Ever forgotten to feed a baby?

Specialties NICU

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I've never done this but it is the theme of all work dreams I have ever had lol. Anyone have an interesting NICU dreams/nightmares?

I've had nightmares that I had a patient all day and didn't know it or that I went home and never gave report.

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Specializes in NICU Nurse.

I work night shift. 2 years experience so far. A few months ago I got a new admit at the near end of my shift. 30 weeker, CPAP, pretty stable, helped doctor get UVC in, started D10 as starter fluid while waiting for pharmacy to send up the ordered fluids, got all the admission blood work, vitals, and busy work done. Baby was all tucked in and I was frantically trying to get all my charting done and it was time for shift change. I gave report and the ordered fluids finally came and were warmed up. I decided to be nice and switch out the D10 for the new fluids and get everything up and running. Everything was set to go. I went over IV fluid rates with the oncoming nurse, etc.

Went home and went to sleep. Had a nightmare that when I switched out the D10 for the ordered fluids I did not hook up the new fluids to the IV pump so basically the new fluids were running bolus straight into the baby. I woke up from this dream in a panic because I thought it happened in real life. I freaked out and called my unit and asked the charge nurse to check to make sure I didn't leave the IV fluids running without the IV pump, I told her I was SURE that I did and I was worried. She laughed at me and told me I was having a nightmare and to go back to bed (after she checked on the baby of course) :roflmao:

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Just had a nightmare last night that for some reason I was off the unit till midnight and when I came back all of my kids feeds has been missed .

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I've had this dream, that I forgot to feed a baby the entire shift. Ugh it's a terrifying one. Funny story is that a friend of mine (call her Jo) was doing a 12hr shift (7a-7p) and only had one stable baby as the unit was quiet. At 3pm I came on for my 3-11 arvo, and was assigned the other two babies in her room. We were chatting away enjoying how peaceful the unit was, and she was doing her assignment. At 7p, she handed over to the 12h night staff. At about 8pm, the nurse went to give the baby her 3hrly feed and went "feck... did you notice if Jo fed this baby at 5??" I started to say "well I don't see why she wouldn't have..." then remembered that it was so quiet we really weren't doing any work. So I told the nurse to ring her and ask.. SHE HAD FORGOTTEN!! Baby's BGL was 3.7 so wasn't an issue at all, baby was fine, just didn't really piss much till later and glared into my soul all evening :p

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

I had a work nightmare ~ a month ago--one of those chaotic dreams, but one thing I did remember was that my co-worker was taking care of 3 [non-related] babies on one bed. I messaged her on FB and told her about it!

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Specializes in NICU.

My nightmare was the thought of someday not being able to retire from the hell hole my unit had become!!!

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Specializes in NICU/Neonatal transport.

Have definitely had that dream.

Have unfortunately had the nightmare come true of being on rounds and people say "baby x. who is rounding on baby x. Oh, I think that's your patient!" Me: "What? What are you talking about? I didn't get any hand off on that patient?!" "Oh, they must have forgotten to hand them off"

Yeah. That's happened a couple times. Was not a happy camper. I really freak out when there is a patient I am supposed to be responsible for and didn't know about at all. Nothing bad happened, but all I could think about is what if.

Worse was the time when it *was* my patient and they were calling a different provider who failed to recognize it wasn't their patient, and gave the all the wrong answers and did bad things and by the time I found out about *my* patient, they were circling the drain. (yes, all of the above investigated and processes changed etc, but it still traumatized me)

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I had a pretty intense dream during the day today. (I'm night shift if you didn't guess).

I dreamed that I was getting report on the little one I've been taking care of for the last couple weeks, and the day nurse says "well no wonder she didn't tolerate you putting her on her right side last night. She has a broken clavicle." So I'm freaking out, trying to figure out when it happened and if I missed it on assessment or if I caused it. Then I hear water pouring. Not just dripping or leaking, pouring. I run into the unit and water is gushing out of the vapotherm machine and making a puddle under the isolette. I look around, and I'm the only one in the unit, so I start scrambling to fix it. Needless to say, I woke up in a panic.

I get to work and the actual report is "Oh, hey. She did fine today. We managed to wean her oxygen a little but otherwise nothing has changed." I still double checked her clavicles and the vapotherm. ?

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I worked this past Christmas Eve and the few shifts before then had been absolutely nuts. I was really nervous that my Christmas Eve shift would be crazy too so I was pretty anxious and just wanted a nice Christmas Eve at work. So, I guess because of my anxiety I had a dream that I got 4 babies to take care of and then another nurse had to leave or something and I was picking up two babies, so that I'd have 6. I was freaking out and wondering how that was okay! Then another night I had a similar dream that I got another baby right after the previous shift had left but never got report on it!

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Specializes in NICU.

I haven’t forgotten to feed a baby or had that dream but I have had some doozies of work dreams, it usually happens after a really rough night.

In one dream, the baby was getting a picc placed and the isolette was open and the sides were down. The nurse placing the picc was charting and I turned around and the baby was no longer on the bed. I looked down and the baby was on the floor in pieces. It’s head was off, it’s arms and legs were off. Then the secretary called and said it’s parents we’re coming back to visit. So I gathered all of the pieces quickly and tried to wrap it into a blanket to hold it together, and it’s foot kept falling out.

In another dream, I realized there was a baby off the monitor so I went to check on it. Of course it was not breathing. I began PPV and called for help. Our NRP educators voice came over the intercom “we are all busy, you are on your own.” So I started alternating compressions and ppv by myself. After a minute or 2, a coworker (that no longer works here) notorious for leaving you high and dry stopped by and said, “hey I just wanted you to know I’m going to lunch.” The next thing I remember in that dream is our neonatologist telling me that I let the patient down and I let its parents down and I let our unit down and now I could explain to the parents why their baby is dead.

terrible terrible dreams ?

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Specializes in Nurse Scientist-Research.

I feel certain there were a couple of times that I forgot to start a feed and I found out as I went to feed the infant the next time. When those things happened everyone would console me saying "we've all done it before, get a sugar, move on, do better next time". I feel like it's more a new nurse (or new to the field) thing because after so many years, it's like your body "feels" those 3 hour cycles and it's the q4 kids that make you feel out of sync like you've forgotten something.

As for the person who dreamed of the marionette baby dangling (was it LLG?). I legit saw that one time. I swear it wasn't my kid but it was chaotic first rounds and it seems every kid in a large pod (I think it has 12-14 kids in there) was screaming. I heard really frantic screaming coming from my neighbor's assignment, looked over, and saw a little (roughly 1500g) screaming while their thankfully strong grasp reflex held them to the rim of their isolette porthole (doors were open). I was literally holding another baby weighing them so I yelled at the other nurse "LOOK AT YOUR ISOLETTE BABY!!". I guess she heard the panic in my voice, turned, then lunged for the kid. All was well, no injury. She wasn't a bad nurse, just way too much chaos. It was one of the freakiest things I'd ever seen (that turned out ok).

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Specializes in Adult ICU/PICU/NICU.

I once had a nightmare after working an evening shift where I had four feeder growers that I forgot to feed one the entire shift. It was so real and vivid that I actually called the unit in the middle of the night to make sure I didn't make any mistakes.

I've been retired from critical care for nearly ten years now. When I dream of the hospital its usually a good dream. The rare bad dream I have is when I walk into the nurses station in the NICU and they say "four feeder growers and one chronic that never sleeps.....thanks for taking one for the team" and my nursing license vanishes before my eyes.....

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