I Should be Sleeping but My Body is Confused
I started nightfloat on Monday, meaning I am on a month long rotation where I work nights instead of days (and night). For the first 2 weeks, I work 7pm-7am (in theory, reality is more like 7pm-8am, but this morning I got a late admission and was stuck there until almost 9), then I’ll switch to 4pm-4am (4pm-5 or 6am). It’s grueling but actually comes out to probably 15-20 fewer hours worked each week. I come home, try to nap 2-3 hours, then have lunch and play with the kids until their naptimes, when I lay down with them for another 1.5hrs. It’s REALLY hard on the body, but the bright side is I actually get to see my kids. By this morning, I was SO exhausted from being on my feet all night and sleeping ~4 hours a day between shifts. Nights at the hospital are CRAZY busy and I seriously don’t even sit down except in the ED when I’m admitting a new patient. But the beauty of nightfloat, and the reason I paid one of my co-interns to swap me a wards month for a nightfloat month this spring, is that you get 2 days off per week (we get “weekends”). Probably doesn’t sound too exciting to people with normal jobs, but it’s one of the only rotations we have during intern year where that happens.
So I got home ~9am today and don’t have to be back to the hospital until 7pm on Sunday. The hard part is that my body is so damn confused about what time of day it is, and I can’t quite convince it to sleep right now. Instead, I’ve decided to post pictures of the last 2 hikes we did – Burning Bear Creek Trail, which was AMAZING, and a little hike we’ve done before in Roxborough State Park, which I love. Both were incredible, but Burning Bear is my new favorite to do with kids, especially if it’s warm enough to “swim” in the beautiful mountain creek the trail follows.
These are from Burning Bear Creek hike:
And in case you’re not sick of pictures, here are a couple from Roxy State Park:
Jack starts school this week, which is huge. He’s VERY excited, but every time the topic comes up, Fin becomes hysterical. She doesn’t want him to go, and if he does, she wants to go with him. It’s kind of sad that their little pod of 3 is breaking up. Jack will only go to school a few hours a day (~3), but since it’s in the am, it’ll mean he doesn’t go on morning outtings with Fin and Shane. They’ll probably struggle without him for a bit, but I’m guessing Fin and Shane will become closer because of it (not that they aren’t close already, but you get the point). Sad.
Travis and I are back to daydreaming about getting to a point after I finish derm training (<4yrs) where we can pay off loans and just whisk our family overseas to travel for a few years while doing different types of international work. We’d homeschool and hire an international school teacher to join us and help teach the curriculum we design for our kids, with tons of hands-on learning Travis and I can provide along the way while we take our kids to see the world and do humanitarian work along the way. Then we’ll settle in London for 2 years, where I’ll do the Tropical Medicine fellowship before returning to the developing world to practice medicine / tropical derm / and teach at a med school. Travis is now doing health IT development work in Africa, but hopefully it’ll expand into Asia as well, so lots of possibilities for his non-clinical role overseas too. We just need his start-up company to do what people are projecting it will, and I just need to survive internship for now. In the meantime, it’s nice to dream, ya know?
Anyway, I think I might take a Tylenol PM and attempt sleep – I haven’t taken a single pill during pregnancy, and that’s a safe one anyway so don’t worry (Yiayia;). I think the baby would appreciate some rest. I can’t even imagine what kind of little monster is lurking within me, but if it’s anything like the last one, I should be resting every second I can! Speaking of, check out this tantrum, I call it a Fintrum:
Travis wasn’t in town when this happened and Fin gets very out of sorts without her daddy. It’s kind of an amusing video at first, and then it’s just sad when her little body just gives up and you realize the meltdown was a combo of exhaustion and missing her dad. I stopped filming and she just collapsed into my arms:( Poor little monster. But it does give you a glimpse into how her head can spin around!! I posted this so I can look back on this blog someday and see the good, the bad, and the ugly. And of course the beautiful, wonderful, fun, hilarious stuff that happens in our house everyday too.
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15 comments
You actually make working nights sound like a good thing, so I hope it goes well for you. My sister, a nurse at the time, asked my husband, who had worked 3rd shift, when he slept. His answer-always and never. So it is not easy, but it sounds like it could be really good for all of you. Best of luck with it!
Wow, what a great scenery you live in!!
And whenever I look at videos I always admire how you and Travis talk to your kids and how you raise them. Like in the first one, you can really tell how often and spontaneous you praise the kids for things they do, and how much they love that and how good it makes them feel.
And in the Fintrum one - I love with how much calm and love and understanding you handled that. I am repeating myself, but I just think you are awesome parents!!
And I don’t see why you dreams should not become true just like you imagine them now.
saw the fintrum on twitter yesterday… I can relate to that one, my middle kid is very much like that… super intense for good or bad…
glad that you get to be present for your kiddos, I know how important that is for you, but I hope sleep comes for you!
I am excited to be your friend when you are living in Vietnam and we can come visit you
If you move to London we will only be 2 hours away!! Amazing. Loved seeing the photos, Colorado looks an amazing place and I am determined to visit there one day!! Are you on facebook yet?? C’mon Mrs Good, get with the programme!!! Ha ha xx
Yay for two day weekends! What a beautiful hike. Wish we had stuff like that to do here. I agree about the world travel. I’d love to. We are going to Madrid in the spring and the boys are throwing a fit about it. I think our window of opportunity for world travel has passed. I’m making them go anyway.
Get on Facebook - I agree! Everyone is there waiting for you!!
Poor Fin
That was so Dalton at that age. So much emotion, no easy way to process.
Wow, Did she put you in timeout during that tantrum?? Lol.
I guess it isnt funny when you think how hard it must be to be a toddler, but I just cant resist a good tantrum. Every since I became a nanny 5 years ago, I sort of became desensitized to them. I have to stop myself from smiling when I see a toddler throw himself on the floor at the grocery store. You definitely handled that better than I would have. It looks like she needed exactly what you offered her.
Gorgeous hike! Could you tell me how far it is from the trailhead to the aera where you can get in the creek? It sounds like a 5+ mile hike but my kids max out at around 2 miles… Let me know if you can!
Seriously, I am in AWE of how well you’re coping (you would argue that you’re not really) but honestly, OMG. I am in awe. Still managing to go hiking - with all the energy that THAT requires on top of your crazy work hours - and yet you guys beautifully keep your eyes on the bigger picture and encourage one another of how great it will be soon. That is in a word, I’m going to use it again, AWESOME. You guys are an absolute inspiration to me!
Absolutely beautiful pictures! What a wonderful place to raise your children. My kiddos would be in Heaven! Sounds like the weekends off is a great trade-off for having to work nights….get some rest!
Lovely pictures of a very wonderfull family, and I felt bad for Finley with her Fintrum, thought she is so cute doing that, and you are just so calm and gentle in handling her emotion tantrum.
I, also, am so impressed by your sweet and gentle ways with your children! I really really want to meet you all in person some day soon. I KNOW I could learn a lot from you!
I couldn’t see the 1st video, but the pictures were great. Binh was looking at them with me and he said, “they’re having a picnic party!”
The video of Fin was sweet and sad at the same time. Binh could definitely give her a run for her money on the tantrums. I wish I handled them all as well as you did that one!
Oh, my. I would die for hiking opportunities like that where I live!
The pictures look beautiful. Fin’s tantrum look lots more like Amalia’s than Julia or Cecilia’s. I thought of you this morning as I drove into work for the 3rd 15 hour day in a row. This is hard. Its lovely to have a break in the summer, but that transition back into full time, rather, full time and then some is brutal. Thinking of you. Take care!
Haven’t checked the blog in a while…..awesome pix of Colorado……you guys rock….Honestly you are such awesome parents…..I love how your husband encourages each child…even the dog…on the first video…….and so encouraging you are with sweet Fin……..Yall are doing a awesome job of raising your family.
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