Nurses' Day Off

On a rare January day, five nurses all had the same day off and so we celebrated...

 

Ecstatic about car snacks!

My favorite! Evolution wine

It's a dessert wine

One of the first of many adventure with these ladies in beautiful wine country!

Sun River Nursing Conference

In the beginning of September, a few of my nurse friends and I got to go to a nursing conference in beautiful Sun River. It was a great conference in a beautiful place and we learned a lot of great new information to incorporate into our practice. We got to spend some fun time together too :)

We all got matching "Nurse Themed" socks. How cute are my friends, and how cute are these socks!

Before going to the conference, I went to the Duck Game with Briand. Check out our seats this season! Fun day in the sun and a Duck win! Go Ducks!

Three By The Sea Baby Shower

My good friend from work, Jenna, and I hosted a baby shower this past weekend for three of our amazing co-workers who are all having baby boys this summer! We have been planning, crafting, and preparing for the past 5 months, and were so pleased to put on a party for such beautiful women.

Co-hosts: Jenna & McKenzie

Aqua & Coral were our inspiration for this babyshower, and we DIY'd until we couldn't craft any more!We asked our guests to bring treats for a pot-luck style party, and we had over 20 ladies from our work come celebrate these lovely women. The whole party was filled with love, and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

Diaper Wreaths for Baby Oliver, Baby Jackson, and Baby Boy Farner



   

 

 We had the guests decorate onsies for the Mommies-to-be:

We had a game to try not to say the word "Baby" or you loose your clothespin, person with the most clothespins at the end wins:

Our second game was trying to guess what was in the diaper:

 There was tons of food & drink, and there were so many gifts!

Jenna is not only crafty, but she is also an amazing photographer. Thank you for all of the photos! She took the opportunity to get some fantastic group pictures as well.



Check out more of Jenna's pictures and blog posts about the event on her blog Northwest Nightingale . I couldn't have asked for a better co-host. Thanks for everything Jenna!

A Hard Lesson

As part of my training, I have to learn to care for moms and dads who are going through the process of losing their baby, sometimes even halfway through their pregnancy. Being still so new to this job, I am trying to absorb what words to say to the families and how to care for them. In my first experience, I listened to their questions, and had I no idea what to say. I listened to their doctor talk about the real facts and sequence of events, and I had no idea what to feel. I listened to my preceptor talk about what was happening and what the next step was, and I had no idea how this family could erase those images and plans they created when they were counting on this little baby being part of their future.

I learned that I had to bite my tounge to not say "have a great night," and I had to learn to be calm and empathetic. I had to be present for them.

I also had to take a break and go to the locker room... and I had to cry.

This is a hard lesson. I have so much to learn, but this is one lesson that weighs heavy on my heart and brings tears to my eyes. I can only hope to comfort the hearts and support the tears of families experiencing this pain. I know it will make me a stronger nurse in the bad times and the good. I love my job in the shadows and the sunshine.

Back to the Blue Scrubs

When I was in nursing school, I got to spend 6 months working at St V's with some of the most amazing nurses. Claire is my nurse mentor, and still a friend 2 years later. I learned so much from her and and the nurses during my senior practicum, and it really helped solidify that my nurse passion is to be an OB nurse. The nurse lessons and life lessons from my time there will absolutely stay with me throughout my career and my life. From the little things, like don't let your IV run dry, to the scary things, like patients almost dying; from the life lessons, like family drama, to the wife lessons, like what to cook for dinner. I know that it was a very impressionable time during nursing school, and I am so thankful I got to spend time with such amazing nurse preceptors working in Labor and Delivery.

Yesterday was my first day back in L&D, and back to the blue scrubs. I had been there helping be the baby nurse, or the antepartum nurse, but yesterday was my first day training as the labor nurse.  I know there is a lot for me to learn, but I am excited to be taking this new step in my career!

Me being the nerd that I am, I tried to get a photo of my first day of training, but I was embarrased that someone would walk into the locker room, so I tried to be quick, hence the blurry photo. But oh well.

To add to my nerves of starting my new training, it was a little difficult to get to work yesterday morning. I had to leave extra early because we got about 3 inches of snow at our house over the weekend. I never imagined I would have to use 4 wheel drive to get to work when it was almost March. It is beautiful though!