Cups Cups Cups

Since I'm home usually every day of the week but one, Madeline hasn't had a lot of bottle usage experience. When it comes to eating, she loves to breastfeed. Her dad does pretty good with her when I am gone, but it's a struggle sometimes to get her to eat out of a bottle.

A couple weeks ago I had to work and Paul was having an emergency at work and couldn't get home for his usual Daddy/Daughter day with Mads, so we had a close friend watch Madeline. Our friend, also a new mom of a sweet girl 12 days younger than Madeline, is someone we trust and takes care of babies as a nurse for a living so I had no problem leaving Madeline with her.

She ended up watching Mads for longer than I thought she would have to (8 hours), and in the entire time Madeline was with her, she only took in about 4 ounces of breastmilk. It was a good experience because it got me thinking... If we ever have to have someone watch her again, she needs to be able to take a bottle from them or get nourishement in SOME way.

So a couple weeks ago I went out and got some new nipples for the bottles we have and a sippy cup (per a friends suggestion) just to see if Madeline might prefer that. The new nipples are a bit much for her. A lot of the milk still ends up on her face and bib because she likes to nibble on it rather then drink from it. The sippy cup? She loves holding it but when she bites on the nipple of it too much milk comes out and she is turned off... but regular cups? She loves 'em! I don't know what it is, maybe it's because mommy and daddy drink out of them. Yes, it's still messy - babies are messy it's just part of life - but she actually drinks from them! I'm just happy if she's getting nourishment so any way we can get the stuff down I am all for it!

Paul still tries to use the bottle and does a good job, but there is ALWAYS a way if that gets hard, and that thought gives me some peace of mind.

If anyone ever tells you that you HAVE to do something a certain way, just remember that with babies ands kids it's OKAY to think outside the box.

Oh, and don't hold the camera while video taping them drink from a cup cause they could choke.

I Got A Job!

I graduate from college in 2 weeks and have been applying at hospitals all over the Memphis area in hopes that I would find the right position and place for me as I begin my nursing career.

Of the 7 - yes 7 - hospitals I applied to, 4 actually replied to my online application in a timely manner, and I was able to visit these hospitals and begin the interviewing process.

My interest in the nursing profession started a long time ago. I have always been interested in working in the medical field. When I was a kid I wanted to be a dermatologist then a veterinarian, and finally a "woman" doctor. My passion for a social life in high school severely affected my grades and I barely graduated high school with the required 2.6 GPA (I think that was the cut off point, I really don't remember). After high school, I blindly attended a community college - still searching for a social life and a "man" to marry - with no idea what I wanted to do with my life. The idea of nursing crossed my mind, but discouraging words, rumors that the waiting list for nursing school was too long, and a lack of motivation because - remember, my number one priority was finding a man - temporarily stunted that dream.

So I spent a couple of years, and thousands of dollars I did not have, taking dance classes, failing math classes (only because I didn't do the homework - oh and by the way when I went back to school here in Tennessee I kept a 4.0 up until nursing school) and basically WAITING for something to happen in my life. Not that it wasn't fun, but I wasn't going anywhere when everyone around me was moving on - very depressing.

I eventually stopped spending money on schooling that wasn't going anywhere and that wasn't doing anything but putting me further in debt. I got a job doing customer service for "internet on your TV" and then later for Hunter Douglas taking orders for window treatments from dealers. I loved my jobs but I was still sinking slowly into debt as I would spend money I did not have on an attempt to look better (I had way too many shoes at this time in my life).

***Credit cards in the hands of young, impressionable women who were never taught how to budget or be financially stable are a dangerous thing my friends***

I finally found my soulmate in the oddest place imaginable - the Internet. It was very unplanned and unexpected. My husband Paul is one of the most "together," smart, and spiritually "in tune" people I have ever met. The life that we are making together is one of which I have always dreamed. This oneness of purpose is something that I have never experienced, and I am certain that it is rare. I have been blessed beyond my ability to fathom, and I realize this every day of my life. I know that we were made for one another.

In the 5 years we have been married, I have grown in many ways. I have learned much about who I am and what I want in my life... what kind of person I want to be. It took me a while, but I feel like I actually know who I am. Among the many opportunities I have had since my marriage, I was given the chance to go back to school and do something with my life!

I ate up everything I was learning. I LOVED math. I LOVED English, Sociology, Art History, Nutrition, Anatomy and physiology, Chemistry, and even Microbiology! It was almost as if my brain had been starving for 24 years and had finally discovered a smorgusborg of knowledge. It was divine!

Now, here I sit, about to graduate from college with my Bachelors degree in Nursing. It is a proud day in my life. A monumental day.

After much contemplation, consideration, and deep and serious thought, today I accepted a job at a great hospital here in Memphis as a perioperative nurse. I start May 21st, and will have 8-9 months of orientation and training learning everything about perioperative nursing.

It was a big decision for me, and it took a long time. I was actually offered 3 jobs - all of which were amazing - but I picked the one that I felt the best about.

In the end, if you follow your gut feelings about something, you will never fail. I love my life.