Friday, February 26, 2010

The Economy Hits Hard (and doesn't play fair)

My boss dropped a bomb shell on all of us recently. She is pretty much being forced to interview for a new position as manager of another floor in the hospital. This was quite devastating to all of us. She is probably the best boss I have ever had, and we all love her. She is hard-working, very visible and approachable. She has been so understanding through my infertility, it makes me cry just thinking about it. She is such a huge part of our floor, it is going to be weird without her.
They are asking her because we have been having some major budget issues. I didn't think the economy would be much of a problem in a hospital, but it really is, and it is way worse than I thought. Scary worse. Like I am wondering what they are going to do with my job. There is talk of "cross-training" and "redistribution". Words that make my skin crawl. I have always been an Intensive Care RN, and at this point, I think I always will be. It is such a huge part of who I am, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. And when someone talks about training me to work somewhere else "just in case" it makes me want to run.
I can't help but wonder if they are going to close our unit, or combine it with another. Then what would all of us nurses do? That would be too many nurses for one floor. That's where the "redistribution" would come into play, I would imagine. Yuck. What a freaky thing for me, worrying about my job. I NEVER thought I would ever have to worry about that. We are short one million nurses in this country and I am worried about job security. Something is wrong with that.
Do I look for another job, being 18 weeks pregnant? And if I interview do I tell them? Is it worth giving up the built up time I have in place for maternity leave, which right now is about 3 weeks (not much)? I am totally at a loss. This is so weird.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Long Overdue Update

I think I am officially a bad blogger as of late. I literally have forgotten, just like a lot of things lately. This has been very frustrating! The pregnancy brain has set in. But I have to say that it isn't as bad as I have heard it could be. (Or maybe it is, and no one is telling me!) I apologize! I will try to be better!
I am officially 15 weeks, going on 16 now, and I am finally feeling close to this baby. I think it has helped that I have started to dream about the baby, and most are pretty nice. It has given me that feeling of how it might be to be a mother, and that's been pretty great.
I have been struggling with debilitating headaches, which are getting better thanks to my chiropractor, I think. I wasn't sure why they started (of course I wanted to know why! Just the hormones, sinus congestion, stress, extra weight on my front half?) and I still don't know for sure, but if seeing her is helping, it is probably stress and how heavy my front half has become. It started heavy, and it got even heavier. I am praying that the growth has completely stopped now, because I can't find too many more bras in this size! And for those of you who think this is a nice thing to have, think again! It is possible to be too big! So I am grateful those headaches are better. I haven't had to take anything for about a week now, which is great. I was taking Tylenol with Codeine for a couple weeks, it was that bad.
I also am experiencing sinus congestion, and now I am battling a cold. It seems that between the weakened state of my immune system that pregnancy brings and the constant congestion I have, anyone with a cold around me, I seem to pick up. This does not bode well for the sick/vacation bank I am trying to build up for maternity leave!
I have to say overall, I am feeling better being in my second trimester. The nausea is almost completely gone, and my appetite is returning somewhat. I still have not gained any weight, which was concerning me, but my doc says it's OK, it will come. But the belly is growing, which is exciting for me. About a week ago, I put a lot of my pre-pregnancy clothes in the corner in my closet. I was sick of trying on those pants, and crying because they didn't fit. I tried the belly band with the hair band for a while, but that just got uncomfortable. So I am mostly in maternity pants now, and so much more comfortable, which is what matters to me right now.
I am going to start my registry on Thursday too. I was a little worried it was too early, but it will give me some time to tweak it before the shower. I am getting excited for it now. I just hope it isn't too daunting with all those products. I will definitely have my "Baby Bargains" book in hand!