Changing Careers in the Future

After a few years of hiatus, I have finally decided to go back to school and pursue a nursing degree. I strongly feel that being a nurse is my calling after contemplating for a while. Lately, I have been really thinking about my family's future, and decided that going back to college is best for us. I want to see myself being satisfied in every aspect of my life someday, doing the kind of job that I enjoy most which is to help people. I cannot imagine how many times that I have pictured myself in a hospital setting particularly in the ER, doing all the nurse stuff, like in an episode of a discovery channel hospital show.
And now here I am, just waiting for the spring semester to start so I can go ahead and start a new career.
Don't get me wrong, being a hairstylist is one of those good lucrative careers out there right now, but the only thing is, benefits and retirement is not that good. I need a long term career with very good benefits and retirement and because i really don't see myself utilizing my comb and scissors for 25 more years. But I owe it to being one though, because it taught me how to be a people-person. It made me understand cultural diversity and how to cope with it, just by meeting new individuals everyday from almost every part of the world and having interesting conversations, in which I am sure that it will come in handy when I deal with a new set of co-workers and patients someday. It surprises me at times on how much a person opens up to you just by doing their hair. It makes me feel like I am their therapist. :-) I have probably met hundreds and hundreds of people in the last 7 years of being a hairstylist. I have learned a lot and I certainly developed a great bond with most of them. So for that, I am grateful that I am a hairstylist.
But its finally time to do what I have always wanted to do. I know it took a very long time to decide whats best for my family especially for ME. To start off, I am going back part time for my first semester because I really don't want to overwhelm myself, and start from there. I am still going to work as a hairstylist while being in school. I don't want us to be broke of course! It will probably take me a couple of years till I finish, but I am determined and optimistic about all of this. And it will make me feel so much better as a person. Its time for me to work and quit bumming around.
Oh gosh I will be so busy juggling work, school and motherhood. Though I know it is all going to be worth it in the end :-)

Thoughts on Planning my Little Munchkin's 1st Birthday

Okay! Lorelai's 1st Birthday is coming up so rapidly. It'll be here in 3 weeks, and I am racking my brain planning for it. I've thought of a theme already- Ladybug Theme, 'cuz she is our lucky charm and we ocassionally call her ladybug...I've figured out what kind of foods to serve, and I've decided that I am going to make her birthday cake instead of ordering from a store. I told myself that this is my daughter's 1st birthday and I am going to make it so damn personal and special, so making the cake myself will make it incredibly special.
Three weeks is not that long, and I am buying things here and there whenever I get the chance and trying to stretch the budget, because we don't have the money to buy things all at once. And its so sad sometimes because my siblings are all in the Philippines. I wish they are all here to help me plan this party, especially my older sister, she's a great party planner and I am sure she will make my life so much easier if she was here. But I am thankful at the same time 'cuz at least my Mom's here to help me out, but the truth is, you can't really rely her on party planning. Albeit that she will help with the cooking and stuff, but it is all on me baby !!!.......
I've bought the plates, plastic silverware, balloons, streamers, table liners and some cute decorations for the tablescape, the cake pan, the #1 candle and the party favors. So a couple of days before the birthday, all I have to do is buy the ingredients for the food and the cake. Oh man ! I am going to contribute to Sam's Club's revenue on that shopping day, BIG TIME !!! LOL !
It sounds like I am possibly going to go overboard with her 1st birthday, but I don't care really. A lot of people told me that there's no reason to do a lot because they won't even remember it. So I was just like nodding and agreeing with them when they were saying these things, but in the back of my head, I said "This is a very big deal, 'cuz this her very first birthday! So I am going to make it extra special for all of us. And I will make sure to get good pictures and videos so she can see it when she gets older." Well, its my child and I will do what I think is best for her and all of us.
Well, I guess we shall see if I am really going to go overboard with all of this and I am crossing my fingers that I will live up to my expectations...........Oh I think I am just going looney over this.

To summarize my life for the past few months, I'll just say "REALLY BUSY". I haven't blogged in a while I know; life's just so hectic for me right now....
My last entry was about Lorelai's VCUG, and I am happy to say that the results came back normal. Its just probably some kind of a health fluke. And so far she's been growing up right before our eyes. She's 11 months ! Wow ! Where did time go??? She'll be 1 next month....
I just realized that if you have a child, you can't ever, ever be selfish. Every thing's about them, and they can devour your time, hence your whole life. Although in exchange of that, they are so much fun, and they make you understand that life is just not great in this earth without children. Just like the old adage "Children are God's Blessings". And yes having a child is just like feeling God's love.
Being a parent, especially being a mom, is something different. I feel like I'm working 24/7, even in my sleep, I dream about work, the baby's well being, our household, laundry,driving and washing dishes. It just never ends. I am not gonna lie and say "Oh it's a piece of cake!". Yeah right! Its rough, and sometimes I feel like I want to cry because I'm not sure if I'm doing every thing right. Or I don't even know what right or wrong is in regards to raising a child. I know it has been 11 months, but I am still overwhelmed. It doesn't matter how many times I talk to different people about how they deal with parenthood, I still feel like nobody understands me but me. So here I am just trying to take it all in, and also trying to do whats best for me and my family.
Well enough of this whining..I'm sure I'll figure a lot of things out as I go.
My hubby and baby are asleep, and that's all I care about for now. The two people that I mostly care about are resting, and that puts me at ease to know that they are here with me in the other room-and they're off to dreamland :-)

Voiding CystoUrethrogram

I woke up one morning last month, because I felt that my baby Lorelai is shivering ( yes she sleeps in between us, and I am pro c0-sleeping ) and I immediately looked at her and she was ashy,her lips were kind of bluish. And I talked to her softly while looking at her eyes to see if she would smile, because she smiles a lot especially first thing in the morning. She was just staring in space and her whole body was shaking like she was in the freezer.I put my hand on her forehead and it was warm to the touch. That freaked me out and I shook my sleeping husband's body, and I was panicking. He stood up in shock, and I ordered for him to get a thermometer right away. It registered 101.9 F. And as my husband was in the process of calling her doctor, she threw up, and that freaked us out even more....
We got to the doctor's office and we told him what happened. He checked her temperature again and it was 100.5 this time. Then several minutes later he said that she needed to get admitted at the hospital, and she's going to go through a series of test. He called in and let the hospital staff know that we are on our way.
We were walking so fast, we dashed through the automatic sliding doors to the admissions. And a minute later we headed up to the pediatric floor.
The nurses didn't waste no time and started with a plethora of medical tests-starting with getting some blood work. Seeing her being poked with needles and of course she was crying hysterically it breaks my heart. My husband and I were crying too, because we couldn't do anything. Those tests needed to be done. They had a hard time finding a vein, it took them 5 times till they got some blood. Then they had to use a catheter to get a urine sample because she just wasn't peeing at that time-that made me cry so hard because she was crying hysterically-I know damn well that that catheter thing hurt really bad-can you just imagine how painful it must have been for her?. They also did an ultrasound and x-ray. And the last was a spinal tap-to check for meningitis-the doctor made us leave the room so I didn't see the actual procedure, and i don't think i can handle that one. Just hearing her painful cries in the hallway broke my heart even more, and I cried even harder. It was just a very stressful day for all of us. I know it was too much for her little body, but they have to find out the source of her fever...
She had a high fever episode that night of 103.6-and thank God that we are already in the hospital and they immediately gave her some tylenol to help lower it down.
The next day, they found e.coli in her urine. The doc explained that it was a bad case of a urinary track infection,hence the source of the fever. He ordered a couple of antibiotic shots. Then we stayed another day because she needed to be fever-free for 24 hours before she can be discharged.
I wasn't expecting that they take UTI's in infants very seriously so then we had to go to the Nemours Children's Hospital in Wilmington Delaware. In fact we went today and we saw a nephrologist. She's suspecting that her bladder might be having a reflux, so we have to come back next week for another test. The test is called VCUG-Voiding CystoUrethrogram which they are going to have to drain her bladder and fill the bladder with a iodinated contrasting agent and then she's going to have to void under a camera to see how her bladder and kidneys work. I guess its like an angiogram, except its in the excretory/urinary system.
I just hope that every thing's going to be ok. I am still stressed about all of this....

I guess this is what a mother feels when her child is sick. IT SUCKS !!!

march snowflakes

I woke up really early yesterday morning, the first day of March. Instead of going to the bathroom first, I peeked through the window just to see if its snowing. Because the night before, the weather channel said that there might be possible snow showers...I was like "Okay, no snow." So I went on with my Sunday morning ritual, whilst my hubby and baby were still sleeping-then I headed to work.

Everybody at work were talking about a snow storm coming in, and they were expecting for some 4-6 inch accumulation. And I said I'll believe it when I see it." Because how many times that they have called for snow for the last couple of years and we didn't get anything here in the Eastern Shore. Then I went on with my day, took my time to do everything, and even tried to do a last minute hair color deal with my last client. I didn't get off work till 7pm and i was supposed to get out of there at 6. Then I walked out to the parking lot, and it was just raining but freezing though, it was actually a rain and sleet mixture...I wasn't worried at all, and I decided to stop at the Babies R Us to pick up some Mustela baby facial wipes and a couple of Avent sippy cups for my daughter. I was in and out in a few minutes, then I headed at the gas station and filled up my tank. Then I drove northbound to pick my daughter up at my Mom's...

Then all of sudden as I was passing by Maryland/Delaware state line, the roads got bad. It was snowing so hard, I couldn't believe it. Then I started driving like a mom-mom, till I hit 30 mph. After a few minutes, everything was covered in white.

So the usual 40 to 45 minute drive from my work to my Mom's became 2 hours. Then from my Mom's to our house which usually takes me 10 minutes became 40 minutes-(the downside of driving in the snow).

It snowed for a while, it was crazy. Then my hubby finally got home, and he said it was terrible outside, the visibilty was almost zero.

We were happy though, even though we don't like the cold, we are happy that it finally snowed. It doesn't snow much here in the Eastern Shore, and if it does, its like a treat for everybody.

We took a few pictures today, everything was covered with the white fluffy stuff, and it continued to snow on and off the whole morning. It was our Lorelai's 3rd snow and the biggest snow day ever so far for her. It was a fun day for our little family. Our first Big March SNOW DAY !!!

I took this picture while hubby's getting rid of the snow on top of our cars

9 MONTH OLD BABY???

My Lorelai is exactly 5 months old today, and i can't believe it !
We went to Walmart a few days ago to do some grocery shopping, and we put her in the stroller.We left the car seat in the car, because she is starting to get cramped in it- so we only used it in the car. And yes, once we get our tax refund, we're gonna have to buy a convertible car seat, because the infant one is not working for her anymore..........
She loves being in stroller, just being able to sit upright I guess, because she can see everything. She's at the point where she just observes every thing. And I just couldn't believe how well behave she is in public ( At home? Oh its a different story,LOL).
As we are going from aisle to aisle, I kept checking up on her to see if she's okay. She's just having fun, because she kept on babbling and smiling back at the people that smiles and talks to her. Then one lady said " Oh she's just so beautiful and adorable, how old is she 9 months?" And my husband and I were like (while we were giggling) " No ma'am, she a couple of days away from being 5 months old" And she said "Oh my, she's long, she's gonna be a tall when she gets older" And we all laughed including a few people that was eavesdropping on the whole conversation.
Well i guess, she looks like she's older. LOL..Actually she's on 6-12 month clothing, and she has a lot of clothes that she never had the chance to wear, which sucks, but what can you do? I am putting it away just in case i get pregnant again with a girl...???Um maybe when she turns 2 years, and then we are going to have to discuss it.

A Blog Copy of my Labor and Delivery Accounts

This is the blog (from my friendster account)that i had made a few weeks after i gave birth. I haven't sign up for a blogspot account at that time...

October 20th, 2008
Labor and Delivery
Posted by majerr

Its been 6 weeks since i gave birth to my beautiful angel Lorelai Solfia. Physically i am exhausted and still recuperating from the birth experience………..
We finally decided to get pregnant after a year of contemplating, because we were just so content with just the two of us and thinking of having a child does not seem suitable at the time. Basically we were not ready. Okay i will be honest. I was not ready for my own selfish reasons…Then our friends Mike and Patty had a baby and we were there for them the whole entire time of Patty’s pregnancy for moral support and still after she had her baby girl Katherine. Then all of a sudden it hit us, we were ready. We decided to try earlier than we expected thinking might as well try now because there’s no way i will get pregnant right away. Or so we thought. I got pregnant after only a month and a half of trying. Anyways the whole pregnancy was a challenge considering i am a diabetic (type2), so i had to watch what i eat and give myself insulin shots for the whole 9 months. Let me tell you, the insulin shots were just so annoying to me, i just hated it and i had to do it 2-3 times a day. But i said to myself, “Whatever it takes so that my growing baby inside of me would come out healthy.” And the effort paid off…
The 38th week came, and at the doctor’s visit, we had been informed about the last ultrasound that we had. They estimated the baby’s weight to be 8 lbs and 7 oz. which he said was on the heavy side of the percentile.(My baby weighed in at 8 lbs and 1 1/4oz. so that was close!) Being diabetic and all it was inevitable to have a large baby anyway, so that was kind of a given. And he said that one of the risk of having a large baby is shoulder dystocia- a
case whereby after the delivery of the head, the anterior shoulder of the infant cannot pass below the pubic bone, or requires significant manipulation to pass below the pubic
bone. So he gave us an option of a vaginal delivery or a c-section. And we decided to try it vaginally, just because. And he also said that i’m going to have to be induced by my 39th week if labor does not start by then, so to eliminate the risk of the baby growing bigger inside of me.Between then and before the day of my induction, i tried different things to start my labor- walking, belly dancing, foot massage, and drinking herbal teas. My friend told me to have sex too, but that's the only thing that we did not do because i was just not in the mood. So anyways, they didn’t work, i was kinda dissappointed but oh well…
On a wednesday, september 3rd, we woke up at 4:30 am. We needed to be at the hospital by 5:30 for my labor induction. We got there 10 minutes early but had to wait because the hospital’s computer system was down, so registering took a little while… Finally we headed to the fourth floor of the hospital, the so-called Labor and Delivery floor (whoopteedoo!), and one of the nurses escorted us to our birthing suite. I was calm the whole time while the nurses start prepping me, hooking up my I.V.’s and stuff…We waited until 7 am for my OB/Gyn ( Dr. French), because they can’t start my induction till he’s in……………
My doc came in the room and started explaining the whole procedure,..Then he showed us a wooden stick, kinda like a thin drum stick, and it was the amnio-hook as they call it and he inserted it to break my bag of water to start the labor. That was weird, and all of a sudden a gush of liquid came out and it was a disgusting feeling let me tell you…Dr. French said that that should jump start my labor and an hour had passed my contractions came slightly. So he asked my nurse to administer Pitocin in my I.V. to help increase the labor and make my contractions stronger, oh they got stronger alright. The pain started becoming so unbearable and i asked my nurse for some pain medication, and she offered me Nubain and that put me to sleep. Then i woke up a couple of hours later still in pain and asked my nurse to knock me out again. A couple of hours later, i woke up, the first person i saw was Dr. French, and he checked if i’ve dilated some more, and i did, about 4 cm. Then i asked for an epidural for the pain. And it was great………
17 hours later, i was pushing, and oh it hurt so bad, i was screaming so loud but i didn’t care. I FELT EVERYTHING!.Dr. French injected my vagina with some numbing medicine and performed an episiotomy to give way for her head. So her head came out,, then all of a sudden there was a panic in the air because usually when a baby’s head’s out the entire body should slide out easily.So he cut me again thinking maybe that should do the job But her shoulders got stuck for a minute and i heard my doctor call in 4 nurses to push on my belly to get her out ASAP. Then a minute later (which felt like an hour) she was out (12:04 am, Thursday, Sept.4), but she was limp and she wasn't crying. One of the nurses got her and started clearing her nose and rubbed on her for a minute. And there you go, i heard her cry. But then they noticed that her entire left arm wasn’t moving-and that was the shoulder dystocia that i mentioned earlier.
I tore really bad, and they had to take me to the operating room to get me repaired. It took them a little over an hour, because it was a fourth degree perineal tear, which is the worst kind of an episiotomy. I just couldn’t believe it, you know, the severity of the situation. i wasn’t expecting all of that. Who would anyway. I thought everything’s going to be a breeze, because of all the pregnancy and baby shows that i’ve watched previously, the women on those shows made it look so damn easy. I never thought that i will have a difficult time with everything.
Her shoulder dystocia was scary for us, because we thought that her left arm was paralyzed. But the pediatrician that checked up on her said that it’s no big deal…2 weeks after her birthday, she started moving her left arm, and THANK YOU GOD FOR IT. And now she’s a healthy and happy baby.
My husband and I are just so grateful because she is truly a blessing for us. OUR FAMILY THAT I’VE BEEN LONGING FOR IS NOW COMPLETE….=)