The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of a Postpartum Nurse

The last two weeks of work have been interesting. Last week was pretty horrible and stress filled. This week was just plain amazing.

First the bad...

Last week I admitted three babies to the NICU in two days. Usually I admit no babies. I spent so much time in the nursery that it was very hard to get all of my work done on time. It was very stressful, and Friday I felt like crying when I left because I was so stressed out. I was basically ready for early retirement.

However, I had a really amazing experience during the midst of this craziness. It involved one of my sick babies. I had left him until last because he was in the well-baby nursery, and I had figured that they would take care of him. However, when I went to listen to his lungs they were full of gunk. Lung gunk is bad. He had also kicked off all of his blankets and was cold. Concerned I took him to the nursery, so they could observe him to make sure he was okay. He ended up being really sick, and I was just very grateful that I had taken him to the nursery because they know how to handle such situations. Every night before I work I pray that the Spirit will guide me through my work, so that I can care for my patients in the most compassionate and competent manner possible. I feel that I was prompted to take him to the nursery.

Somehow, I was also volunteered to break the news to the mom. She was understandably devastated, but her mother-in-law suggested that they call someone to give the baby a blessing. Immediately the tension in the room dissolved. While the baby still isn't doing great, the blessing helped the family members calm down and soothed my worry too. I know that priesthood blessings are powerful and real. They can really help us. I was grateful for this light in my otherwise dismal day. I didn't really realize it until I was in church last Sunday, but I am grateful for experiences like this that strengthen my testimony and lesson the stress of my stressful job.

Then the Good...

This week was just amazing. I left before 630 everyday (which is unusual for me), and I had amazing patients. I love weeks like this. It just makes the horrible weeks like last week seem not so bad, plus it reminds me why I love my job. I left today with a smile on my face, which isn't always the case when I am leaving work after my third shift.

Also this week, I had the opportunity to mentor two students this week. Both of them were really nice, but the one today made me feel like I was really teaching her. It's kind of nice to know that I have wisdom I can share with others.

And the Ugly...

There really wasn't too much ugly this week except maybe my feelings of strong dislike towards my alarm clock when it would go off at 445 am. I honestly start feeling excited about sleeping in again on the first day of my three in a row. It's really kind of pitiful, but such is life...