The first 9 days and 8 nights of my son's life were unexpectedly spent in the NICU. Anna was our nurse for 4 of those nights. I say "our nurse" because although my son was the one who was officially admitted as the patient requiring care, Anna equally attended to me, as the mother and provided exceptional care to me as well. After each long day of consults, tests, conversations with nurses, doctors, specialists, I always felt emotionally and physically exhausted. When I would step away to take a shower, I would return to the room to find the couch transformed into a bed with blankets and pillows in place, along with the heating pad for my postpartum needs already turned on just waiting for me. Anna was also very hands on in getting breastfeeding practices in place.
Especially our very first night, as I was learning the mechanics of pumping colostrum, seeking and hunting through the various parts of a breast pump with a 1ml syringe was mentally taxing. Anna was so encouraging, her support and positiveness were priceless as we collected every drop of breast milk we could to give him as much benefit as possible. And for each nighttime nursing session, Anna was always present to help with positioning the cords, my breast, my baby and using the colostrum collected to encourage a healthy latch. As the nights rolled on, my son became a very efficient nursing baby, quoting his neonatologist, 'He's the best breastfeeding baby on the block, and he's a cardiac patient! Those two things don't usually go together.' I largely have Anna to thank for that accomplishment.
Anna was equally attentive to my emotional needs. She was very caring, trusting, and a great listener. I found myself feeling quite vulnerable in the wee hours of the night and Anna provided great comfort in how she explained what was happening and why. She handed me tissues, held my baby and talked to him as I would hold him while I prepared for a nursing session, and gave great suggestions to help me bond with my baby and heal and cope with the events that had transpired. We even shared a few raw moments that ended in true laughter.
Anna's care began when within 45 minutes of meeting us for the first time, Anna recognized that my son had been upset for nearly all afternoon and hadn't slept or eaten much all day. These symptoms were opposite of his care goals and after discussing options/ideas with me, she reached the doctor immediately to find a solution. Her intuition and attention to detail gained my trust immediately. Each repeat night we had with Anna as our nurse, I felt a huge sense of joy and relief, as it felt like she and I developed an honest and true friendship, far beyond a simple patient/caregiver exchange. Anna even took the time to create a special scrapbook display of my son's footprints and birth information.
We've been home from the NICU for a full month and I still think of Anna and her graceful touch and tenderness. Any family that has the misfortune of having a baby in the NICU will be fortunate to have Anna on their baby's care team.