Cluster headache part 2

Wednesday morning, I open my eyes and my headache was still there. It is so fricking annoying to wake up with the same headache for days. I was supposed drop off the tests I did the day before at the midwife's office, then meet the new nanny at the par to get my son acquainted. Somehow I managed to get out of the house but my eye was pounding with pain and closing by the minute. I made it to the midwife's office and dropped off the test. The second I got in the car I called our soon to be nanny and asked if she could meet us at urgent care instead of the park  I booked it downtown to the urgent care that has seen me before and the nanny agreed to meet us there. I was so grateful that my son was in a fairly good mood and was putting up with my unavailability. I set up an audiobook and he made the best of it. The nanny showed up and played with my son while I rocked back and forth with my head in my hands, moaning in agony.  I waited 45 minutes for them to assess me then another 15 minutes to be seen. Once I was in the room the nurse and doctor were asking me questions to assess my needs. I hate this part. I know what the hell I need and I want the friggen drug STAT! I know it is just standard of practice and that they have to do that. Anyway, I finally got my injection of immunitex and anti-nausea medication that I later found out was originally created as an anti-psychotic. Oh well, after about 20 minutes I started to feel minimal pain.  I thanked my new childcare and took my soon to the park after that. It was a pretty rough couple of days but somehow I made it.

Cluster Headache part one

Tuesday night during the last 3rd day visit I had to do, the headache I had all day turned into a cluster headache. My right eye started swelling and throbbing with pain. I started doing my deep breathing exercises and I took three tylenol and three ibuprofen.  I still had to make dinner and put my kid to bed. I fixed up something fast to eat and started getting my kid ready for bed.  I noticed my son had green mucus in his eye. "Oh crap!" I thought. My son had friggen pin eye and I had to treat it before I went to bed. I put some drops of breastmilk in his eyes and put him to bed. Once he fell a sleep I went to my bed and tried to relax to keep the headache from hell at bay. With breathing exercises I finally fell asleep waking up from time to time throughout the night, hoping I would make it through the night.

PKU

Once I attend a birth for the midwife I usually have to do the 3rd day postpartum visit at the client's home. This involves checking mom and babies vitals but also performing a PKU test on the baby. The PKU test is part of the California Newborn Screening program. A state mandated test which check for over 70 different metabolic diseases, which are all very rare but treatable if caught in time.
I really don't like doing the test that much because I have to poke the little babies foot. Sometimes I need to poke the babies foot 6 or seven times. The best scenario is when I only have to poke once.  It all depends on how fast the baby coagulates or not. There are six circles, about the size of a penny, that need to be completely saturated blood, front and back.  Some babies sleep through the whole thing, while others scream bloody murder. Sometimes the parents cry too. It is important that I remain calm and confident no matter how dramatic things get. Actually, I fell that I have gotten genuinely confident and that I cam able to handle any situation that may arise when performing that test.  I also know that at home we are doing things as humanely as possible because the mom is holding the baby the whole time and can breastfeed them if the baby wants to nurse. In the hospital the babies are separated from the moms and laid flat on their backs until the test is done.  I like the way we do the test and I am glad we offer an alternatives.

Back to back births

On Sat 11-30-13 I was called to two births back to back. I accrued very little sleep that day but I was in awe of both of the mamas. The first woman's water broke but had no labor contractions for a long time. But boy once they started things really moved, the baby was born just three hours later. This is very fast for a first time mama. The next mama had a more average length labor, around 18 hours. She was so calm though. Even when here baby's head was emerging none of us knew, except for the when the mama said ever so casually, "The baby's coming out now" in the same tone one would ask for someone to pass the butter at a dinner table. Both of the babies were little girls and very cute. I love being able to witness such an amazing, intimate time in peoples lives.

L.A. Hideaway

I love the fact that we have a place like Griffith Park in the Los Angeles area. Every time I take a hike in that area I get a little reprieve from the hectic life of the city. This particular day really felt like fall. It was a cloudy day with leaves out all over the ground and the creek. My son and I walk around  trying to find fairies.

Sometimes I meet colleagues up there for gatherings and meetings, as well as friends for hikes and catch-up time with the girls. There is a little coffee/tea shop up there called the Trails Café. They make great scones, quiches, and muffins that are so delicious. I am so grateful for this wonderful nature spot that we have so close to us in this big city.

Mmmm Thanksgiving

My stuffed, prosciutto wrapped pork loin was a success on thanksgiving. After three years I really have gotten this recipe down. After we enjoyed all the fixings, we finished off the meal with homemade apple pie. My son helped me roll out the dough.  It's fun to make memories like that together. My mom ate with us and then when we were done we drove over to my aunts for dessert. There we were joined with my cousins and my 92-year-old grandma. I love any excuse to spend time with my family especially when there's good food involved. 

I'm not sure what I'm going to cook for Christmas eve yet but I'm sure it'll be something great. I truly enjoy cooking for people I love, it must be the Italian in me. 

Christmas Parade

Ah, the annual Hollywood Christmas parade. It was nice to get out of the house for a second with the family and check out all the floats and participating marchers. It was so fun to watch my kid jump around, dance and get excited about all the different characters coming down the street. Also, it was great to see the Hollywood community gather for a local event. It was a good way to bring in the holiday cheer and to get ready for all of the Christmas hustle and bustle.