We adore Daytime Sally (DS). She earned this name because we also have Nighttime Sally (NS), sometimes back-to-back with DS. I can tell you, when it is 24 hours of Sally, it is a good day for us. We love NS as well, but we have a special bond with DS. It is natural for this to occur, because we spend more time there during the day and you get to know the daytime nurses much better.
I remember the first day we had DS was pretty early on in our NICU stay. We would be very careful around Jackson, we certainly felt intimidated to handle him, and we spoke in hushed voices. "You don't want to overstimulate the preemie." was the saying we lived by. Then DS came along and dared speak in a normal voice around Jackson. "This nurse is so loud!" Colin exclaimed after our first encounter. After whispering and being so careful not to overstimulate, DS might has well have been yelling.
Once we got past the sheer volume of this nurse, we realized she was different, in a good way. She treated us as if not only did we have the right to know exactly what she was doing to our baby, but that we would actually understand and appreciate an explanation why. That is when our education began. DS spent a lot of time in our room teaching us things we need to know to be better and more successful parents for our preemie. While the other nurses in the NICU are all great in their own way, DS separated herself from the pack by taking the time to really get to know us as people, especially Jackson.
When you have to place your child's well-being in someone else's hands, it can grow exhausting because you spend so much time worrying. It has grown increasingly important to get to know each nurse as well as we can in the NICU. If I had to choose one nurse to leave Jackson with full-time, it would easily be DS. She seemed to have a special bond with Jackson and it was apparent that she cared about him far beyond just coming in and taking care of her nurse tasks.
DS loved Jackson's name. She always said that there was no way he would not do something great with a name like his. She would announce, "Supreme Court Justice Jackson William Morrison." To please dad she would title him, "PGA Tour Champion Jackson William Morrison." What I loved the most is when she would put all kidding aside and just say most importantly he will grow up and be healthy and happy. That is really all a mother can ask for, and she knew I needed to hear that.
A few weeks ago, I decided that I was ready to challenge Jackson to nuzzle nurse just to see what he would do. Nuzzle nursing means you hold the baby down at your breast while they tube feed so they start to associate the feeling of their stomach filling up while they are near the source of milk. As the story goes, he latched on instinctively and the lactation nurse ran to get a nipple shield. He ended up feeding like a champ on his first try. However, we had not weighed him before the feeding session so we had no way to really determine how much milk he took in. This is against doctor's orders because his milk intake is strictly measured and monitored. DS was so excited and supportive when she saw what was happening, she immediately told me to let him keep feeding and that she would take the blame for not knowing how much milk he was fed at that session. It is hard to explain the dynamic between NICU nurses and lactation nurses, but DS was more than willing to get in trouble for not following her orders because what was happening was in the best interest of me and Jackson and our breast feeding relationship. That was really special to me.
Other nurses are complimentary when they see my milk supply I have been building up for Jackson, but as always DS went the extra mile. She acknowledged that pumping milk so diligently is hard work and would actually look at my pumping log and commend me for what I have been doing. When I shrugged it off and pointed out that I am just doing what is best for Jackson, she reminded me that not all parents are selfless. Again, she takes her job as nurse and goes a step further to create a bond and connection by showing how much she cares and recognizing that what is happening to families in the NICU is not easy.
DS taught us how to advocate for Jackson when we get out of the NICU. She let us know that we need to be very specific when we call our pediatrician and always have in mind what we are looking for from them. She pointed out that we will be the ones who really know our child and that if something does not seem right to go with our instinct. All of our nurses have done a great job teaching us how to perform daily baby maintenance tasks, feed Jackson, and watch him rather than the monitors all the time. DS has given us skills that we will need to be successful parents for years down the road. All because she took extra time to get to know us and cared enough to share her wisdom with us.
On her last shift, she shared with us that she likes all of her patients, but that we were special. She told us we were people she could be friends with. We agreed that this feeling was mutual. We will miss you Daytime Sally.
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