air Force Nurse Transition Program (NTP). This is where he'll learn what it means to be a nurse in the Air Force. He's already received his degree in nursing (an obvious pre-requisite) and this is his step into Air Force nursing. This will be more like his clinicals in that he'll follow an Air Force Nurse and will be able to come and go from the base as he pleases (& have visitors as often as he wants). This will allow us to see each other while he's there. San Antonio is about 8 hours from home.
June 2012:
Audra is due to come around the 4th! Nic's NTP doesn't officially get over until the 21st. This is the part that initially had us worried. He's done some research and is comforted by the information he's found: he'll be able to come home for the birth and will possibly be allowed to stay home and not return to the program without consequence. Staying home depends on whether his commanders feel that he's excelled enough and learned what he needs to know, and if it's near enough to the end of the program. This month holds the major question mark. We'll just have to put it in God's hands and see how it goes!
July 2012:
They give him about a month from the end date of his NTP to his official start date at Langley. Yup, that's the Langley you may have heard of in movies. It's on the east coast in Hampton, Virginia, about 30 minutes north of Virginia Beach. Needless to say, we're quite pumped about being on the ocean and away from all of this dry DUST! What we're nervous about: having only about a month and a half (or so) between giving birth, recovering, showing her off to everyone, getting our house packed up, and then moving 27 hours across the country to a new home. OH and somewhere in there, finding a place to live. Just thinking about it gets my heart racing. WOWZA that is a LOT of things to do with not a lot of time! AND what we'll REALLY be wanting to do is just stay home and be a family! That will definitely happen, but maybe not for as long as we'd like. Duty calls!
August 2012:
Nic will now be working daily as a full-time Air Force Nurse, and I"ll be staying home (at least for a bit) with the baby. We'll be in our new home on the east coast, and *hopefully* things will be coming together quite nicely.
And there you have it! Now I say all of that like it's set in stone and that's just the way it'll be. But I know as well as anyone that sometimes God has a plan that's different (and ultimately better!) from our own. I'm just saying that as of now, that's what we're predicting to happen if all goes according to plan. You'll definitely be updated as time goes on!
Now that he's put in his two weeks, we can talk a lot more about the Air Force and how excited we are to be starting a new adventure in our lives. Well... technically, a couple of new adventures will be starting at about the same time! He's quite pumped about this, so if you're reading and have questions or want to chat with him about it, just shoot him a message & he'd be happy to talk with you. :-)
As always, I hope this update finds you and yours happy and well!
~*Stefanie*~
Friday, August 5, 2011
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
This is a special time in Nic and I's life as a married couple. I know other young couples go through similar events and changes, and that we're nothing new to this, but I'm sitting here just thinking... wow, this week is is a pretty big one.
He gets all blushy when I talk about him in front of his face, but at least if I do it here, you can't see him! :P I can't say enough great things about my husband. He's asleep right now so he'll be ready to go for his final in the morning. Did you catch the big word? FINAL. IT'S HIS LAST WEEK OF NURSING SCHOOL! This time last year, we had just moved to Texas and every day we were working like crazy to get the house and my classroom put together before the kids started school and Nic started his program. Here we are, a year later, and he's in his last week and I'm preparing for my second year of teaching. He's really put in A LOT of hard work with this program (understatement of the year!). He's practically lived in his books and on his computer, and somehow has pulled it off with awesome grades and still a smile on his face. Now let's just keep our fingers crossed that he lands a good job (preferably in an ICU to prep him for a Nurse Anesthetist program)! I'm SO PROUD of Nic and all that he's accomplished in one year. Seriously, think about it... he earned a whole degree in ONE YEAR! How INSANE is that? (Did I ever mention he's also really really cute and funny, and incredibly sweet?)
The anticipation for everything has gotten us quite excited. I can afford to be awake right now because, even though tomorrow is a work day, I've still got just A FEW days of summer left! I can't believe how fast it went by, and also can't believe all of the things I still have to do before the kids come. So within the next week, Nic will *officially* be finished with school, and I will *officially* be starting again. Isn't that the way things usually work? So we're sort of just sitting back and relishing this time we've got- me still with a bit of summer and him with assignments slowly tapering off as they get finished. I think about this time NEXT YEAR and how we'll likely be in our new home in Hampton and how we get to work like crazy to put the house together again, and how I get to work at making new friends all over again as well.
Speaking of friends, I can't tell you how many times I've thanked God for all of the AMAZING people we've met (and already knew) here in Texas. It was a treat, first of all, to be near Nic's family and get to spend more time with them. But it's just icing on the cake that I work with some really stellar people. I mean REALLY stellar people. These are honestly some of the funniest, sweetest, most outgoing, and sincere people that I've ever met. I've enjoyed eating lunch with them, planning with them, working for them, and seeing their faces every day. Teaching can be hard (another understatement of the year), especially in a school like ours. And while I don't think I ever really voiced it to them, they made my first year teaching a lot smoother than it could have been. They were there for me to talk to, to lean on, and to make me LAUGH on my best and worst of days. Part of me wonders how I ever got so LUCKY. And also part of me wonders if I'll EVER be this lucky again in Virginia. I really am looking forward to school starting again so I can see everyone EVERY DAY, not just on sporadic little dinner/lunch/pool dates.
I love days like this, when I know the next few days will be full of lots of FUN. Tomorrow's plan involves a POOL with some fun NURSING STUDENTS (celebrating 1 Final down), working out and then MORE FRIENDS in the evening... Saturday will again include friends in the evening, and Sunday will include brunch with Nic's parents, POOL again, then celebrating a friend's birthday in the evening. Monday and Tuesday? Well, they're the last two days of summer and I'm sure I'll be filling them with something fun! I know there's no real WORK in my very near future, and even on Wednesday when it all starts back up again... there's STILL fun in the plan (I'm hearing something about a team-building ropes course? Yippee!!!). I love knowing I've got plans to see people I really love spending time with in the very near future. Ahhhh Summer. Ahhhh end of Nursing school (it's great to get my husband back!).
Life.is.good.
He gets all blushy when I talk about him in front of his face, but at least if I do it here, you can't see him! :P I can't say enough great things about my husband. He's asleep right now so he'll be ready to go for his final in the morning. Did you catch the big word? FINAL. IT'S HIS LAST WEEK OF NURSING SCHOOL! This time last year, we had just moved to Texas and every day we were working like crazy to get the house and my classroom put together before the kids started school and Nic started his program. Here we are, a year later, and he's in his last week and I'm preparing for my second year of teaching. He's really put in A LOT of hard work with this program (understatement of the year!). He's practically lived in his books and on his computer, and somehow has pulled it off with awesome grades and still a smile on his face. Now let's just keep our fingers crossed that he lands a good job (preferably in an ICU to prep him for a Nurse Anesthetist program)! I'm SO PROUD of Nic and all that he's accomplished in one year. Seriously, think about it... he earned a whole degree in ONE YEAR! How INSANE is that? (Did I ever mention he's also really really cute and funny, and incredibly sweet?)
Speaking of friends, I can't tell you how many times I've thanked God for all of the AMAZING people we've met (and already knew) here in Texas. It was a treat, first of all, to be near Nic's family and get to spend more time with them. But it's just icing on the cake that I work with some really stellar people. I mean REALLY stellar people. These are honestly some of the funniest, sweetest, most outgoing, and sincere people that I've ever met. I've enjoyed eating lunch with them, planning with them, working for them, and seeing their faces every day. Teaching can be hard (another understatement of the year), especially in a school like ours. And while I don't think I ever really voiced it to them, they made my first year teaching a lot smoother than it could have been. They were there for me to talk to, to lean on, and to make me LAUGH on my best and worst of days. Part of me wonders how I ever got so LUCKY. And also part of me wonders if I'll EVER be this lucky again in Virginia. I really am looking forward to school starting again so I can see everyone EVERY DAY, not just on sporadic little dinner/lunch/pool dates.
I love days like this, when I know the next few days will be full of lots of FUN. Tomorrow's plan involves a POOL with some fun NURSING STUDENTS (celebrating 1 Final down), working out and then MORE FRIENDS in the evening... Saturday will again include friends in the evening, and Sunday will include brunch with Nic's parents, POOL again, then celebrating a friend's birthday in the evening. Monday and Tuesday? Well, they're the last two days of summer and I'm sure I'll be filling them with something fun! I know there's no real WORK in my very near future, and even on Wednesday when it all starts back up again... there's STILL fun in the plan (I'm hearing something about a team-building ropes course? Yippee!!!). I love knowing I've got plans to see people I really love spending time with in the very near future. Ahhhh Summer. Ahhhh end of Nursing school (it's great to get my husband back!).
Life.is.good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)