Patience. Forgiveness. Unconditional.
Due to covid, I had to give birth to my second via c-section by myself. My husband had to be home with our 2 year old. The first two days postpartum in the hospital was very challenging as I cared for this little baby after major abdominal surgery. The nurses helped when they could but they were also short staffed. The upside was that it was blissful doing skin to skin and indulging in the peace and quiet. Once home, it was a whole adjustment period for our new family of four! I am grateful that my husband was able to take paternity leave for a couple of months. He cared for our oldest while I cared for our newborn. We were all learning a new routine that worked best for our family.
Things will get wild and crazy but remember to breathe. You are doing the very best you can in this moment. You don't have to do it all. The housework can wait a bit, order in if you don't feel up to cooking and accept all the help you can get. Drink that coffee or wine. Go pee, your babies crying for a few minutes will be ok! When the kids are in bed, it's "me time" however you want to spend it, even if it means going straight to bed with the same pajamas you wore all day. Life will be chaotic and messy with two kids. It will take three times as long to get ready and out the door, but you will find those precious pockets of time when you see the two of them love one another and your heart fills up with more love than you can ever imagine! Being a mama of two will be a whole new ball game, but you got this! To your children, you are their whole world, no matter what!
Seamless underwear (especially for post c-section)
Naetal Skincare belly butter
Snacks by bedside
Silicone milk catcher
Hair ties or clips
I have endless memorable moments working as a nicu nurse I have lost count! One thing that pops in mind is being able to help a parent hold their baby for the very time! After weeks of standing by the bedside, watching helplessly as their baby’s life hangs on by a mere thread, hooked up to multiple lines and breathing tubes. The moment the mother or father feels their baby in their arms and chest is a feeling I cannot explain other than overwhelming sense of relief and unconditional love. It brings tears to my eyes every time, even after 14 years as a NICU nurse.
One of the many fulfilling part as a NICU nurse: being able to help and support families navigate the unexpected journey of being in the NICU and seeing their baby grow to be healthy and strong and eventually be able to go home with their family ! I am beyond grateful to be a NICU nurse and to be able to help families get through the unexpected and extremely difficult rollercoaster journey in the NICU.
I am often faced with situations where we as the medical team, are seen as the experts in a situation where a child is ill and requires help that is outside of a parents’ scope of knowledge. Parents, especially mothers, feel extremely lost and helpless when their little one is admitted in the NICU. What they envisioned as what their role as a mother will be has completely shattered.
I am here to say loud and clear, that the unconditional love a mother (and father) provides for their child is priceless. I, as a NICU nurse, will do my best to provide support, comfort and medical treatment for their baby. Mothers provide something that no amount of money can buy nor can be replaced my anyone else- LOVE. They might not know it at first but their baby knows it from day one. I am here to remind mothers in the NICU of that. That their love and their care for their baby is invaluable and irreplaceable.
