The first words Kathy spoke to me after introducing herself as our nursery nurse were, "We want what you want- if you want skin to skin right away, you got it. If you want no visitors for a while, you got it. This is YOUR experience." She absolutely lived up to these words.
Right after delivery, my baby's blood sugar had to be checked frequently. I would have to nurse her and then they'd check and recheck levels. It was a long night, and no one really explained to me why this was being done or for how long- just following "protocol".
When Kathy came in the next morning, she explained it all and offered to discuss the plan with the doctor to decrease/eliminate the checks. She never took my baby away from me and performed every talk right beside me making sure to include me. By the second day, I was exhausted and overwhelmed and just couldn't entertain any more guests while trying to figure out breastfeeding and sleep, so she put up a no visitors sign and screened my guests to allow myself and my family some private time to adjust. She even called the room to check on us and gave me her number to call in case we needed her to give us some downtime.
The biggest impact Kathy had on my experience was when it came time to be discharged. I was very anxious about breastfeeding because when my first daughter was born, she had to be readmitted due to jaundice the day after we got home. Because my milk wasn't in, we had to give her a bottle of formula to help flush out the bilirubin. After that, she refused to breastfeed.
Even though logically, I knew that this was a different baby and different circumstances, there is nothing "logical" to a sleep-deprived, stressed out, super hormonal new mama. Kathy took her time helping me with nursing sessions, reviewing bili levels, explaining normal levels, and just calming my nerves.
On the day of discharge, we were having a rough nursing morning and I fell apart. Kathy sat on the couch in my room, listening to me cry, showing no judgment and again said, "This is YOUR experience. Your experience last time was yours and no one can feel the fear that you have except you, but I believe that you can do this and no matter what you do, you are enough for this baby." She hugged me and made me a "to-go" bag of formula and syringes because it was the holidays and she wanted me to be comforted in knowing I had an emergency stash just in case. I was an emotional wreck and she took the time to truly listen and encourage me. Not only as a patient but as a fellow nurse, she will never know how much her kindness meant to me.
Kathy is the best example of a "baby-friendly" nurse that this hospital is lucky to have on its team. I am so thankful for her compassion that made such a meaningful difference in my journey this time.