Cardiac Rehab

So, Here is a summary of two conversations I had with nurses at Cardic Rehab today, you tell Me if I'm just making up excuses and crazy?

First Nurse (one I like):

So how are you doing today?

Well I'm doing good, I got to 5 mets on Monday.

Wow that's wonderful, your first major goal met, but have you been doing your walking at home?

Well, Last week my Daughter had a 105 fever and ear infection, so no. I wanted to this weekend but it was raining.

Well you know sometimes we just have to make it happen.

Yeah I know, it seems like my only free time is when she is sleeping, assuming she will sleep through the night which last week she wasn't.

Well if Midnight is the only time you have, then I guess you will just have to talk a walk then, the evening air is good for you.

Well I used to walk at night when I was in High School, but My husband doesn't think it is safe for me to be out in our neighborhood at that time of night.

Well when mine were that age I would wake them at 7:30 every morning and go on a 5 mile stroller hike. My son hated being int he stroller and screamed most of the time, but you just got to do what you have to do, he would even throw off his socks and shoes in protest and I would just have to pick them up and keep going. You make it work.

Nurse two:

So how is your daughter doing is she feeling better?

No not really, she still has an ear infection and had to get the antibiotic shot today.

Does she nap?

She does, but usually while I am here. I went from having 10 hours a week for chores and paperwork to only 4.

Well she is two right?

yes

Doesn't she play independently?

Sometimes, but if mommy leaves the room or stops paying attention to her she follows me and demands that I pay attention to her.

What happens if you try and do dishes or Laundry?

Well she runs in to "help" me.

Well, you just need to nip that in the bud, set boundaries for her now.

Well she doesn't understand, and she just wants my attention.

Well I was a single mother raising two boys and when they were that age I was going through breast cancer treatment. I had to have time for myself to get things done. So they just cried, I had no choice. They eventually figured it out.

Well, we have started time outs with her when she misbehaves or doesn't follow the rules, like climbs when she isn't supposed to.

So see, she understands, you just need to ignore her when she cries.

Well the thing is, if I don;t comfort her when she is upset after a few minutes she will vomit, that just makes more work for me.

My younger one did that, and after a while they catch on, if I do this, then mommy comes running and I get attention, so after a while I stopped cleaning it up

Stairs in Disbelief

He even rolled around in it once to get my attention and then asked for a bath. I told him, nope you threw up and you made this mess, Mommy is busy.

-Well at this point my ten minutes on the machine was up, so I took that opportunity to remove myself from the conversation.

I mean seriously, am I coming from some type of skewed perspective that your kids come first? I was somewhat appalled by the way these women described treating there kids, letting them scream for an entire 5 mile Hike, and ignore them when they cry so hard they throw up? I can't even imagine it, Maybe i just doesn't have the stomach for it, I mean the cry it out system would never work for us, we would give in after 5 minutes.. and in our relationship I'm the hard/mean one.

The other day Holly refused to drink her V8 Fusion Juice with Sertraline, but was asking for Yogurt Juice instead. She was having a little tantrum, in my lap crying and pushing away the V8 bottle, this lasted maybe 90 seconds, and Joel gave in and against my better judgement went to get her a yogurt juice bottle. He said he couldn't stand her being upset (90 seconds people) and i was like, she was having a tantrum, and if she was really thirsty, she would have given in after a few minutes and drank the medicine bottle, but it was too much for him. Of course after she wasn't thirsty anymore and that night she skipped her medicine. later Joel brilliantly discovered the juice was V8 light, and she must not like it, when we switched it back to normal, she drank it right away. But I digress from my point. In this story I am the mean mommy making Holly fuss and cry in my lap for 2-3 minutes waiting for her to drink juice, could you imagine those other things?