Oh, yeah...the blog...
Since I've returned to work my days and evenings are one continuous whirl of motion. Tonight Robbie went to see a movie with a bunch of friends and Jack and I spent the evening catching up with each other. It's about 8:30 pm right now and after a busy evening of visiting with Mommy, bath time, bottles and books, Jackson is soundly sleeping in his bed with a full belly. Other than the hum of the dishwasher, the house is quiet. Ahhhh, a few moments of Catie time and naturally I shall spend those moments writing about Jackson.
I have to force myself not to talk about him all day at work. Not that there is a great deal to actually refer to other than how much I love him, miss him during the day, how darn cute he is and his fondness for the word "goo." It's insane how truly crazy one can become about their kid. Let me just put it this way...I get it now.
Jackson continues to grow at an alarming rate and there are times I swear he grew an inch while he was away from me during the day. He is exploring more sounds and has discovered he has a right arm. He proudly holds it up and then intently focuses on it, utterly amazed with its' convenient proximity to his face. We are convinced that at any moment this kid is going to gift us with his first giggle and Robbie and I are completely giddy with the thought and possibility. Seriously. (My more pessimistic Mommy Guilt side, however, is convinced he will gift the daycare workers before gifting the parents.)
And then there's daycare. I am still less than thrilled with this necessity...but...am trying each day to recognize the benefits of our arrangement. The evenings I pick him up I spend time visiting with MC his caregiver. She tells me about his day and usually always mentions how sweet and easy going he seems to be. He continues to nap really well there and I am just grateful that his first illness so far has been nothing more than a stuffy nose.
A few nights ago Jackson actually slept through the night. He went to bed around 8:30 pm and didn't wake up until 3 am, ate and went back to bed until about 7 am. He did this two nights in a row and Robbie and I were amazed with this seemingly new talent of sleeping for long stretches of time. I was just certain we had hit the Sleeping Through the Night mark. So much for being certain about anything with an 11 week old baby (yeah, I know! Eleven weeks!). We are pretty much right back to getting up every couple of hours. I figure he is still young enough that it's nothing to get into a tizzy about, but as I was complaining to Robbie about being up three times the night before, I stressed to him that we now know what this child is capable of. For some reason that makes it even harder to roll out of bed at 2 am AND 4 am.
I've entered my third week of work and I am still happy to get up every morning and go. Success! I am enjoying my new position and today I had a bit of a breakthrough with a portion of my job that has been stressing me out. One of the services we offer in the Survivorship Center is genetic counseling and testing for the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genetic mutations, or otherwise known as the breast cancer genes. Obviously before signing anyone up for this test we counsel the patient to (a) be sure they are appropriate to take it and (b) help them understand exactly what we are testing for and how the results may or may not impact their lives. For a few months now I have been trying to become better educated and prepared to discuss genetic testing with patients, knowing it would be an intricate part of my new job. For a few months now I have also been stressing out about this intricate part of my new job, fearful I would come across as uneducated about the topic. The subject of genetics isn't really for the faint of heart and one must be certain that the information being shared in a clinical setting is accurate and clear.
Well, today I was called over to visit with a patient currently seeing a breast surgeon. Dr. K was out and it was up to me to appropriately inform this patient. I started with what I have become quite comfortable, drawing out a family tree...a road map of who has and who hasn't had cancer in the patient's family. From there I wandered into the dense forest of DNA, praying I wouldn't drag myself and the patient into the scary, monster infested part. This woman had enough on her plate with a new cancer diagnosis - I had to simplify this portion and remain steadfast in my delivery. When it was all over, I clarified with her our plan to seek testing and as she shook my hand and thanked me she said, "You did a great job of explaining all of this to me. I've been a nurse for a long time and haven't been able to keep up with the latest in the BRCA testing and you really explained it all well."
Honestly, she might as well have told me I was a great Mommy to Jackson, wife to Robbie, employee and housekeeper....it was exactly what I needed to hear to know my difficult decision of returning to work full-time was the right one. I just wish she could come back every week and say it all over again.
I have to force myself not to talk about him all day at work. Not that there is a great deal to actually refer to other than how much I love him, miss him during the day, how darn cute he is and his fondness for the word "goo." It's insane how truly crazy one can become about their kid. Let me just put it this way...I get it now.
Jackson continues to grow at an alarming rate and there are times I swear he grew an inch while he was away from me during the day. He is exploring more sounds and has discovered he has a right arm. He proudly holds it up and then intently focuses on it, utterly amazed with its' convenient proximity to his face. We are convinced that at any moment this kid is going to gift us with his first giggle and Robbie and I are completely giddy with the thought and possibility. Seriously. (My more pessimistic Mommy Guilt side, however, is convinced he will gift the daycare workers before gifting the parents.)
And then there's daycare. I am still less than thrilled with this necessity...but...am trying each day to recognize the benefits of our arrangement. The evenings I pick him up I spend time visiting with MC his caregiver. She tells me about his day and usually always mentions how sweet and easy going he seems to be. He continues to nap really well there and I am just grateful that his first illness so far has been nothing more than a stuffy nose.
A few nights ago Jackson actually slept through the night. He went to bed around 8:30 pm and didn't wake up until 3 am, ate and went back to bed until about 7 am. He did this two nights in a row and Robbie and I were amazed with this seemingly new talent of sleeping for long stretches of time. I was just certain we had hit the Sleeping Through the Night mark. So much for being certain about anything with an 11 week old baby (yeah, I know! Eleven weeks!). We are pretty much right back to getting up every couple of hours. I figure he is still young enough that it's nothing to get into a tizzy about, but as I was complaining to Robbie about being up three times the night before, I stressed to him that we now know what this child is capable of. For some reason that makes it even harder to roll out of bed at 2 am AND 4 am.
I've entered my third week of work and I am still happy to get up every morning and go. Success! I am enjoying my new position and today I had a bit of a breakthrough with a portion of my job that has been stressing me out. One of the services we offer in the Survivorship Center is genetic counseling and testing for the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genetic mutations, or otherwise known as the breast cancer genes. Obviously before signing anyone up for this test we counsel the patient to (a) be sure they are appropriate to take it and (b) help them understand exactly what we are testing for and how the results may or may not impact their lives. For a few months now I have been trying to become better educated and prepared to discuss genetic testing with patients, knowing it would be an intricate part of my new job. For a few months now I have also been stressing out about this intricate part of my new job, fearful I would come across as uneducated about the topic. The subject of genetics isn't really for the faint of heart and one must be certain that the information being shared in a clinical setting is accurate and clear.
Well, today I was called over to visit with a patient currently seeing a breast surgeon. Dr. K was out and it was up to me to appropriately inform this patient. I started with what I have become quite comfortable, drawing out a family tree...a road map of who has and who hasn't had cancer in the patient's family. From there I wandered into the dense forest of DNA, praying I wouldn't drag myself and the patient into the scary, monster infested part. This woman had enough on her plate with a new cancer diagnosis - I had to simplify this portion and remain steadfast in my delivery. When it was all over, I clarified with her our plan to seek testing and as she shook my hand and thanked me she said, "You did a great job of explaining all of this to me. I've been a nurse for a long time and haven't been able to keep up with the latest in the BRCA testing and you really explained it all well."
Honestly, she might as well have told me I was a great Mommy to Jackson, wife to Robbie, employee and housekeeper....it was exactly what I needed to hear to know my difficult decision of returning to work full-time was the right one. I just wish she could come back every week and say it all over again.
Comments
I am happy for your success! Love, Mom
any great daycare will never ever tell you that they were the first to see jack giggle, laugh, sit up, stand up, take a step, say a word.
if they do, you will give me their phone number so i can give them a call and give them a piece of my mind.
ignorance is your bliss.
love,
hanna