A day in the life of a Mom, wife, RN, and Premed student going for a second degree in Biology.
I am a mother to 2 wonderful boys age 2 and 8. Wife to a military pilot currently deployed to the middle east, RN in a labor/delivery, postpartum unit in a rural hospital, and part time student completing my premed pre-reqs to apply to medical school for the year that my husband will FINALLY retire from the military!
My Day last Monday
0615 Alarm goes off. God I’m tired. Stumble downstairs to start coffee pot. While coffee is brewing pack oldest son’s lunch (wonder why I didn’t just do it last night before bed). Pack son’s back pack. It’s snowing today, I locate sons snow pants, boots, gloves, hat. Pack in addition to his back pack.
0620 Coffee done brewing. Poor cup (ahhh… sweet nectar of life) Sit down with books to study before I have to wake up oldest.
0715 Go upstairs to wake oldest son. Set his clothes out on his bed.
0720 Downstairs making breakfast for son.
0725 Wake oldest son again. Tell him he MUST get up NOW!
0730 Oldest stumbles down stairs holding clothes and dresses in front of fireplace (its cold today!) and sits at kitchen table to eat breakfast. I poor another cup of coffee.
0745 Send oldest upstairs to brush teeth, comb hair, put on shoes. I go upstairs to put on sweats and brush teeth and put in contacts.
0755 Start car to warm up
0757 Go upstairs to wake baby (2 y/o, but he’s my baby) carry him downstairs. Get coat on him, tell oldest to put on shoes again, gather up bags, load everyone on car.
0805 Drop oldest off at school, roads are slick with the snow, wish hubby was home to help out. Contemplate the task of shoveling the driveway. Decide it can wait.
0815 Return home. Throw in load of laundry, pick up house, pack bag for myself and baby.
0845 Take baby in basement to play with train set while I run on treadmill (think about how much I miss running outside and silently curse at the military for this latest move)
0915 Upstairs from basement swap laundry, leave pile on chair in living room. Take baby upstairs with me to lock in bathroom with me while I shower. Hear doorbell, run downstairs. Nice man offers to shovel driveway for small fee. GLADLY accept and ask him to come back tomorrow.
0930 Shower. Dress. Get baby ready.
1015 Load up car and take baby to sitter. Cars off road. Slick roads scary for a southern girl in the Midwest!
1030 Drive to appt with premed advisor
1100 appointment with pre-med advisor. Review courses for next semester. He encourages me to apply to the local med school. Tells me I have a great GPA and if I have a good MCAT score I should be a competitive candidate (I inwardly smile b/c I was afraid he would be discouraging to me due to my age of 32)
1130 Drive to another campus for class
1200-12:50 study for test in class today
1300-1350 World History (I didn’t need it in the University system I got my RN degree from)
1400-1615 Chemistry, take test, feel good about test.
1630 Pick up oldest at after school care
1645 Pick up baby
1700 arrive home. Hubby calls and wants to skype (I don’t have time for this) But the kids love to see their Dad on the computer to talk to him. Even the 2 y/o will talk to Daddy on Skype
1715 finish skype and make dinner for kids, help son with homework while I run around packing bags, and lunches for tomorrow.
1730 Serve kids dinner, set out jammies for both kids, set out clothes for next morning for both kids. Set up coffee maker for next morning for baby sitter.
1735 Sitter arrives. Briefly go over homework needs with sitter and oldest son. (silently wish my husband was here to take care of them at night) Throw 2 Diet Dr. Peppers and a frozen dinner in my work bag.
1745 kiss my sweet baby tell him I love him, leave for work.
1755 Drop oldest off at Tae Kwon Do, kiss him, tell him I love him, Sitter will pick him up in 1 hr.
1800 run through Starbucks drive through (caffeine is my friend)
1830 Arrive at hospital walk in and hope for a calm night.
1835 Arrive on floor see mass chaos and have all hopes dashed.
1840 Clock in, change into hospital scrubs, chat in locker room with other nurses while waiting for assignment.
1845 Receive assignment get report.
1900-1930 See new cervical ripening pt. Check pt to get baseline of where we are starting.(1cm, 30% effaced, -2) Discuss plan for night with pt and family. Receive orders from Doc to call on call physician if she happens to go into active labor during the night.
1930 see Mom and baby that I have for the night, discuss plan of care for night. Assist with breastfeeding problems.
2230 Stat C-section for another nurse. Help out with getting everything ready.
2300 Tell on call Phys. Update on cervidil pt. (1cm, maybe 30% effaced, -2). Told by On call doc that he doesn’t want to know about said pt and I will have to call her own doc to manage her if she needs anything. (why am I the one to be telling him about this pt. Shouldn’t that have been worked out before?) Decide that it is probably a non issue because she is a Primip and Cervidil pts don’t often make a tremendous amount of change over the course of the night.
0000 Anesthesiologist calls and says he is heading home dos anyone need anything before he goes. No tell him latest exam on cervidil pt
0030 Cervidil pt calls out and wants pain medicine. Check her. She is 3cm/ 90% effaced/0 station Remove cervidil. Give her IV pain meds. Go out to call Anesthesiologist for epidural (feeling terrible for telling him to go home 30 minutes ago) Page Dr. who sent her in for induction.
0100 Decels on fetal heart monitor. Check pt. (6cm/ 100%/ 0 station) Still no response from pts physician
0105 Anesthesiologist arrives on floor. Decels have resolved. Sit pt up for epidural. Request charge nurse to page physician again.
0107 Pt getting epidural. Phys. Calls back. Give him update. Says he will be in shortly.
0130 Pt comfy with epidural. Check her and she is 9cm. (so much for not making much change with cervidil) Turn over care of other mom and baby to another nurse.
0145 Physician comes in breaks pts water. She is complete.
0147Pt delivers beautiful HUGE baby boy who is pink and screaming.
0200-0600 Drink 5hr energy drink. Caffeine is my friend. Recover mom and baby.
0600 Baby starts grunting. Hope it goes away in a few minutes.
0615 Baby still grunting. LOUDLY. Place on Pulse ox. O2 sats highest @ 90%. (Damn)
0617 Call Pediatrician tell him about baby, receive orders for labs, x-rays etc. on baby
0630 Assist with x-ray, record report for next shift, print off kardex for next shift.
0645 Give report, get ready to go home, supervisor says I have to go have a TB test in Occupational health TODAY on my way out the door. Seriously? I. am. So. Tired.
0800 finally on road to go home Occ health took SO LONG!
0815 traffic
0830 more traffic (darn slick roads and snow)
0900 still crawling home in traffic. Roll windows down in car to stay awake.
0915. Home. Kids at school and sitter.
0920 Shower. Fall into bed. Silently wish for husband to come home sooner. I’m so tired and I need his help. Don’t want to wake up early to study before I get oldest from school at 1500 and go back to work tonight. Know that I have to. Glad that I only work 2 days per week. Grateful not every day is as long. Look forward to the summer when I can just go to school and my hubby will be home also.
MomRN2Doc1day
Can't believe all that you do, especially while your husband is deployed. We are a military family as well. Good luck in your studies - you seem able to handle a lot - am sure you will do well. Please let me know if you ever want med school application advice - have sat on admission committees.
ReplyDeleteYou are amazing!!!! Keep it up girl! You will make a great doctor! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are very motivational! I too work and go to school, but I have my husband to help out. Hang in there, you rock!
ReplyDeleteWOW! Sometimes encouragement comes in the most unexpected packages at the most unexpected moments. I wrote this post yesterday as a way to vent on a particularly overwhelming day. To be honest KC, I wasn't even sure if I had submitted it properly. I logged on tonight to read because I have so enjoyed reading everyones posts this week. I have been inspired and impressed by the stamina, dedication and and determination of each of the women who have posted. What a surprise to see my post. What an even better surprise to read your kind words of encouragement! Something I NEVER expected to see. Thank you. The littlest things mean the most sometimes. I am honored to have been allowed to participate with such an amazing group of women.I often am told "I just don't know how you x, y, z..." My answer is very simple, so far it has worked for me in everything I have done. You just keeping picking your feet up and putting 1 in front of the other. I think every woman on this blog knows that :0)
ReplyDeleteKC, thank you for your kind offer! I will e-mail you in the future when I start to get my application together. Any advice is greatly appreciated in this process! And also kudos to you and your survival skills as a fellow military family ;0)I now understand why your husband was gone for your post too.
Indymom:I was so impressed by your post. 4 little ones in med school??? Sort of drowns my fears instantly. You are impressive.
Mary. Thank you also. Keep it up in school girl!
You go for it MomRN2Doc1Day!
ReplyDeleteWow, good for you!! I can't believe how well you are holding it together. We are also a military family, and the deployments have been such a challenge while working (first deployment I was pregnant with #3 and second deployment #3 was 14 months old). I can also help with med school application issues when the time comes if you need. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteNot that you need anything else to do, but consider becoming a regular contributor to MiM. It is a very supportive community and would probably be good for you, especially during deployment when support is welcome from anyone, anywhere, anytime!!
Thanks Tempeh. I don't always feel like I'm holding it together all that well. But some days I do better than others. I am so surprised by how many other are military family's there ae that pop up in the most unexpected places;0) Yes, deployments are a challenge while working, as you know from experience. Thank you for the invitation to submit more often. I do find writing therapeutic :)And I'll keep the app. advice in mind for the future. Thanks!
ReplyDelete@MomRN2Doc1Day - I'd love to know if you're now in med school, and how the application process went. You go girl!
ReplyDelete@MomRN2Doc1day I loved your post and congratulate you and how well you manage your day (even if you feel like you don't). I am pregnant with first child and also a RN on the night shift (telemetry unit, feels like ICU at times). Already feel overwhelmed. I continuously wonder how I am going to be a mother who is a RN in a stressful environment. My husband works long hours in another hospital as a Patient Representative, and sometimes I don't see him. It makes me feel better, reading your post, that I too am not alone.
ReplyDelete@MomRN2Doc1day I love your post and congratulate you and how well you manage your day (even if you feel like you don't). I am pregnant with first child and also a RN on the night shift (telemetry unit, feels like ICU at times). Already feel overwhelmed. I continuously wonder how I am going to be a mother who is a RN in a stressful environment. My husband works long hours in another hospital as a Patient Representative, and sometimes I don't see him. It makes me feel better, reading your post, that I too am not alone.
ReplyDelete