My friend and fellow PICU nurse came to visit Fanki and I yesterday. She came over and was cuddling with Franki while we were catching up on life! While we were talking she was quietly assessing Franki, such as, noting that she had a soft and flat fontanel (the soft spot on the top of her head), she was feeling her pulses and even checking her capillary refill. All of these little things that nurses do on a daily basis to there patients. This took me back to a post that I had blogged on during pregnancy. I talked about my history of being a hypochondriac about everything and the fact that most of my friends pictured me taking my kids vitals and doing physical assessments on them every night before bed. I have to admit that I am a closet hypochondriac with Franki. I frequently (70 times per day) check to see if she is breathing, either by staring at her while she sleeps, or feeling her stomach move. I often wake up during the night just to make give her the once over. I also have taken her temperature approximately 10 times. Occasionaly when I am outside and her hands or feet feel cold, I double check that she has a good strong capillary refill and good strong pulses. I often feel her fontanel (to assess for hydration), and also look at her muscous membranes (inside her mouth) to make sure that it is pmoist and pink. I am my own worst enemy. But hey you can never be too safe right? On the other hand, I have yet to get my stethoscope out to listen to her heart or lungs ( Im not saying that I will never do this, I just have not had a reason to do so yet!) I also have not checked any other vital signs besides her temperature. I know it seems weird, but to a PICU nurse and a pediatric nurse practitioner this is everyday life. We check patients every two hours. I havent been quite that bad, but you still worry. I have seen it all from the simple to the complex and you can never trully relax and believe that nothing will be wrong with your child. I did not diagnose her with reflux although i knew she had all the symptoms. I waited until her one month appointment and just like any other mom explained the symptoms to the pediatrician, she suggested it sounded like reflux and that she needed to be on zantac. Sometimes knowing to much is a nightmare. Most days I worry about getting her just the right stimulation, such as, talking to her and telling her all the things I am doing, tummy time, mat time, music, etc. I worry about everything. I want to ake sure I do it all perfect ( i know this is not realistic) but I am going to try my best to teach her and make sure she gets lots of love! Oh the joy of knowing way to much about sick kids and not enough about healthy ones. At first I thought maybe I was just being a hypochondirac about not traveling and making sure that everyone is up to date on all there vaccinations before getting to see her. Franki's pediatrician actually told me before I voiced the above concern, that no babies under 6 months should travel especially not during this time of year whent he Flu/H1N1 and pertussis are on the rise and affect the very young and very old. She also said to make sure that no one is allowed to see the baby this coming fall/winter that has not been vaccinated. I was glad that I wasnt being crazy, that the american academy of pediatrics agrees that babies should not travel right now and that everyone needs to be vaccintaed against H1N1 and the flu! Even the safest mom's dont get it perfect, but the harder I try and advocate for my little love bug hopefully we will be a healthy and happy growing baby!
On a side note: I love Franki sooooo much! I cant get enough of this sweet beautiful baby. She has the most beautiful little lips and this adorable dimple on her left cheek when she smiles. She is going to be a heartbreaker with that smile. When you love someone as much as I love Franki you would do the same thing. As a momma you take on the reposnsibility to do whatever it takes to protect you little one. It is in the job description. I know my mom and aunt both were the best mom'sand did theie best to advocate for us. I can only hope to be as good as they have been to me. I hope that Franki and I will be best friends like my mom and I. Love, Love, Love. I cant get enough of my baby girl! Cant wait to spend the weekend with my girl, hubby and family!!!
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