From the get-go, Jamie was very kind to me. She understood how upset I was feeling and gave me the rundown for the plan for the night. Every three hours we would feed E formula and after I would pump until my milk started to come in. She told me any diaper I changed would need to be weighed if it had poo in it and to just set it to the side until it could be weighed, but to get the time of the poo written down. 

It was made clear to me that I was more than free to go home and get sleep. But I did not feel comfortable doing that, Jamie was more than gracious about me staying at the hospital and encouraged me to do what I felt most comfortable doing. Jamie and I talked in between her other duties until I fell asleep. Every three hours I woke up and Jamie would be there to help me feed E under the UV lights. She showed me how best to clean the bottles and she would sanitize them in between feedings. She celebrated with me when I started producing enough milk to get E through a full feeding. 

Jamie spoke with me and made me feel safe all night. The last feeding before the end of Jamie's shift, my alarm went off, and Jamie was already feeding E. She looked at me and said that I did a great job for the night and to sleep in a little bit. I didn’t need to be told twice. I thanked her and fell back asleep. 

Jamie would help me up when my c-section incision made it hard for me to get up. She spoke with me, and we learned a little about each other. She was kind to me and my husband. She made it clear that jaundice happens, and we can’t control the levels. When she went home for the day, she said we would see her that evening.

Then E improved enough to be moved out of the NICU. We didn’t expect to see Jamie again during our stay. Jamie made the effort to come up and check on us and make sure E was doing ok before she started her shift. 

Thank you, Jamie, for making us feel safe and like we were your only patients during E’s stay in the NICU.