Are you in labor?

Well here I am in OB Triage ! I usually do Labor but sick calls prevail! Do you know what we do for you here? Well in many hospitals this is where you first come to see if you really are in labor.The experienced nurses in triage will put you on a fetal monitor to assess your contractions and listen to your babys heart rate.If you are not due yet the nurses should assess where you are uncomfortable,ask you to give them a sample of urine;Why you ask ;well urinary tract infections very often will cause you to feel as if you are in early labor.also you may start having what we call "irritability" just a run of "tiny" contractions that are not real labor,and are often related to the "UTI"as well.These things are important to rule out in case of true premature labor.When you are determined to be having true contractions and you are due or close to your due date the nurses will examine you internally to see how far you are"dilated"this is the opening of your cervix that will indicate labor is starting.The nurses notify your Midwife or Doctor to admit you,at some hospitals the Triage nurses will also draw your blood,this in preparation of your admit to the labor unit,it lets us know many things,
#1 -the state of your general well being,a baseline to compare after birth if we need to
#2-you may want an epidural,if so your "platelet "count will determine if you may have one
#3-a double check on your "rh" status will tell us if we need to administer rhogam after delivery.
Now you and your partner are off for the most important physical and emotional challenges you will ever be given!
We will begin next time by taking you through the early stages of labor and what you can expect also some tips to help!!! please send questions????

Weed The Cactus??

Have you ever weeded a cactus? Me either! However this is depressing! The cactus seems to be at a stalemate, The part you see on here is just a small part of the much bigger plant,being about 6 sprouts if you will which take up about a 3-5 ft, area,then there are 2 other kinds of cactus in the cactus garden,which are of small tree size! I had the bright idea that maybe the "dead" leaves were taking the strength of the plant..does that make sense?..and so i "weeded"it oucchhh!! HOwever it's done..sort of I removed quite a bit old brown leaves,so we'll see.This plant was moved from the front of my house to the back to where the other cactus are,I couldn't move them! maybe it's still shocked ? I do have pictures from when it was in the front,so I can at least show you what it shoukd look like..but we'll wait a few days!

Belly Buttons

I'm off to work today..so some more babies will feel my hands dry them off and rub their back vigorously! I will make them cry,suction their little nose and mouth for the secretions that may block their airway,and cry they do!,as they protest the cold,open space they have been subjected to after being so cozy and warm so long!
A mom asked me last week if I could make it so their baby have an "innie"belly button!! Well no,actually I cannot! I think maybe the idea came from when the dr. had to "tie" the cord with suture??Anyone know? All I could think was my own children have "innies" however when they were born we used "belly bands" these are cloth bands that wrap around the baby's belly,you tie them snugly until after the drying cord has fallen off,and the area is no longer red,I am sure these came to an end because of the high number of infections resulting from lack of thorough cleaning of the area,not that moms do not clean,but as I have watched moms over the years ,they are often afraid to lift the cord up and clean all under and around the umbilicus,this WILL NOT hurt the baby! Can I suggest how to make the "belly button" be an "innie"I really cannot think of anything except for the belly-bands but did that piece of cloth really make my girls and son have an "innie"? ANYONE!! with a comment I would welcome your experience!! Perhaps we together can create a whole generation of INNIES!!!

My Home!!

This is kind of fuzzy,but you will get the idea! My husband bought this house for $10,000. he basically gutted the place then rebuilt it from the inside.The home was a stopping point from Syracuse to Albany in the 1800's.Originally a tavern with rooms to let on your journey,the basic footprint inside was kept, the same except for two bedrooms which had been one large "dancehall"The home was known as the Briggs House. as the family who built it was Briggs. We were featured on the local home tour for the hospital auxilary.Impressive in size at 4,800 sq. feet,it was "home" for many years. We were married in the living room,as well as my youngest daughter.A fireplace built by my husband spans one wall of the kitchen and is a replica of an 1800's cooking fireplace complete with dutch ovens!!There is a fireplace in every room,making each room unique in decor.The amazement of the home is a tribute to the man who spent countless hours carving out woodwork for the library,searching old,abandoned houses for period pieces,and applying his unique style to every room,as each represents a colonial period of a different country!! Stay with me as I search the pics and post the memories of my heart!!