You know the world is in bad shape when...

...I'm teaching new moms how to change diapers!!!!!! Yikes!

Last week for clinicals, I was on the Postpartum floor. Some of my classmates who had already been on that floor had mentioned how it was boring and that you don't get to do a whole lot because the new moms are pretty self-sufficient. Well, the trick to getting to do a lot is to pick a patient who is not very sufficient! My patient was a new mom in her 30's. The baby was about 36 hours old when I met the new family. So far, the husband had been doing all of the infant care (except for the breastfeeding, of course!) There wasn't a lot of nursing skills to do but I got to do a lot of teaching with them, which is a huge part of postpartum care anyway. The new mom was pretty emotional, which is a very natural and common way to feel after giving birth and can last a couple of weeks. She cried to us in the hallway saying "I don't know what to do when the baby cries." I was able to use my therapeutic communication skills with her as well as educate her on if and when she should talk to her doctor about her emotions. Postpartum blues are very common and can last up to 2 weeks. Postpartum depression, having those blues for more than 2 weeks, having negative thoughts towards baby, etc. should be addressed. My nurse also recognized the importance of getting the mom more involved in the infant's care. When the baby had a dirty diaper, I worked with the mom and helped her through the process. I guess it's just something we expect everyone to know but not everybody does. I haven't exactly changed a ton of diapers in my life so I could really relate to her knowledge deficit. My nurse told me that I did a great job teaching her and was very patient with the new mom while she figured things out. Well, if anything, I can say I learned how to change a diaper in nursing school!
haha! :)

We had another new mom and baby in the afternoon. I got to teach the grandma how to swaddle the baby, the importance of keeping the baby warm, and also the importance of SIDS prevention (back to sleep!!). I felt so useful and that I actually knew something that could help somebody out.

Being at Arlington Memorial, I have been expecting to know somebody there. After all, it's where i was born, had my surgery, it's kind of my "home" hospital. I was chatting it up with my nurse last week, whose name is also Mary, and we were just kind of getting to know each other. Turns out she and her family have always gone to the same church I grew up in, her husband and son work for the same company my brother works for, and she also works part-time for American Airlines. Gosh, talk about crossing paths our entire lives! Needless to say, we certainly bonded. When it was time for me to leave, she gave me a hug and said "call me up here if you ever need anything." Such a great day with patients and nurses alike!!

Tomorrow I am back on the Labor and Delivery unit...hope to have some more exciting stories for you!