Braustin Nation

Stay at Home Mom (SAHM)  Besides a medical leave and two maternity leaves, I’ve always been a full-time plus on call nurse mom. I am now almost two months into being a SAHM and I would have to still say I’m training! A lot of you have told me routine is so important, and I’ve been trying my darndest to do that. We do library time or errands in the morning, naptime and quiet time after lunch, and art and outdoor/indoor active  play until dad comes home! Some days it blows up in my face, much like what we’d call a s-tshow at work, haha! Except these are my monkeys and my circus! But mostly because I am learning and loving it, too. I struggle with anxiety and depression. Ever since I was little. My post-partum depression with R was so difficult. I am so lucky to have an incredible husband and health team that honestly kept me alive during that time. Luckily, I was treated prior to giving birth to A too because a) it was known I get PPD and b) it’s better and easier to tr...

Back in November we finally moved to the Tri City area in Washington State! It was a big move with lots of changes, risks, and hopefully reward for our little family. Austin is now working commission-based which will allow him to hopefully earn more than salary. More importantly, it allows us to get a feel for potentially opening up our own practice. We visited in June last year, and felt it was home. A perfect small town and big city compromise, and a great place to raise a family affordably. Our family also cannot wait to explore Portland (2.5 hours), Seattle (3 hours), the ocean, Spokane (3.5 hours), Coeur d'Alene (4 hours), etc. Our dorky tourist photo-op from when we visited in June, 2019! For right now, I made the decision to stay at home with my boys. I've never had the opportunity before, so now I am doing flips and spins off the high dive right into the stay-at-home-boy-mom life! I still transferred my license to WA to stay ahead of things. I really m...

After significant and worrying weight loss and severe nausea and vomiting, A 500mL bleed at 19-20 weeks thinking he was lost, 23 week early labor that needed to be stopped, Contractions and cramping throughout, Gestational that caused hypoglycemic swings to the lower 40s and high 30s, Steroid shots for early dilation, A possible high uterine amniotic leak, Then decreased movement counts and stress due to my left generator shutting off, Right at 37 weeks we induced Baby A. It was so weird “knowing” when your baby is gonna happen! It was actually kind of stressful and made for a really long weekend counting baby movements because he was so sluggish. What do you even wear to an induction? I could’ve just showed up in sweats considering you strip down and they get the show rolling! But I also felt like I needed to be a decent human being and did myself up haha. Thank goodness for Grandma Carmen being able to handle Toddler R, that was such a huge help cause w...

Little man continues to surprise me and Austin!  He loves to help out so much. We discovered our local meat market, and have been feasting on recipes we've been dying to make but haven't had the appropriate supplies for. When we discovered they carried a good local lamb, we hit our Jerusalem cookbook. When we discovered the halibut, shoot I just cooked that up French Meunière style. Best. Treat. Ever.  And guess who adored the halibut? Little man! I was so proud!  We decided to let him help with many things because he really wants to help and feels so accomplished. He's more apt to participate in things we want him to do if he helps. I hope he really learns to love food and cooking! It was definitely shared by my parents with me.  Keeping an almost 2 year-old busy is insanely difficult for anyone, let alone when you are late in your third trimester and experiencing complications... Rather, I think he keeps me busy. I've been relying a lot on i...

I am officially a Stay-at-Home Momma for the next 5 months! Due to hospital policy and light duty, and with my pregnancy condition not improving, I am on a leave of absence. When I have Baby A, I will thankfully have FMLA at that point (hit the year mark!) I am going to fully live up this new job and all the time I get with my boys. Needless to say it has been an incredibly hard adjustment for someone who has always worked their whole life and absolutely LOVES being a nurse, but it has been so amazing getting to focus on my true little love(s).  Family First.  We enjoyed every last bit of the end of summer!  Fall happened for 20 seconds around here, then winter came. But! That does not stop my excitement for Halloween and all things Fall! In fact, for our anniversary this year, Austin got me a bunch of Fall decorations because "for as much as someone loves Fall, you have zero decorations. I'm gonna have to fix that!" Lies. I have ...