Preemie Mom turned NICU Nurse?

[krltdy]

I'm a mom to a 24 weeker, due to previa, and frank abruption. She weighed 490 grams. We spent 4 months in the NICU, and went through the whole "rollercoaster ride" thing.

Anyway, since that time, I've been thinking about going to NS to become a NICU nurse. I really want to do it, and feel like I'd be great at it, especially because I know the suffocating agony of having a child in the NICU.

Do you know of any preemie moms that became NICU nurses?

[Nepenthe Sea]

I am the mother to 31-weekers that will turn four on New Year's Day (twin girls). They spent five weeks in NICU. Luckily, they could have been much worse off, and don't have any lingering problems today. I couldn't wait to get them out of NICU and ever since they've been out, I can't stop thinking about preemies and NICU. So I decided to become a nurse!

One of our NICU nurses has twin sons that just turned 18 and also spent time in the same unit. She was a good person to talk to. We also had another nurse there with twin boys, and she said they were okay. She was our nurse a couple of years later in peds when one of my daughters had pneumonia. I asked about her kids and she said, "Did I ever tell you about my one son?" She then explained that one of her sons was special needs and couldn't talk (they were five). She said she didn't tell me in the NICU because his problems didn't arise until he was about two. She didn't want me to worry. So, you do have to be careful what you tell the family. I was very lucky, but I know that not everybody is.

I realize I may get in there and not be able to handle it. My sister went to nursing school ten years ago and wanted to be a NICU nurse. She actually worked as a tech in the same unit my kids were in. She got to where she just couldn't handle it, and became a teacher instead. So I am keeping an open mind. Lukily there are lots of areas in nursing I am interested in.

I had a care group leader for Skills last semester who is a NP in a different unit. She said they get lots of NICU moms working there. I know a number of people in my program that are also former NICU moms that hope to work there after graduation.