My fifth baby recently celebrated her first birthday. As we approached this milestone, I couldn’t help but think back over the first two weeks of her life spent in the special care nursery at the hospital and the exceptional care provided by the nurses. As a token of appreciation, we went back to the hospital to gift them a few Valentine’s Day treats (for my Valentine’s baby).
There are so many things they did…from the simplest acts to the more skilled aspects of their job…that meant so much to our family during this time. Here’s what I am thankful for (since it wouldn’t all fit on the card).
Thank you for giving her the immediate care she needed when she was born early, and stabilizing her quickly so that she had the best possible shot at being perfectly healthy.
Thank you for always being calm and collected no matter what kind of beep or alarm came from the monitors. It was very reassuring to see such competence and cool-headedness.
Thank you for coloring the little sign with her name that went into her bassinet. The seemingly simple gesture was one of the first acknowledgments of her as an actual person. I still have it. It will go in her baby book as soon as I get a baby book.
Thank you for caring for my baby during all those hours that I could not be there because I was at home tending to the rest of my family.
Thank you for answering my questions so patiently and kindly and never, ever, ever making me feel awkward or silly or annoying for asking them.
Thank you for never making us feel like a number. You care for so many babies every day, week, month, year. Thank you for showing that you cared for her as a (tiny) person and for us as a family.
Thank you for just sitting quietly with me that time I wasn’t handling it so well.
Thank you for enforcing the hospital regulations, from monitoring hand washing to limiting visitors. Every single rule is obviously meant to keep the babies protected and healthy. Thank you for being the first line of defense between them and the outside world.
Thank you for talking and singing to the other babies in the nursery, because that let me know that our baby was also being treated with the same love and kindness at times I couldn’t be there.
Thank you for indulging us and helping us with the logistics of getting her first picture with her brothers and sisters.
Thank you for supporting me in our efforts to breastfeed, for being so encouraging when having to pump and deliver milk was so discouraging, for bringing in the wonderful lactation consultants, for easing my nervousness as I nursed her for the first, second, third and all those times after. At a year she is still nursing, the longest of all five of my children. Thanks for helping us get started.
Thank you for coming to my rescue the first time I tried to change her clothes while she was still connected to all the monitors.
Thank you for being disappointed with me each time we learned that she would have to stay yet another day. Thank you for celebrating with us on the day she finally got to leave. Thank you for saying that you would miss us; we miss you too.
Leaving a baby in the hospital is heartbreaking, but I will always remember the kindness and competence that surrounded us in that quiet room, where the rest of the world was shut out and everything was about giving these babies the best possible start in life.
Did the nursing staff go the extra mile for you? What are you thankful for?
Laura Ramis used to teach seventh grade English and drama, but after her first was born she switched her attention to the preschool crowd. At the moment she works from home helping to develop a local Spanish immersion program and working as a freelance educational content writer. Originally from Puerto Rico, she and her husband moved to Lexington 7 years ago. They have five children, ages 11, 10, 8, 2 and 1. You can find her gluing rhinestones on dance costumes or watching her boys play soccer. She’s the one with a baby wrapped on her back.
