Friday, November 20, 2009

Back to the Babies...

I'd forgotten how hard it is to go back to work after a long stretch off! Maybe that's because it's been so long since I had more than 2 days off in a row! After going in extra for a few hours both last Thursday and Friday I was off 'till last night! Count it...that's 5 whole days off!! It continues to be super, crazy, insane busy at work. We had 7 deliveries just on night shift alone, with a board full of cervidils and antepartums to beat. We were busy, but thank goodness we had 7 nurses there too! I had my first delivery in what's seemed like ages. At least 2 weeks I think.

I wasn't all sure that it was going to be vaginal, but she did it!! I was so proud of her! 1st baby and a great support system in her sister, boyfriend and boyfriends' mom (even more impressive that the baby wasn't this boyfriend's but from a previous relationship). It was fantastic!

We've had 210 babies as of midnight on the 18th...that's a lot. If it weren't the holidays next week I think we'd really be breaking numbers this month...is everyone else this busy!?!


Babies today: 1m
Babies total: 68M/83F = 151
Vag:52M/62F = 114
C/S: 16M20F = 36
Babies 'caught' = 2f0.5m

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Babies Everywhere!

I set a new record at work last night...3 babies in a shift! I don't think I sat down all shift! And I know I didn't have a chance to pee all night (but that's nothing new anymore) :(

I had one delivery right off the bat @ 1845. Sweet little gal I had cervidiled the night before. Getting induced early for low fluid, never really thought she'd deliver vaginally. She did awesome!!

Got delivery #1 recovered and moved, then took over another labor patient from another nurse. She was 5, blocked/comfy and went from 5 to complete in about 45minutes! She was a great pusher and had a fantastic soundtrack of "pump-it-up" music that we played while we pushed. It was the best pushing session I've had in a while! It gives the nurses energy too! She had a little bit of a long repair afterwards, but was a trooper about it.

Got delivery #2 half way recovered before my next patient got there. She labored pretty well, tried the tub, tried an epidural that didn't really work. She SROM'd then was really hurting. In the midst of trying to redose, then finally having them just put in a combined spinal epidural she was laying on her side involuntarily pushing. We called the doc for delivery, had the laborist standing at the bedside and about 3 nurses in the room. We knew as soon as we laid her back we'd have a baby, you could see the perineum bulging with every involuntary push...

The CSE worked great and she got comfy really quick. Her doctor got there and then didn't I look like the idiot when we pushed for an hour and delivered straight OP. Fun, fun times. That was the first baby I'd ever seen delivered straight OP though. It does look quite odd when they come out looking at you instead of looking at the ground...

The day shift nurse who came in and tried to take over in the middle of the delivery (my turf...back off!) asked how the night had been. I said we'd been pretty busy, 5 or 6 deliveres. She said "we long for the pace. Must be nice." I bit my tongue but really, really wanted to say something along the line of "must be nice to have 2 or 3 times as many nurses on day shift too..." Oh well, all the babies get here and it always works out :)

Babies today: 1m/2f
Babies total: 67M/83F = 150
Vag:51M/62F = 113
C/S: 16M20F = 36
Babies 'caught' = 2f0.5m

She's Finally Here!

One of my favorite things is when I get to deliver someone who has personally asked me to be her nurse. It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach that someone picked ME to be their nurse and I wasn't just the one who got assigned to her! One of my friends asked me months ago to be her L&D nurse and we've just been waiting and waiting. I think the waiting's been worse on her than me...she's been ready for this baby to be here for months I think!!

I just finished a stretch of 8 days off and was out of town for part of it and we all knew that's when Little Miss was going to make her appearance. Mom had been contracting for days and days. She'd gone in for a labor check and wasn't doing anything. She was scheduled for an induction a couple days past her due date and wasn't too thrilled about that. Finally, my first day back at work, she came in ruptured and delivered in 3 hrs!! It was so fun! Super delivery and a super sweet baby. Congrats to Mom, Dad and big brother!!

That was the night we did 5 c/s in a row. Started W 1845 and rolled the last patient out of the OR at 0400. We had at least one nurse in the OR or recovery room all night. The patients just kept walking in and staying. It was crazy.

P.S. To doctors sleeping in the call room down the hall: when I call you for delivery, please don't take 5min to walk down there, sit on a stool to put on shoe covers and take your own sweet time then yell at me because I'm not "holding the head in well enough." I am ready for delivery when I call.

Babies today: 1f/1m
Babies total:66m/81f = 147
Vag: 50m/61f = 111
C/S:16m/20f = 36
"Caught":2f/0.5m