Just Another Day in the Life

Some days I can’t figure out how to fill the void that is between all the activity. I wonder how it is that I ever could have thought that I’m busy. I wonder why it is that everyone seems to think I have so much to do. Some days I can’t figure out why it is that no one else can’t figure out how to accomplish 8 things at once, and why it is that I’m the only octopus around. 

 

Yesterday was not one of those days. Yesterday was jam-packed from the instant I woke up.

 

5:28am: Sam woke up 2 minutes before the alarm went off. Seth brought me the baby to nurse. We love Seth. Seth rocks. Particularly since he also remembered to turn the alarm off in advance of it starting to beep at me.

5:42am:  Seth took Sam from me, and brought me Ellie. Somewhere along the way, he fed Abby, but I’m not sure when. I’m sure somewhere along the way, he also changed a few poopy diapers as that is Standard Operating Procedure in Chez Perky first thing in the morning.

6:03am: Got up, handed off babies, got in the shower, got dressed and got ready to leave for work. 

6:24am: Gave J-man kisses, snuggled babies, ate a banana, took morning medicine (forgot to take Prednisone, suffered badly for it the rest of the day), gathered my belongings, found my shoes and stole a bite of Seth’s bagel.

6:51am: Ran out the door like a mad-woman.

7:06am: Arrived in office, put stuff down, refilled candy jar, walked into client’s office

7:07am: Discussed changes to policy document with said coworker

8:00am: Returned to my desk and worked on policy documents, responded to user requests, performed account maintenance, responded to emails. Checked my personal email accounts twice and found some Multiples Club Board agenda items that needed to be dealt with before tonight’s meeting – responded to those emails (5 minutes, tops). Called my neurologist and waited for his return call. Continued working on policy documents (whoo hoo!).

9:46am: Neurologist returns my call. I explain that I am still not experiencing any relief from the migraine that won’t stop (3 weeks and still going. Please help!). He suggests going back up to the highest dose of Prednisone for three days this time before tapering off. Okey dokey. Return to desk and work until…

11:00am: pump

11:26am: Return to desk and continue to work. Nothing particularly interesting takes place other than work, a little more work, and some more work.

12:45 (approx): Look up directions to tonight’s board meeting and directions to J’s speech therapy appt. this afternoon. Estimate time to each and calculate what time I need to leave work.

1:00pm: Return to work. Work some more. Nothing particularly interesting takes place other than work, a little more work, and some more work.

2:40pm: Make a couple phone calls re: the J-man; return to work, work, and more work.

3:00pm: Pack up stuff. Eavesdrop on a user having a fit at a coworker over the usability of software application. Pray that she doesn’t notice me and aim her vitriol at me. Grab 4 pieces of chocolate to use as a bribe for the J-man after school.

3:07pm: Leave office.

3:28pm: Arrive at the J-man’s school to pick him up.

3:45pm:  Leave the J-man’s school.

4:05pm: Arrive at the Speech Pathologist’s Office.

4:17pm: Glance at clock and wonder if the Speech Pathologist always runs late for the 4:15 appointment slot.

4:20pm: Speech Pathologist comes out and greets us. Meets with me for about 25 minutes and then spends some time with the J-man.

5:08pm: The J-man and I head home and navigate through downtown traffic. Joy.

5:26pm: We stop for a Slurpee because J has been totally fixated on Slurpees since the second I picked him up from school.

5:32pm: We arrive at home. I kiss the babies who are being fed dinner (*sob* I’m missing it! This is normally MY job!). I check my email, pack up my computer, grab my Multiples Club Board of Directors Notebook, take some pain medicine for my still-throbbing head (it won’t work, but I feel like I simply must try *something*, right?), set up the computer for the J-man to distract him while Seth finishes the babies’ evening routine, kissed the babies again, grabbed a snack and got ready to head out the door.

5:50pm: Left the house on my way to the hospital’s NICU Meeting.

6:02pm: Arrived at the hospital’s NICU Meeting. Tonight they were filming for the hospital’s fundraising gala which will benefit the Maternal Child Division of the hospital, so it was really important that I be there. I was filmed talking about my triplets’ NICU experience and how they’ve been doing since. Afterward, I talked with two families whose babies are still in the NICU who were born at 24 and 25 weeks. One baby has been in the NICU for 12 weeks and one baby was just born 2 weeks ago. Both families are doing very well and are getting a fair bit of support, but both have long commutes and need a lot of support. It is because of families like this that I have been working hard with the nurse navigator at the NICU to establish a Parent-to-Parent support program through the March of Dimes (or other program) . This is why I take the time to go to these NICU gatherings; to take the time to support these families, because I know they need it even more than I needed it when I was navigating the NICU life.

7:02pm: Left the NICU meeting to head to my next meeting, a Multiples Club Board of Directors Meeting. My bad luck that it all fell on the same night – thanks to Labor Day last week.

7:31pm: Arrived at the Board Meeting. I hate being late. Fortunately, I was only the third person to arrive, and I was much earlier than I’d expected to be.

9:40pm: Meeting adjourns. I talk with my committee co-chair by my car for 20 minutes about various and sundry details until I realize that, hello? I didn’t nurse my babies before bed like I normally do and it’s been since 11am since I pumped. Ouch.

10:00pm: head home.

10:19pm: Arrive home

10:24pm: Sam starts screaming (did I mention Sam’s started waking up at night and we’re not sure why? Maybe night terrors, maybe separation anxiety, maybe teething, maybe a growth spurt, but whatever it is, it’s heartbreaking).

10:26pm: Sam’s still not calm despite being in my arms. Try nursing him.

10:40pm: Try putting Sam back in his crib. A phenomenal disaster and his screaming wakes Ellie up.

10:41pm: I’m now holding Sam and Ellie. 

10:42pm: This is clearly not going to work; Seth is now holding Ellie and I’m holding Sam. 

10:46pm: Holding them isn’t helping them fall asleep, it’s stimulating them. Seth puts Ellie back to bed. She falls right to sleep. 

10:47pm: Seth puts Sam back into his crib. We hold our breaths, but he doesn’t start screaming. A miracle. Still, we hold very, very, very, very still for a few minutes for fear of disturbing anyone.

10:50pm: I pump while we watch a little TV

11:30pm: Prepare bottles, get unreasonably frustrated with Seth for not having put away the bottles that the babies ate before bed (not nice of me, no excuse), get into PJ’s, take medicine, hope that head stops hurting eventually and….

11:44pm: crawl into bed while Seth re-sets alarm for 5:45am instead of 5:30am.

 

And this morning…

The babies woke up at 5:44am. Good babies. But my head? POUNDING.

Just to reiterate, I couldn't possibly have made yesterday happen without Seth.  There are plenty of days that Seth leaves before the kids are awake and returns after the kids are in bed (tomorrow may be one of those days).  But yesterday proved that Seth can turn around and do the same thing for me when he needs to.  I just try not to do that to him, because you know what?  I really, really, really missed my babies yesterday.

Comments

[Sue]

I used to have migraines. I say used to because when I came out on the other side of menopause, they went away. Absolutely the only good thing about menopause, believe me.

But when I had them, I used several non medicinal ways to cope. I pressed on the "webbing" between my thumb and forefinger. Either hand, didn't matter. Then I would press on my head near the focus of the pain. If migraines involve dilated blood vessels, I figured I was pushing that sucker back in place.

And lastly, although I hesitate to mention it because it is weird, I "looked" away from the pain. Here's how -- if my head hurt around the right temple, I would look up and to the left. With my eyes closed. Trying to focus away from where it hurt.

Dark rooms are good too.

{{{hugs}}} to you. Migraines suck.

[Steph]

Once again Karen you rock! For real, how does one person (beit you or seth) get all 3 babies down by themselves. I had such a hard time last week with this task and my night (Wednesday) is fast approaching again. I nurse The boy and the little ones get bottles - the problem is they all want it at the same time. I can usually handle all 3 at once, no problem but for some reason my solo bedtime night was a disaster. Any ideas?

[Larua]

Okay, let me figure this out. To put it plainly, you use your boobs four or five times a day? The morning feeds for Sam and Ellie, the 11:00 pump, and I assume on a normal day you would feed Sam/Ellie before bed and then pump again at night. Is that right?

And for extra nosiness, how many are ounces are you getting total for each of the two pumps? Do notice that you have had a decrease? Are the babies just not drinking that much boob juice as they used to?

Sigh. It's probably because they are good eaters (if that is the case). I wish I knew how I could get Morella to eat more, instead I think her boob juice intake is increasing because she is getting bigger.

[My Reality]

No wonder you have a migraine.

[Nita]

I'm tired just from reading this post! Cheers to Karen & Seth.

Is there a more concentrated steroid injection you could get that might knock it out or is Doc just trying to not have to go there (like you need another doctor's appointment...)

[Erin]

Ditto My Reality's comment. And lots of hopes that a day like that is only going to be found in your past!

[cindy]

You do SO SO SO much, Karen! And GO SETH!! I know having a great husband is also key to keeping the machine going too. I am so grateful for my great hubby too!

[cat]

Yip, it is teamwork that makes it work so well! Mine is also really a blessing.

[mommo4.5]

Wow! Glad to know not every day is quite like that, though I can see how they are all pretty full. (And you kept such precise track of time!)

I hope you got more to eat than what it sounds like. You mentioned a banana and a bite of a bagel aound 6:30 a.m. and a "snack" around 5:30 p.m. I know I couldn't keep up a schedule like that without some lunch.

Here's to kicking that headache's b*tt!