Turned work down for today, so tomorrow will be my last day of working before baby watch begins.

My dad got out of the hospital today...a couple of days ago, he had tripped and fallen on some drawers that he was working on.  No broken bones, no stitches needed...but lots of pain, blood and a the development of a 12-inch hematoma courtesy of 30+ years of being on warfarin (Coumadin).  So off he went for a two-day stay full of Vitamin K and painkillers.

While inpatient, he got a complete MRI.  My mother said she was worried about it and so read it to me over the phone.  Word for word.  All 6 pages.  Lots of interesting tidbits but nothing that struck me as being horribly abnormal...though I'm no MRI expert.

I was getting exhausted from listening and translating stuff, so by the time she got to the kidneys, I asked her if any of the physicians at the hospital told her that they found any problems.

"No," she said.

"Then don't stress.  If there was a serious problem, I'm sure they would have told you--they wouldn't court a lawsuit by not mentioning anything.  But take it to your regular doctor so he can review it too."

*sigh*

In other news...I noticed something.  Over the last couple of weeks, I have been incredibly thirsty.  Insanely thirsty.  Not the typical "I've had too much salt" thirst, but a painful thirsty feeling.  Thirsty enough that the word "polydypsia" came to mind today.  Then once that word entered, I realized that the appetite has increased considerably over the last couple of weeks too.  And the edema started around that time too.

For the record, polyuria never crossed my mind as the little-one-to-be is securely parked on my bladder...and has been for several months.  So constant urination is nothing new to me right now.  And no weight loss (ha!)...for the record, I'm now at a 39 lb gain.

Appetite increase, polyuria and edema:  I could put all of these down to the pregnancy.  But the insane thirst has me a little concerned.  I passed my glucose tolerance test in week 28, and have never had a problem with diabetes or blood sugar before then.  So while I'm not getting worked up into a "I've turned gestational diabetic!!!" frenzy, I'm going to call my OB and/or regular PCP tomorrow just to be safe.

Of course, I couldn't notice this before my last OB appointment so I could bring it up.

*sigh* x 2

So far so good.  Little-one-to-be is in the correct position, his heart rate is good, and he is estimated at 6 lbs.  I'm not dilated at all, my blood pressure is good, my weight up up but my feet are well and truly swollen and apparently I've got a lot of amniotic fluid in there...my abdomen was described as being "very squishy."  The midwife was able to bounce the little-one-to-be around in there.

I also got a DTaP shot.  The nurse was rather tickled to find out I'm a psych nurse, and we spent about 15 minutes comparing notes on IM techniques.

Next appointment in two weeks.

Work wants me to work Thursday as well as Friday.  Every time I try to get away they pull me back in :)  I'm thinking about it.

If it wasn't enough to hear it at work, my sister declared that I am huge.  The better half is predicting that the little-one-to-be is going to be gigantic.  The little one introduces me as "my mommy with the basketball in her belly."  Seriously, my abdomen has doubled in size overnight.

So have my feet and ankles.  I couldn't get on most of my compression stockings...I had to wear the lightest-strength ones that I owned (only 8 mmHg) and even then, my feet and legs looked like a claymation accident when I took them off last night.

*sigh*

Doctor's appointment tomorrow.  We'll see where things stand.

I am glad I am off work since last night I could not get comfortable to save my life, so I didn't sleep much.  Watching Lon Chaney silent films didn't help me get tired, but I figured that if I wasn't comfortable I may as well be enjoying myself with good cinema.  So I'm planning to go back to bed later this morning.

I did do my daily spot of nesting.  My bathroom is clean.  I also cleaned this past weekend since we had company (sister and her kids) over.  Half of the house, including the soon-to-be-nursery, still looks like Hiroshima after the bomb though.

Only one more day of work this week.  Given the sudden stomach expansion, I may have to go in wearing civilian clothing.  That's another benefit to working in psych:  in a lot of facilities, scrubs are optional attire.  While I prefer wearing scrubs due to a.  the comfort and b.  there's no mistaking that I'm a nurse (as though the ID badge with the big "RN" tag didn't help with that too)...I also need to be comfortable for this last day.

They're making bets...

The consensus of my coworkers is that the belly has gotten so large, that few think I will make it until the end of February.  Half predict I'll go into labor on Super Bowl Sunday, which is exactly at 37 weeks.

"No," I said.  "The Ravens made it, and I want to watch the game without having to stop and push!"

I thought this week was going to be my last week at work, but I got talked into doing one more day next week.  I told them that had to be it because once I was at term--which is either Super Bowl Sunday or the following week, I'm not good at the definition as OB's not my specialty--I wasn't working anymore...at least, not until the little-one-to-be is 3 months old.   Then I'll be back in some way, shape or form.

In the meanwhile, I'm finally having a bona-fide craving that is lasting more than a couple of days.  

It's whole wheat toast with real butter...specifically, very well-toasted Dave's Killer Bread and salted butter, though if desperate I'll use unsalted.  Seriously.  I'm putting down a few slices each day.  I even made some at 2200 last night and had it with a glass of chocolate milk.  I suppose this is a better craving than ice cream, sugar or cheese...the last in the list being a major craving last pregnancy and which resulted in 50+ lbs going on the body.

Speaking of weight gain, I'm up near 33.  So much for keeping it around 25...still, it's better than last time.  I'm aiming to keep it under 40 but at this point, any weight gained is mostly kid, breasts and peripheral edema, so I'm trying not to let the scale get me stressed out.

I did start getting the MyFitnessPal account ready though.  As much as this pregnancy has been good to me--seriously, it's been miles better than the first one--I'm ready to start having most of my body back.  The breasts, I'll have to continue to lease out to the little-one-to-be for at least a year, but the rest of me can start to be reclaimed after birth.

I started cleaning out the office, which will become the little one-to-be's nursery.  This is not meant to be a one-day process:  I figured I'd work on a it a bit each day.  Of course, little one-to-be won't be living in it for several months, but given that I'm a pack-rat by nature, I need to get an early start on the process.

I culled the nursing school textbook herd quite a bit and I still have almost bookshelf full.  Same with the knitting books.  Unfortunately, there's too many to combine into one bookshelf, so I'll have to think of something.

I also found a few unfinished knitting and crochet projects that I should tackle once I stop working and go on baby-watch.  I found a blanket for my bed, two wool shawls, two pairs of socks, a burp cloth and a charity blanket.  I also found a baby blanket in gender neutral colors that I have no idea who I was making it for, but it's almost finished.  So I'm going to finish it off and set it aside for the little one-to-be.

I also cleaned the stove.  That's today's adventure in nesting.

I was going to see my nephews tonight to let my sister have an evening off.  I made plans for the better half and little one to go to a monster truck show while I babysat.  I actually like monster trucks (and my Grave Digger is going to be there) but figured that being at a monster truck show at 35 weeks' pregnant is probably not the best idea.  The boys better bring me back lots of pictures and if possible, a Grave Digger souvenir.

But then I found out that my sister and one nephew have strep, and the other nephew has a cold.  So no babysitting for me.  I need to get strep while pregnant even less than I need to be at a monster truck show while pregnant.

I now have an evening to myself:  definitely a Chinese food night.  I wonder what sort of movie/television marathon I should have...and I should pull out that baby blanket in progress and work on it while I'm watching.

Reasons TO become a psych nurse

The stories you'll be able to tell.  You can't make up what you'll see when working in psych.  You will have the best stories to swap with other nurses, and except for those staff who work in ED (which is pretty much where half of the psych patients come from), no one will even be able to come close.

Professional development opportunities.  You will develop great therapeutic communication and interpersonal skills that translate over to many specialties.  You will keep up more of your medical skills than you think, since psych patients don't leave their medical problems at the door when they are admitted.  You will become a master at injections and secure-yet-quick-release knots.  You will know how to sedate a patient twenty ways to Sunday.

Worried about the technical skills getting rusty?  Anyone can relearn how to insert a Foley...same goes for most tubes and skills.  Nothing to lose sleep over.

Fewer blood and body fluids to deal with.  Granted, sometimes the ones you deal with may be encountered in new and creative ways.  But you're not going to have to deal with lines and IVs, and more than likely you will not be giving bed baths.  You'll see far less blood, poop and sputum in psych.   Vomit...well, if you work detox, you'll see more vomit.  But even in detox, there's still less blood, poop and sputum overall.

Less family members to deal with.  Most psych facilities limit visiting times, which means fewer demanding/entitled family members to deal with.  So you're not going to be fetching sodas, snacks and blankets for people other than your patient (actually, you won't even be fetching them for your patient, but that's another bullet).  And thanks to HIPAA, you may not even have to talk to them about the patient other than saying, "he's in the day room, I'll bring you there."

Opportunity to meet lots of people in law enforcement.  Without you being the one in handcuffs, that is.

You're not a glorified waitress/maid.  In psych, we encourage patients to do as much for themselves as they can.  So if a patient comes to us asking for a change of linens, instead of making the bed ourselves, it's actually more therapeutic for us to respond, "Sure, I'll get you a clean set so you can make up your own bed, and then show you where to toss the dirty sheets."  Patient wants a snack?  "Here, let me show you where the pantry is.   Help yourself."  Patient spill something or make a mess in that pantry?  "Hang on, I'll get you a towel so you can mop it up."

Try doing that on a med/surg floor and see what happens.

No call bells.  Need I say more?  OK, call bells may exist in gero-psych.  But in most of psych, there is no such thing as a call bell.

You really get to talk to patients.  It's part of our job!  We're expected to chew the fat with them--that's one of our therapeutic interventions.  No running around doing drive-by assessments and spending 15 minutes or less (out of 12 hours) with the patient because you're too busy juggling everything and anything.  So if you're the sociable type, you'll enjoy psych.  If you're not as sociable...work nights in psych where only half the floor is awake, so there's only half as many patients to talk to.

Dealing with your own difficult family members/people will become much easier.  Seriously.  After honing your interpersonal skills dealing with psychotic patients, patients who are acting out, patients with personality disorders, or patients who are hallucinating about an army of squirrels that are trying to to implant microchips in the entire human race...handling an overbearing parent, ornery child or a delusional boss is a piece of cake.

Job security.  Not many people want to work psych for whatever reason.  You'll have less problems getting a psych job than you will trying to get a job in one of the high-profile specialities that everyone else wants to work in.   You'll probably make a higher hourly rate too.  Also, psych nurses frequently get recruited...and you don't need to have 7+ years of experience to be targeted:  have just two years and recruiters will start making advances at you.  And this includes recruiters NOT in North Dakota.

Well, the dentist went well...a drastic improvement over the last two visits (which have been detailed in an earlier post)

It's times like this that psychiatric nursing skills come in handy.  Not only could I talk the little one out of his panic, I was able to manually restrain him myself.  Not as bad as it sounds...just keeping his arms from flailing and hitting the equipment.