You've Gotta Be Crazy, Baby

Things have been a little nuts at work. The other night I was on-call (after already having worked a 12-hour shift), and ended up staying for 18 hours. It's getting a little out-of-control. Plus, they are putting me into cases that I have never done before (like mandible fractures, open AAA's, stapedectomies, etc.) and expecting me to fly. It freaks me out a bit, because most of the time I don't know how to set them up or what instruments I'll need. And the worst part is not knowing what the instruments are called--that was really difficult for me during training, and I haven't cracked my instrumentation book since I graduated. It's definitely easier for me to remember what the name of an instrument is if I've used it, and now--all of a sudden--I have used tons of new things (well, they're new to me). I'm also having to do quite a bit of heavy lifting--those ortho instrument pans are killer! So my shoulder has been bothering me more and more. It may have something to do with my "generous-sized baby" (that's what our pediatrician called him) as well. He currently weighs 18 lbs, 10 oz and is 26 1/2 inches tall. He's in the 95th percentile for both height and weight, so at least he's proportional.

Anyway, so I'm learning a ton at work (and mostly bluffing my way through all the new cases) and I'm trying to be a good mother, but the house is definitely taking the hit--I have no energy to clean. I need to vacuum in the worst way, but the only time I get to is when the baby is sleeping, and I don't want to wake him up. At least I did a load of dishes this morning--that's something!

I really need to go to sleep. That's one thing that I'm not appreciating about my 5pm-1am shifts--I'm not ready to go to bed until 2 or 3 in the morning because I'm so wound up. That happens even on days when I get off before 1am. Grr.

This picture of my little man is on the slideshow, but it's such a good one, I think it deserves a spot in this post. If it doesn't make you smile, YOU ARE MADE OF STONE.