I'm a Pediatrics Nurse Today

Are my patients suffering from broken hips, infected knees, or fused spinal cords you ask??? NO! They are not! Today they are little kids, with none of these problems I am used to dealing with!

I am here in the Eugenia Litta Children's Hospital, a hospital within a hospital if you will, at St. Mary's. The first half of my shift was spent with 3 peeps in their 60s, all to big to move on my own, all with infected bones of some kind. However, I come to find I'm floating to peds! I am one of the few who do not REFUSE to float here. It's hard and different, but I enjoy the learning experience and new perspective on what else and who else is out there! We kinda freak out when we have to float here, it's a different world. Insted of giving out cups of pills, the medications come in syringes that you either push into their mouths or set to slowly dispense into an IV in a crazy looking contraption. Also, where do you take a blood pressure, a simple task normally, on a baby? It's the leg, come to find. Also, do I pick up the baby? Do I leave it in the crib? I dunno? And so on and so on, many questions. I came here and was greeted by many, so I felt like I had some good help. I have 9 and 12 year old girls and one 3month baby!!! I walk in and they're like these little miniature patients! I can move their whole bodies with one arm, hahaha.

I was a tad nervous meeting these folks, but all the parents and children were very kind to me and it went well. I didn't let on that I was "new". The two girls are both from the middle east, random coincidense, and they, along with their parents speak no english. So, we do a lot of pointing and smiling and guesturing. It's funny though, you can still make a connection without language. One little girl had cute pink slippers, jammie pants, and a pink stuffed animal. I picked up her animal and pointed to her slippers and smiled and she giggled.

The baby is so darn cute and little. I tickled his toes and let him sqeeze my finger, fun fun! I had to give him medication in his mouth and he sucked it right down! I was impressed. I was expected him to put up a fight. I also found myself weighing a diaper and charting on how much milk he drank, hahah, funny.

I have a few meds left to give, but it'll be easy, but slow, I have 2 hours left, bah. But yay, 3 days off. Tomorrow I am having lunch with my 3 besty girlies friend in Roch: the Hut master, C-Dawg #2 aka Bishelhopper, and Kels Marie (sorry Kels, we don't have a fun name for you!) I think we're going to Noodles at noon. Yay!

Today, I didn't do much. I woke up at 9:30 and hung around and eventually had lunch with Christopher Lewis at Culver's! Then I pretty much had to come to work. Chris finished his EXTREMELY frustrating Microsoft Excel class today. It was a do-it-yourself at home class and he's done done done! Yay! No more crazy equations to figure out.

Well, it's closing in on 10:00pm, so I guess I can go give the couple 10:00 meds I have to give. Another squirt of stuff for the baby!

Well, have a nice day folks and a belated happy birthday to my 6 year old cousin Grant!!! He doesn't read this though, although he could if he wanted to since he reads like an adult and all.

Bye!