A Life In Review

5 Stars – One of the toughest jobs in my opinion is being a nurse, underpaid (they deserve way more), overworked and always tired. In particular Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurses take care of the smallest, most fragile humans. They save lives that haven’t even had the chance to live yet. They also support scared, overwhelmed parents, who can, at times, be a bit overbearing (and sometimes downright mean). They go above and beyond the call of a nurse. I wouldn’t want anyone else taking care of my baby when I couldn’t.

If you read my NICU review, you know that we spent time in two different NICU’s. One was brand spakin’ new and the other was well loved. Each facility had at least one neonatologist (fancy baby doctor) on the floor for you to speak with, but it was the nurses who did the daily care.

We went through so many nurses at Yale (the fancy hospital) and had nothing but good things to say about them. It was at Yale that my husband was shown tough love by one of the nurses. When babies are that small the ONLY way to hold them is skin to skin. I jumped at the chance to finally hold my baby (you have to wait for certain tubes/ wires to come out for safety reasons). Holding her was the first time I felt like a mom. My husband however, was too nervous to hold her. She was, after all, 2lbs 10oz. One day one of the nurses came in and made him hold her. She was there every step of the way, but she ignored all of his excuses. Once he held her, he was in heaven. That nurse got to know us and figured out how hard to push and what to say to change his life forever.

Once we got to L&M (the smaller hospital) we were greeted by one of our favorite people. Her flaming red hair is what I will always remember. We had to stop and see her to get new guardian bands (the bands that say which kid is yours) and prove that we were in fact Georgia’s parents. Her kindness was not lost on me as we were facing yet another change (moving hospitals was a good thing, but still another change). We washed our hands in the big sinks and were led to the baby’s new “room” (they had an open floor plan).

At L&M we had the same rotating nurses for our whole stay and I loved it. We got to know them on a personal level. They became the people that we trusted and felt safe talking to. We were able to ask questions and get answers (even if we didn’t like the answers we were getting sometimes). Overall they are what made our NICU stay bearable. We were so excited to be able to bring the baby home, but a piece of me knew that it meant saying goodbye to some pretty awesome people.  

Leaving was so bittersweet. There are days that I still want to run in and just hang out with them. I want to show them that I took what I learned and I have a thriving baby. I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I think I’ve come a pretty long way from the woman who was too scared to change her baby’s diaper (she was just so tiny).

Overall, though I wouldn’t wish a NICU stay on anyone, I would give the NICU nurses 5+ stars. They are the best people in those hospitals (don’t bother trying to change my mind). If you ever find yourself in the presence of a NICU nurse be sure to stop and thank them. They deserve so much more than that, but honestly after a lengthy NICU stay, it’s all you’ve got left to give.

Special thanks to my favorite nurses at (Yale New Haven Health) Lawrence and Memorial Hospital. You kept me strong when I was at my lowest.