In honor of today being both Mother’s Day and the final day of National Nurses Week, I have some things on my mind.
First to my mom who is both a nurse and a mother: it’s like today was made for you! Never could any of us have anticipated a year in which both of your daughters would need you as both a nurse and a mother in such an intense way. But you showed up for both of us with a strength that only a mother could muster.
And I have a confession: Until this experience at the hospital, I really didn’t understand the fullness of what my mom did. I knew that she did a bulk of the work that shows like ER and Gray’s Anatomy would leave you to think doctors did. And now I certainly understand why people felt the need to come up to us at the grocery store to tell me how great of a nurse my mom is. I kind of thought people just said that kind of thing to me as a way to be polite. But now I understand the importance of the social-emotional side in addition to the technical side of my mom’s job. And I mostly feel like a jerk for all of the times I gave her a hard time after a long day at work.
And I can’t help but think about the nurses today that acted almost as surrogate mothers to Olivia. They offered care for her when I couldn’t. They taught me how to love and connect with her before I could see her. Before I could touch her. It is because of these nurses that I am even able to be a mother this baby in front of me today at all.
The nurses cared for her gently and passionately, learning her cues and the subtleties of her personality – much like a mother would in the first few months of any baby’s life. Simultaneously they respected and honored my role as Olivia’s mom.
Although we were trapped in the NICU for 102 days, I was hesitant to leave when the time came. Some days I even find myself kind of missing the hospital now. I joked with one of the nurses before discharge that maybe it was a subtle form of Stockholm Syndrome. In reality, I know that the reason for this is because of the support and friendship that was extended from the nursing staff at UCSF to our family. I knew that it was going to be isolating to go home (it kind of is). I also knew that it was going to be exhausting to have to re-explain Olivia’s condition to every new person we meet, professional or not (it definitely is). But, my joke about Stockholm Syndrome came more from the fact that I actually had grown to really care about the nurses. I’m not even mad about how much we failed to cluster appointments because I get excited just thinking about giving Olivia’s nurses a hug.
SaveSaveSaveSaI I I
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I have learned from this season of life and my biggest piece of advice is to get to know your nurses. The nurse that discharged us was a nurse that I affectionately named “Coach” because every time I was having a hard day or trying to figure out how to convince the team that something wasn’t working, I would just troubleshoot ideas with her. Nurses know the system and can truly be your best ally.
So, hug your mom and hug a nurse because there is a good chance they would appreciate a little love to fill up their tank!
– Natalie
coyotesandsaints.com 