dawnebeth

We had a baby who had e coli meningitis--she went home okay, but after months of antibiotics. Amazingly, despite hydrocephalus, she seems very normal (for a 2 month old). However, I know of a different case where a baby got bacterial meningitis on a...

I have a two year degree and had never seen a premature baby when I started at our level 3 ICN--but we have a great 12 week training course (for all nurses, not just new grads) who are hired. I felt like I had never been in nursing school before, but...

When we get a baby on Methadone withdrawal because mom was in a program, the withdrawal sometimes seems to me worse than from Heroin. As another poster mentioned, it can take 2-3 months. The babies are put on morphine and phenobarb. We have a opiate ...

Nearly all our micro-preemies and babies with gut damage are on Breast milk or banked Breast milk. When only a tiny portion is needed, we do a partial thaw. Let the bottle thaw just enough that the milk closest to the glass thaws and the core in the ...

I just asked this recently of our nurse practitioner--she said water on a cotton tipped applicator or gauze 2x2 is good.

As others have said, babies don't shiver due to brown fat. Preemies, in particular, are often jittery or tremble simply because they are preemies and their movements are not smooth.

We had our line infections drop dramatically when we started doing sterile line set ups (sterile gloves, hats and using a sterile field to lay out the IV tubing), as well wiping the hubs 15 seconds with alcohol with every new med and flush and--as th...

Remember that you are at the bedside with the patient your entire shift while the doctor is there a minimum of a few minutes a day. As others have said, you do so much more than be the doctor's assistant and pass bedpans. You are the patient's advoca...

24 years ago I took a job in an ICN barely two months out of nursing school (I didn't even take the boards for two more months) and I felt completely at sea. I'd had NO exposure to preemies, very sick babies, etc and was very nervous. But I think all...

If the baby is stable enough to be held, by all means, regardless of humidity. We use humidity for a month on all babies under 30 weeks and definitely allow moms to hold the babies as soon as possible.

I've been blessed to work in a great ICN for many years with supportive, good nurses who enjoy what they are doing. That's the key--giving love and support to your fellow nurses. No one can work alone or take all the burden of the job. But if you can...

I don't live in Houston, but most hospitals who have volunteers not only have a waiting list, but generally, there is a training period where you have to volunteer in other parts of the hospital first before going to the ICN. In our hospital, you hav...

I always tell people to call or email the unit manager--sometimes monthly, to keep your name fresh in her mind when the unit does start hiring.

We've always worn our own uniforms--usually in bright patterns and color--only the OR has hospital scrubs.

Our tubes have numbers on them. We're supposed to check the number at the lip or nares every shift (who now remembers that I checked the number at the lip last night and never wrote it down on my notes). Pushing air into a small baby isn't always the...

I'm the person in our unit who most frequently works with/trains the nursing students doing their preceptorships and while our unit doesn't hire any new nurses very often, nearly every new grad hired in the last five years was a nurse who had worked ...

Yeah, just yesterday, I said quite loudly--I hate when the bottom/legs of the IV pole are splattered with formula and IV fluids and cleaned them right in front of the nurse who had that pole. She did say thank you.

Our new 'baby' docs are, for the most part, very respectful to the nurses, and quite frequently ask our opinion and then run to the neo for confirmation on an order. Generally, we nurses say tell the resident the same thing that the neo does! lol I'v...

We get 22 weekers from time to time, although not recently. I don't recall one ever surviving. One time, we had a small for gestational age 29 weeker who was doing well despite being barely 14 oz, and right beside was a 22 weeker exactly the same siz...

We never use betadine for anything--I've worked in out unit for over 20 years and it's always been that way. We have a nurse practitioner who is a preemie skin specialist and she has set many skin protocals. I also realize, I mentioned the wrong soap...

It's always wonderful to make those connections between the nurse and a baby and his family. I love doing primary nursing because I can get to know the baby very closely and follow her recovery, being aware of all the complexities of her care and wha...

We never, ever use betadine on any of our babies, particularly the preemies because they have such thin skin that the iodine can be absorbed and affect the thyroid. For all skin washing we use two percent hibiclense and then wipe the soap off with sa...

If Dad is listed on the birth certificate, he can visit. If there is animosity between the parents, the social worker generally gets involved to set up separate times for each to come to the bedside. This has certainly happened before! If there is no...

I don't know specifics, but we got rid of the all 6's rule years ago, when we went to the 'smart' syringe pumps which have the drips calculated and use standard drips that the pharmacy makes up. Of course, we always have two nurses double check the d...

Oh, yeah! We complained about a year ago or so, and I thought they seemed easier that previously. It does help to tap the base of the bottle on the palm of your hand pretty firmly before trying to unscrew the top. When I have to put 24 hours worth in...