My partner and I were there as part of the adoption process, as our birth mom was across the hall. This nurse didn’t think twice about including us in all updates throughout the night. Having never had a child or spent several nights in an L&D room, she ensured our time was met with physical and emotional comfort. She helped us turn off all of our lights and turn off the machines that kept us up our 1st night, and she even made us our own baby girl beanie hat to keep. We were afraid that we’d be treated as ‘less than’ or looked upon negatively as humans and, most importantly, as parents in waiting. She acknowledged our existence, our anxiousness about the situation, and our empathy when we wanted to spend time with our birth mom and her aunt. She didn’t kick us out or ignore us. In fact, she even checked up on us when we moved to the post-partum floor and sought to learn more about the adoption process and our story. She’s the 1st person to congratulate us, call us mom and dad, and even use our baby’s name. I hope she can continue to be a role model for others who are unsure how to navigate adoption.