Birthday Nurse

So much better night at work last night...I had no nightmares today while I was sleeping! I must say, I love the nurses that I worked with. I guess I was more shaken up about the whole run-in with the doc and the crappy strip from Wednesday night, plus the 30wk SROM from Tuesday night than I thought. I had at least 3 nurses come up to me last night and tell me that I was a great nurse, that it just takes time to get the docs to trust you, and that the particular doctor didn't have a nurse there who hadn't had a run-in with her at least once. The couple nurses that had looked at my strip said they wouldn't have done anything different than I did, and that I did all the right things. That almost made me cry all over again! When I'd left Thursday morning I really felt like the worst nurse ever and that I had totally missed something super important and that I put my patient into real danger. But after all these nurses who have 10+ years of experience were saying the same ...

I don't think there is ever gonna be a shift where I don't do something I've never done before. Last night it was actually "starting" someone on mag, with the 4gram bolus and then the 2gram/hr thing. I've heard too many stories about people forgetting to change the pump rate after the 4grams in 15minutes when they hang the "big bag" and send their patients up to ICU because of respiratory failure, so I was a little nervous. The awesome day shift nurse helped me roll the patient out of the OR and get everything straightened out and the mag started and the paperwork organized and stuff before she left. So I had a fresh section on mag and the patient wasn't one of those who I would call "stoic", actually quite the opposite. This was about her 7 th admission in the last 2-3 months of her pregnancy for various things, but when she got hit with the PIH she got hit hard and really was sick, so even though she was only 33 wks it was a good ...

I really do like work, I was just telling someone last night about how much I love work. But after working 6 out of 8 nights...I'm ready for a few nights of sleeping when it's dark outside! I know it could be a lot worse, it was never more than 3 in a row, but still, that's a definite switch to the night shift! Last night had the potential to be crazy, but turned out not too bad. We started with 3 antes, but one was a set of 35wk twins that everyone thought was going to deliver. We went 2 out of 3 home before 2100, and I had the twins pretty settled down but then another "early labor" patient walked in about 2145 that kept me running. I think ER sent up 4 patients in an hour and a half last night! That is too many... The twin mom had come in early in the afternoon and had been 2, then later on 3, then even after terbX 2, vistaril and fluid she was about 3-4. She was rating her pain and had gotten some nubain right before I got there. The doc said that she real...

Wow, ok , I have been totally blown away by the awesome, amazing comments that have been left on my last couple blogs answering all my questions. I feel like I've learned more by reading comments from REAL moms who have done AMAZING things during their child's birth than I ever could have just by asking other nurses what they suggest. Thank you so much for all the tips and suggestions. I've ordered/looked up some of the books that people suggested, so now I'm really excited! I think my perspective has totally changed on natural childbirth. I have felt like a horrible nurse standing there watching my patients "suffer" and "hurt" when I guess I can almost compare it to a good work out: no pain no gain, and how much more you appreciate something after your work for it. Not that you don't appreciate your baby immensely after you deliver no matter if you had pain meds or not, but those of you who can go without medical pain relief...you amaze me! ...

Thank you for all the feedback on the natural labor posts. As a new nurse, these are the things that I'm still trying to learn, so all the feedback, ideas, thoughts are great and very, very informative. So my next question is: What are the things that help the most if you're trying to go natural, or even if you have pain meds ? What are the things that you as a laboring mom want to hear, what can I as a nurse tell you that is going to make this process what you want it to be? What things can I do to let you know that you're supported? I know labor is different for everyone, but as a general rule, what works? I told a couple of the nurses the other day when I had someone "unblocked" I feel so dumb standing by her bed saying "in through your nose, out through your mouth" "keep breathing" "good job" "you're doing great" I would think that would get old after about the 2 nd contraction, and if that's all my nurse kept t...