Nurse Nightmare
Baby nurse #2 came and went pretty quickly as well. This nurse was recommended to me through a friend. I checked up on her and she seemed like she would be a good fit for Dana and me. Well, I was completely wrong. She lasted six days and I would have gotten rid of her sooner if Rob had not been going to Toronto for the weekend to visit his son. He begged me to keep her. I suppose so he did not have to feel badly leaving me alone with three children. This nurse complained about what a tough baby Dana was. She also kept telling me to give her formula. That really annoyed me. Clearly Dana was gaining weight and thriving. She just has trouble settling herself and seems to have a lot of wind or gas and is uncomfortable.
I would nurse Dana, and then a half hour later the nurse would wake me to calm her down. I thought the whole idea of a baby nurse is for her to calm and take care of the baby so that I could sleep. This nurse kept waking me all through the night. Then should would sit with the baby in the dark and watch TV. Poor Dana had lights flashing in her face — how could she relax and fall asleep? The final straw was when I gave the nurse some money to go out for dinner one night at 7:30. She came back almost four hours later. She did not answer my phone calls and took advantage of a good situation and job that she had here. I needed help mostly at night and she left and felt no need to come back when I needed her the most. I packed her bags and put them by the front door. She was gone very quickly. I knew in my gut that this baby nurse was not good, and I am so mad at myself for not getting rid of her sooner.
No one will take care of your baby the way that you would. These nurses want to do things their way and are not open or responsive to the mother. I clearly know how to take care of my baby. I am not getting someone else to help me.
Now that I am doing this on my own, I am hoping Dana will feel more secure and become more settled and get into a routine. My babysitter of 7 ½ years will be with me during the week from 7:45am to 5:45. She is a huge help and totally trustworthy. So I suppose that I am not totally on my own. The hard part has been getting Dana down to sleep at night. I nurse her, burp, change her and then I have to rock her to sleep. She has not been falling asleep on her own in her bassinet. No, she has not even been hanging out in her basinet. All Dana wants is to be held. So, I rock her and walk with her till she is asleep, then I tiptoe to the bassinet and gently put her down. She appears to be asleep. I walk five steps away and Dana is awake! I have tried for hours to get her to sleep. I have tried everything to get her to sleep. I swaddle her, and then unswaddle her. I rock her, then sing to her, then walk her and then when I am totally frustrated and ready to scream I walk her to Rob and pass her off to him. He has helped me out a few nights. I feel bad waking Rob, as he has to get up early and go to work. He has been great at helping me out, especially when I have no patience left and I am about to pass out from lack of sleep.
Bradley told me that I have become meaner since I had Dana. I can’t disagree with that comment, although I did try and defend myself the best I could. I am just so exhausted that I have no patience and I probably do lose it on him much quicker than I ever did. I am glad that he was able to express himself and I will certainly try to have more tolerance for my kids. I am also going to try and nap more often during the day when Dana sleeps and the kids are in school.
Marlee can’t get enough of Dana. She wants to hold her all the time and cannot stop kissing her nose and face. She also loves to put her cheek in front of Dana’s mouth and then Dana sucks on her cheek. Marlee and Bradley are thoroughly enjoying Dana and love to help out as much as possible, whether it is giving her a bath, bottle or learning to change a diaper. They mostly love opening her presents!
