[Sweeper933]

This past weekend our unit had our NICU "graduate" picnic. It was really great to see a lot of my former primaries and their parents. The weather was great and we had a huge turnout this year. It's always so nice seeing how well these babies are doing - and seeing how grateful the parents still are. I had one family whose baby was on the unit for a rule-out sepsis sort of thing. I took care of their baby for the 3 nights that she was there. I really didn't think too much of them - was just one of those babies that was paired up w/ my primary so I had them for those 3 nights in a row. Well the family came to the picnic and expressed their gratitude once again over the care that their daughter received on the unit. It was nice to see them and see how well they are all doing.

It just reminded me that while it's easy to remember what an impact we have on the sick baby's families - that it's sometimes easy to forget about those "easier" babies. Not that their time in the NICU wasn't stressful for their family or anything like that..... it was just nice to hear that we helped make a stressful situation for them go a little smoother.

[preemieRNkate]

I wanted to share this with all of you. I sent a baby home yesterday (healthy and happily breastfeeding!), and the family gave me a very beautiful silver bracelet with a starfish charm and a card with the following story in it. The baby was the 35 weeker that I had posted about ~2 weeks ago (HFJV, chest tubes, PPHN, etc.). Stories like this make me really, really love my job!

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.

The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

[nursedesi]

Definitely needed this especially since we have been babysitting the July residents for three weeks now. With every day being a fight I almost forgot why I love my job! Thank you all for sharing.

[Sweeper933]

Ahhhh... residents in July... nothing better!!!

This year's July residents actually haven't been too bad. The group before them were worse. Which was strange, considering that was their last rotation of their 1st year. They could not get their noses out of their papers that they carried around and actually look at the baby! One night I was taking care of these 32 week twins that were a day or so old. I had started phototherapy on both of them that evening when their 24h bilis came back. In the morning when the resident came into the room (after spending time on the computer checking on everything) - she came up to me to ask me some questions about the twins.

Now - I was sitting with my computer right inbetween their two isolettes (which both had bili lights on top of them blaring away). The residents comes up to me with her nose in her papers, and says "oh I see their bili levels are up - did you start phototherapy yet?"

I just looked at her, looked at the two glowing isolettes, and then looked back at her. She finally figured it out. I mean come on....!!!!!!

[nursedesi]

I just had one of our brilliant residents come back from x-ray rounds looking flustered and telling me to turn up the O2 on my NCPAPing 27 wker. I looked at the monitor and sats were 93 (the highghest we want our wee ones) and with no A/B/Ds in three days I just said....uh NO. The resident preceeded to tell me the lungs looked horrible on X-ray. I asked her to explain to me how increasing the O2 and increasing risks for the toxic effects would improve how the tots lungs would look on x-ray. She just said OH, turned red and walked away. Sometimes I wonder how they got a med degree. Although this is supposed to be happy times, so back to the fun/happy moments.

~we always joke that our babies are trying to recreate their birthing experience when we see their heads bulging through the soft porthole meant for ETT or CPAP tubing.

[preemieRNkate]

We've got our new residents (they're not too bad), and we also got new fellows this year. Fun times.

[SteveRN21]

Originally Posted by Sweeper933

Ahhhh... residents in July... nothing better!!!


I just looked at her, looked at the two glowing isolettes, and then looked back at her. She finally figured it out. I mean come on....!!!!!!

I know.... when I'm standing outside the hospital, anyone could tell which floor is ours judging by the blue glow shining out of almost every window.

Originally Posted by nursedesi

Definitely needed this especially since we have been babysitting the July residents for three weeks now. With every day being a fight I almost forgot why I love my job! Thank you all for sharing.

I hear you. We get new residents every month, and a crop of new fellows every July. The new fellows have all been nice, but totally lost. One was trying to start her first PICC last night all by herself, and couldn't even measure the insertion length because her hands were shaking so hard. I snuck over to the next pod and covertly called a NNP and begged her to come and help this poor girl (and poor preemie) out....

[Olivereindeer]

• when you lift up their tiny behinds and they do a "Mr Whippy" poo that looks like a skinny sausage with high velocity that ends up all over you and the bed (just after you have changed them)
• When they attach for the first time and watching their Moms just glow with pride that they can do it.
• When you have a week off and go back and dont recognise a baby as it suddenly has that chub fat around their necks.
• Got a picture and note from a mother of a term baby that was cooled for HIE saying that although she was advised her baby would have severe brain damage (was pretty much dead at birth) she is now 6 months and meeting all her milestones and the photo looks like a cherub!
• when you contaminate the only 10mls of EBM that the mother took 45 mins to express and you feel terrible but laugh on the inside cos it is ironic.
• love it when they have their CPAP pron.gs in their mouth or eyes or even ears and still saturate prefectly.
• the social stuff at work is fabulous and you can take all your baby pics in and have all the staff goo over them.
• you have to laugh when the parents come in and name their baby after a few days and it is the most bizarre, revolting name that is going to torment them forever.
• occasionally a NAS Mom will be so totally overwhelmed and in love with their baby that they give up the drugs and when you hear about them 6 months later from the follow up clinic they are doing wonderfully!
• sharing in the joy of the birth - looking at the mom on the delivery bed who is terrified with a pre term birth and telling her that her baby is fine and they hear that first cry. Makes me cry too sometimes.
• Reliving their birth in the SCN or NICU a few days later and realising that you have been involved in a HUGE event for them and how special it is.
• Remembering that babies only do tiny poos (mostly) whereas adults do HUGE ones.
• Seeing a term baby and thinking it is the size of a 2 year old as you are so used to premmies.
• Looking into the caleo when they have their eyes open and are staring straight at you.
• I agree - cant beat the EBM into the shoes! floor, all over the cot..etc.etc