I Did It!

Totally funny that the last thing I posted about was going back to finish my masters, obviously going back to work and finishing my masters took every ounce of my time so I haven't been blogging much, but I am back to tell you that I am OFFICIALLY done with my M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology!!! So proud of myself for getting it finished, even though I have NO desire to work in that field right now, I am sure it will be useful somehow, somewhere, healthcare is so diverse you never know were it will fit in.

Anyway doing the happy dance over here. Can't wait to actually see the diploma, have to wait until February I think which is when mid-year graduation. Can't believe I am done, whoo hoo!!!!!

Now it's Matts turn, he is busy getting ready to apply to get his Masters in Library Science!

Here we go again...

I started back at Elmhurst again last night. I am taking a Capstone class that the I/O psychology program developed so all of us that never finished up the internship portion of the program can now do so and earn our masters degrees. I am happy to report that my cohort is the only one with multiple members in the class, three of us. Everyone else was from different cohorts. We were almost the oldest cohort, but there is one person from the 2002 (we are 2004), so I don't feel so bad anymore.

I had a massive headache by the end of class. It's going to be a rough 3 months, doing something I have no interest in anymore. I was comforted by my cohort mate sitting next to me, say it's been so long as our professor spat out terms for yesteryear. Yes it's been a long time and I don't do anything in the realm anymore so it's going to be a little crazy getting back into this. My eye is on the prize, my M.A. which will be useful possibly if I decided to go on to RN, I could do a bridge program and get my MSN. That's a big maybe however, but at least I will be done and get my family off my back.

It was really weird being back on campus. I haven't been there since graduation in 2006, it was so damn hot and I was 20 weeks pregnant with Logan. I spent 6 years of my life going there, and four years living as an undergrad there so it was weird to be back. A lot has changed, they renamed a bunch of buildings, my sorority is no more, and a lot of the psychology department has moved on since I was there. So anyway hold on tight cause this is going to be hell on earth for the next 3 months for me.

What to do, what to do...

So I am very excited to start my new career next month, so far my (our) plan is working as planned. We had Ava, I stayed home with her the first year, went back to school to do the CNA program, got a job. The next stage of our plan was to work for a year and then possible start trying for a third bambino. Something that was usually such an easy choice, this time is not. I am not struggling as to whether or not to have a third, that I am good with. It's everything else that is just weighing me down right now.

Issues going through my head right now:

~We don't really have room for another child in this house
~This house will not be ready to be on the market in a year
~Even if said house was on the market in a year, who knows how long it would take to sell
~Money for a new house will mostly come from the sale of this house, so yea we have to sell before we buy
~What happens if I have early complications again now that I will be working? What happens if blood pressure is an issue again? I don't want to lose this job, and I need to make sure I get enough hours in the next year to cover FMLA.
And the biggie that keeps cropping up since I had Ava
~to VBA2C or Repeat C-section

Honestly right after I had Ava, I started researching it. I didn't even get to try with her because of a push to be delivered by 41 weeks, while I could have declined the c-section they forced me to schedule, I ended up with pre-e and had to be delivered anyway. Everything leading up to that was good though. I was dilated a bit (more than I was with Logan before my water broke), I was getting into contraction patterns, they just kept stopping, I needed more time, but my body was done at 8 days past due date, and pre-e is not something you mess around with. I get it, it was necessary. My first c-section, well jury is till out on that one, we will never know if it was necessary.

So I had resolved to the fact that I would have to birth that way if we had more kids. Then a couple of weeks later the ACOG released new guidelines and research that said a VBA2C held no more risks then a VBAC. Well now since then I have been researching providers, midwives, hospitals and more research so we can give this one more try. Through this research it has become very apparent that each c-section you have puts you at much more risk for maternal death. Um no thank you.

So I have a doctors name, a hospital and a midwife practice, it will be a pain to get there, but it's the best choice and chance we have at this. I really prefer to see a midwife this time as they are more holistic in their care and take more time with you. We have decided against my better memory LOL, to try and have a natural child birth, as it is the best and safest way to VBAC. This is going to take a lot of work, classes, doula, whatever it takes. With Logan my water broke and then nothing, so I was hooked up to pitocin as soon as they got me in bed. All I know is I was 1 centimeter dilated and having back to back contractions with doubles peaks, pretty sure that is not normal for early labor. I couldn't handle it I was losing control and had to get the epidural. All the dilating I did with Logan was after the epidural and I could relax, so I don't think they are the devil as some indicate. I know it's different if you go into labor on your own, easier to handle and that's what is getting me through this idea of natural labor. I have a lot of fear to work through that's for sure.

Here is one of the articles I found:

Comparing Risks of VBAC and Repeat Cesarean: Studies and Statistics

In her book, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth (aff), Ina May Gaskin compares the risk of vaginal birth after cesarean with repeat cesarean:

The medical evidence about VBAC is actually clearer than some recent medical and media interpretations of it would suggest. Cesarean surgery is just as risky as any other major abdominal surgery for the mother — a considerably higher risk for her than vaginal birth. With repeat cesarean she has three times the chance of dying and roughly five to ten times the risk of suffering complications. [emphasis mine]

In examining the the general risks of cesarean vs. vaginal delivery, studies have shown certain increased risks due to caesarean delivery, and other increased risks due to vaginal delivery.

General risks of cesarean delivery (those with higher risk than vaginal delivery) include:

• A threefold increase in the risk of death to the mother
• Greater risk of death to the infant, by more than double when no labor complications are present
• Increased risk of newborn respiratory problems
  
• A dramatic increase in the risk of hysterectomy
• Increased risk of infection and its complications
• Risk of dense adhesions, increasing the likelihood of organ injury in future abdominal or cesarean deliveries, and increasing the likelihood of bowel obstruction
• More intense and longer-lasting pain in the six months subsequent to birth
• Bladder injury
• Increased psychological problems for the mother, including difficulties in establishing breastfeeding, weakened mother-baby bonding, postpartum depression and even instances of PTSD
• Risk to babies in future pregnancies, including increased risk of pre-term delivery, low birth weight, brain and spinal cord injury, respiratory problems, and unexplained pre-term death in the womb
• Risks to future pregnancies due to accumulated cesarean scars, such as ectopic pregnancy, placenta previa and placental abruption

General risks of vaginal delivery (those with higher risks than cesarean delivery) include:

• Anal sphincter trauma
• Temporary urinary incontinence

Fewer studies are available in directly comparing specifically VBAC deliveries to repeat cesarean, however, studies appear to indicate:

• VBAC represents no additional risk to the infant,
• Repeat cesarean does however represent increased risk to the mother.

Although VBAC does represent increased risk of rupture of the uterine scar, again, this risk has not been shown to correlate with an increased overall risk of death compared with caesarean delivery.

Yea so there you have it. This decision should be an easy one. Especially if we do want to have a fourth. I feel like a 3rd c-section would be it, I had a hard time recovering from my second, one so I feel a third would be it for my body.

So now we have to decide when are we going to do this. In my research I read an article from Mayo Clinical about pregnancy spacing and found out that 5 or more years between births increases pre-e chances. Well I am already at increase for that since I have had PIH and pre-e in both of my live pregnancies. If we wait until we moved, we might get to that point and I don't want to do ANYTHING to increase my chances of pre-e. The treatment is really rough on me, and I am just not a present in the first two days of my kids lives because of it. Not to mention good bye VBAC.

I was starting to think we should wait two more years. I would be 32, which means if there were to be a #4 if would be a lot closer in age then we want to #3. We really don't want to be having kids much past 35 since I have so many issues already, they will just get worse as I age.

I need to get my surgical records from the hospital so I can take them to the new doctor/midwife and see what is going on and if VBAC is in the cards. I need to meet with these new care providers and make my wishes known. I have no idea how long my body is going to take to get back to normal after "the removal" it could be awhile. So if we are going to go for it in a year, I need to get started on all this. I just feel like we have to wait because if the house situation, so then I am back to the spacing problem and if we are nearing 5 years between I am putting my self more at risk for something that I am already at high risk for! So anyway, I am struggling with all this right now. We have to make some decisions and that's all there is to it. My family WILL NOT be supportive of a VBA2C, and I can only surround myself with positive as we take that journey. My husband is supportive, but I feel like sometimes he just says what I want to hear. He is however the only person that really saw what I went through after we had Logan and he was so worried after my c-section with Ava, but it was better this time. I am sure all Logan's medical issues, NICU, etc, played a big part in the hot mess I was after that birth.

I wish I could just jump into work and not worry about it until next year, but the planning and making sure I have a care provider that supports our decision, my take a year to find, or to get into if this place is super busy.

I found a lot of great blog postings from ICAN, I will have to post some. Some of the c-section ones I could have wrote myself. It' s nice to know I am not alone in the way I feel.

SO this was a long rambling post, but I couldn't sleep last night thinking about all this and needed to get it out.

I am, however, super exited to start working and I am sure my nerves in relation to that is also keeping me up at night, which gives me time to think about all this other stuff...oh well that's life!

Another Craft

Here is another super cheap and easy craft that kept the kids busy for awhile. I picked up water bottles on clearance for $.40 a piece for the kids. Then I dug through our huge art box and pulled out a bunch of sticker sheets, then I let them go nuts putting stickers on the water bottles. They really had fun doing it and it kept them occupied for quite awhile. Matt has some contact paper that is clear and he is going to put that around the water bottles so the stickers don't come off or get wet.

Guess What!?!?!

I accepted a position with Advocate Health Care at my dream hospital yesterday!!!!!!!!!

I can not believe that this is happening, it is SO hard to get into this hospital and I did it as a new grad to boot!!

There was a crazy chain of events leading up to my offer which I will get to. What is really important, is this: I know I have talked about how going through my miscarriage three years ago was the final push that made me go into nursing. So my interview was last Friday the 12th. Three years earlier on the 12th, I was sitting in this very same hospital in the ER waiting to here the fate of our second baby, and here I was three years later, a new CNA grad interviewing at the hospital where all the greatest and worst moments of my life have taken place. I guess I get to add one more tick to the greatest side!

I will be working on a medical-surgical floor where they put all the cases that don't fit anywhere else in the hospital, they also specialize in CF, detox, and get hospice once in awhile up there. It will be a huge learning opportunity and challenge. I will be working evenings and nights, part time! I will get to train to do a larger scope of practice as a nurse tech, including learning blood draws, which I am excited about! I have a two week orientation that is Mon-Fri during the day, so now I am trying to figure out child care arrangements, made more difficult by the fact that Logan will be in school by then. So hopefully I can get that worked out soon.

Man I am so proud of myself :) I remember when I started my blog I was just starting to figure out when I was going to start my CNA program and I had to wait basically a year from then because Ava was a baby still and I had to wait for another weekend program to roll around. What a journey it has been, and every step along the way has gone just the way I wanted it, great class, got the clinical instructor and floor that I wanted, made some great friends, graduated with a 4.0, passed my state exams, and got hired at my dream hospital...yep a lot to be proud of!


So here is my interviewing saga as retold on a mommy message board I am apart of:

So I know I posted awhile ago about having an interview, after going through three interviews with that hospital, I didn't get the job due to lack of experience (it was on a peds floor) which was disappointing since they seemed to like me so much, but understandable since it is a more specialized floor.

So the same day I get that rejection email I get a call from a hospital that I applied to on a whim, it was a smaller hospital 45-60 minutes away, only reason I applied was because my mom did her clinical rotation there for surgical tech and had liked it there. So I applied for a patient tech position (CNA with a bigger scope of practice) and they suggested since I didn't have a lot of non-clinical experience to try for a patient sitter position (you sit in the room with high risk for fall, suicide, and confused patients and do basic care) and usually within 3 months I could move into a PCT position. So I went ahead and did the initial interview, figuring I just need experience and I could suck it up a deal with the commute for awhile.

Went away from the interview with an eh feeling. So then the next week they call back to schedule a second interview which would have been tomorrow. I was just not feeling good about it, it didn't feel right, but like I said I needed the experience. Then wouldn't you know an hour later my dream hospital called for a phone interview, then called two days later for an interview, went in last Friday was there for almost 3 hours testing and doing three interviews. Well I was offered the position today at the hospital I always wanted to work at!!!! I am so excited, it is SO hard to get into a hospital as a new CNA with no experience and I did it, and did it at one of the best hospitals in this state! I could see staying here for my entire career for sure, and it's only a couple minutes from my house to boot! I will be learning so much more in this position, this hospital trains their nurse assistants to do so much more (phlebotomy, in-dwelling caths, etc) which will make my pursue of becoming an OB tech much more easier down the road.

Crazy, so now I have to call and cancel my other interview and everything worked out perfectly!

What is really crazy is this: the final deciding factor/push for me to start this new career was when I had my m/c, I just felt like I have been through all these crazy medical experiences, both myself, with Logan and with my Dad for a reason and that nursing is where I was suppose to be. Wouldn't you know that my interview with the hospital was on the day we found out we lost the baby (at that hospital too) and here I was 3 years later interviewing for my dream job. Defiantly have a little angel watching over me

Fun Kid Craft!

So I am totally addicted to Pinterest, what's that you don't know what Pinterest is? It's the site where you can find just about anything. Check it out, you won't be sorry you did, or maybe you will, but I have gotten great ideas for the house, for the kids, for parties, and everything in between. Yes it's addicting! So here is one of the "pins" I came across: easy superhero capes for kids.

On Sunday we did a fun, cheap and easy craft with the kids, making superhero capes out of t-shirts! Then we had superhero day on Monday, kids wore their capes, watched a superhero movie (The Incredibles), colored some superhero's and did some superhero training!

We started with two t-shirts and I cut off the front and the arms leaving the collar.


Next the kids decorated them with paints!


Daddy helped too

All done and drying outside!

Logan is here to save the day!

Good-Bye 20's...

Hello 30's!

Other than having a biological clock freak out a couple months back, I really have no problem turning 30. Life is so good right now and a lot of exciting things are going on in my life and I feel like my 30's are just going to a great time.

My 20's had huge milestones take place and I was blessed many times during that decade, but I am not going to lie, I wouldn't want to do it over again.

I did a lot in my 20's: college, traveled to Germany, Austria, Hawaii, and all over the US either on vacations or for sychnro compeitions. Went to grad school, got married, had two beautiful childern,Went to US National Synchro Skating Championships and was on TV even a coulple of times with my sychro team, Competed at ISI World Champs when they were here in Chicago, Went back to school and became a CNA. Dealt with financial stress due to Logan's medical needs/NICU stay, struggled with c-section depression, learned exactly how hard going through a miscarriage is and the ever lasting effects it has on you, took on a lot of the responsibility for the care of my father. You get the picture, never a dull moment!

My life changed so drastically in my 20's makes me wonder what my 30's will have in store for me.

As a happy birthday present, I got my first call back for an interview for a PCT (Or patient care tech: a fancy CNA that is trained to do more than basic nurse assisting) position at a local hospital! Next Tuesday is the interview so fingers crossed and lot's of positive thoughts and prayers needed, I am nervous!!

Since we had the big party last weekend no huge plans for today, hubby and I got our tickets early to go see Harry Potter tonight, my sister is going to watch the kids, so it should be fun!

Happy 3oth to me!!

My 30th Birthday Party!

We celebrated my upcoming 3-0 this weekend with a luau birthday party! It was beautiful outside and everyone has a blast! Thank you to all my family and friends who came out to celebrate with us, it was a great party! It definitely made turning 30 a little easier :<)

Better Late Than Never!

We were a little late getting Ava's 18 month pictures taken (that happens when your kid #2) and we had them taken when she was 19 months, well more like 19 1/2 months old and we got them back from our wonderful photog friend Lance last week. Logan is in here to and of course he is 4 1/2 and counting!

They were all super cute, here are some of our favs!








A glimpse into the teenage years...


Picture taking is hard work...