I am thoroughly exhausted, to be honest. The first week of work was a bunch of 9-5 days getting all sorts of paperwork and generic hospital orientation stuff out of the way. I was both a pack mule and a dairy cow, lugging my breast pump all around the hospital grabbing random rooms to pump in. All the while, Bridget was at home consuming all of an ounce or two, the ENTIRE day.
After an exhausting first week, we got hit with the storm of the decade. The girls had a blast attempting to trudge through it all. Lots of sledding and shoveling and bundling occurred. I really enjoyed it the first day. It was beautiful to watch and cozy inside. We only lost power for a few hours which just gave us an excuse to pile on the blankets and light the candles. After a day of snow and no plows in sight, I started to get frustrated. I wasn't able to get to the hospital for my first day of work on the unit. A two-door Civic Coupe in 2 feet of snow...I don't think so. This meant I was going to have to work Christmas Eve to make up the time. My plans to finish up shopping for Christmas gifts and Christmas dinner was a bust. I did manage to walk to Target to pick up some stocking stuffers and gifts.
Then it was on for three days of work, off for Christmas, on for three more days, off for one, then on for one last day. The schedule was intimidating, in and of itself, but add in getting up extra early to drive on icy roads, squeezing in an early morning pumping session, and being bombarded for 12+ hours with learning a new job; it was all I could do to kiss my babies and crawl into bed when I got home. Did I mention Bridget has taken to waking 3 or 4 times at night, reluctant to be put back to sleep?
But, there was a lot of awesome this past two weeks. Brian was AMAZING as a house spouse. He handled all three kids with ease. Dishes were done. Dinner was warm and waiting for me when I got home at 8:15pm. The kids were bathed, laundry was clean, groceries were bought, Christmas decorations were taken down and toys cleaned up. While I was at work, I never once worried about things at home because I knew it was all getting done. Much to Brian's dismay, being a super house spouse led to me sobbing that I wasn't needed around the house anymore and that I was losing my control of the homefront. I blame hormones, since I have also started shedding like a dog all the hair I didn't lose during pregnancy. I think I might go bald pretty soon if the pace keeps up.
Christmas was lovely. The girls really had fun with the presents this year and get excited over the tiniest things. It's nice to see it doesn't take big and fancy things to make them happy. I finally got to host a holiday meal and dinner was so tasty. It was made even more enjoyable having family to spend the holidays with and I love seeing the girls get to know their baby cousin. Hearing my mother-in-law's hilarious baking escapades is becoming a holiday tradition that brings me giggles. It was Bridget's first Christmas and she slept and enjoyed having her mommy home for a day.
Working with the babies in the NICU has been great. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was back. Catching up with nurses of the unit and showing off pics the kids has been like a mini reunion. While I was more than overwhelmed the first day back, I have realized that I learned more than I though during my last two semesters of school. I am shocked at how much more ill the intermediate babies are than they used to be, but excited that I get to be the one to help them and their families during the roller coaster course many preemies take.
I could probably write all day, but my baby is awake and looking for snuggles. I want to bake cookies with my big girls and enjoy my four days off.
HAVE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!!!!
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