Mom was emotional when she saw what the NICU nurses had said about her parenting



Mom was emotional when she saw what the NICU nurses had said about her parenting

Having a baby can be tough enough already without everyone else in the world trying to make the job even harder than it needs to be. It appears as though becoming a parent suddenly sees many of us surrounded by others, all waiting to judge our every move. So what about when it’s the nurses who are taking notes on our parenting? That’s right; one mom was emotional when she saw what the NICU nurses had said about her parenting. Sometimes, it can feel as though others are quick to judge and that people don’t always know the full story. We can brush these comments to one side – most of the time. Unfortunately, trying to care for a newborn while battling everyone else’s comments looked as though it was going to be too much for one mom to handle, so much so that she was left in tears after catching a glimpse of the notes.

Prepared for anything


Finding out there is a new baby on the way can be a hugely exciting time for many of us. After all, there is about to be a bundle of joy on the way that is sure to turn many of our lives on its head. It seems as though things can’t get much better.

Many parents dream of the day they can bring their little one home and start their life as a new family. Sadly, not everything is in our control. In fact, becoming a parent can show us that sometimes it’s important to be prepared for anything.


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Learning to help


A typical pregnancy lasts around 40 weeks as babies need months in the womb before they are ready to grace the world. This helps to make sure they are strong enough to cope with everything in the outside world. However, arriving before they have reached 37 weeks means that babes are considered to be premature or preterm.

Thankfully, many midwives and nurses all around the world have learned how to care for preterm babies as premature births can be very common. Believe it or not, but in 2017, it’s thought that 1 in 10 births in the U.S. happened at 3 weeks or earlier. Premature babies often have a host of medical complications that can see them in danger if the doctors aren’t ready to help them through the early stages of their life. Most preterm newborns are immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU.


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Plenty of care


Babies can be born prematurely, but the earlier they enter the world, the more risks that come. In fact, the chances are that most of the babies will need plenty of medical care from a team of doctors and nurses before they are strong enough to head home with their new family. Thankfully, NICUs are designed to offer up everything these little ones could need as the infants need plenty of help with the first stages of their development and growth.

Many parents are forced to watch as their babies develop in a plastic box. Most grow excited about taking their little one home only to have that moment stolen before it’s even arrived. It can be a waiting game for many parents as they prepare for their stay in the NICU. However, babies staying here will be getting the best care possible.
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Keeping track


Some babies spend just days in the NICU while others can be in the unit for weeks or even months before they are allowed to go home. Many parents rely on the team of nurses to help in all aspects. Not only is it a huge struggle for the little ones to battle for their lives, but a stay in the NICU can often push many parents to their emotional limit as a result.

Thankfully, parents can frequently visit and spend all day sitting next to their little one. Sadly, parents usually can’t hold their babies until they are given the all clear. The nurses are in charge of tracking the newborn’s progress with notes and charts. Although most spend their time focusing on the babies in their care, one mom was about to learn that she was about to end up in all of their notes, too.
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Reading their thoughts


One mother was forced to sit back and watch as her baby was kept in the NICU. However, it wasn’t until she asked to see her baby’s notes that the mom realized that it wasn’t just her newborn that was being checked throughout the day. The baby had been in the NICU for a long time, and the mom wanted to read through the medical notes to keep track of the little one’s conditions.

So what were all those extra scribbles in the visitor’s log? It looked as though the nurses had been logging down everything about the woman and her husband. That wasn’t all. The nurses wrote how they felt as though neither of the parents visited for long enough, the mom didn’t talk enough, and her husband “rarely visited.” The mother couldn’t believe what she was reading and immediately burst into tears.
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Plenty of factors


It turned out there was a reason for it all. The mother already had another older son who had been diagnosed with disabilities and needed a lot of care and attention. She wanted to be with her newborn, but there were other people that needed her.

To top it off, the woman’s husband had a reason for his absence. It appeared that he was working night shifts to ensure the family had enough money. As if that wasn’t enough, the mom didn’t have a driver’s license and sometimes struggled to get to the hospital.
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Feeling judged


The mother immediately felt as though the nurses had been judging her. The worst bit? It turned out that the nurses in the NICU knew all about her situation at home yet they still wanted to write down all their opinions about the woman and her husband.

The mother felt as though she had been doing everything that she could for her newborn. Now, even that didn’t feel good enough. She was already in a vulnerable condition from the preterm birth and was now feeling even more emotional.
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Juggling her time


The mother used to stay with her newborn all day every day as it looked as though the NICU was about to become her new home. However, that changed when her baby began to grow stronger and more stable from their care.

Now, the mom knew that her other son needed some more attention. The mom would promptly arrive in the morning or afternoon every day unless she were feeling too sick. All she wanted to do was care for every member of her family – no matter where they were.
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Starting conversations


There was one note that stood out to the mom more than the others. Why did the nurses think that she wasn’t talking enough? The mom was there to visit her sick baby – not to make a conversation with everyone else in the room.

It appears as though the mom has plenty going on in her life and it’s likely that she was exhausted by the time she got to the hospital. She wasn’t amused by the fact the nurses thought that she should be making more of an effort to talk to them on her visits.
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Telling her story


The mother was hurt by all the comments on the notes and wanted to know what to do. It wasn’t long before she posted the story to an online forum so that other mothers could give her advice and feedback on the notes from the log.

The mother explained the entire situation, including how she had uncovered all the records about her and her husband as well as how they had been kept from the hospital thanks to other factors. The post soon gained plenty of attention.
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Sending kind words


Thankfully, it didn’t take long for many mothers to come forward and express their sympathy for the mom and her husband. After all, they were already going through a tough time. Did the nurses really need to rub salt in their wounds?

Many spoke about how they had also had to deal with nurses in the NICU. It looked as though others felt as though they had been judged for their behavior when visiting their little ones. Some even believed the mom should ask to have the notes changed.
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Another confession


Many of the people who commented on the post were kind and supportive to the mom in her time of need. However, there were others that felt as though the nurses should be allowed to express their concerns, even if it upset the mom.

The mother soon admitted her husband would only visit their baby one day a week. This was enough some commenters needed to agree with the nurses while others stated this is how the nurses should be using the visitor’s log.
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Plenty of opinions


Taking our stories to the internet can open the door to many comments – good or bad. It looked as though this mom’s story was going to be no exception. Many spoke about how they were concerned about her husband’s schedule.

They worried about how little he had gone to see their baby and said the nurses should be worried. The mom was hurt by the comments so explained that he was working all hours to provide for the family. Plus, it looked as though the couple regularly called the NICU for updates.
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Part of the club


Having a baby can be tough enough for many without the added pressure of having to watch them in the NICU. After all, they were supposed to be taking them home. How had they ended up with an extended stay at the hospital?

Whether they like it or not, many parents admit they soon join the NICU club as a result. Many parents can sit for weeks or months as they watch their preterm baby hooked up to all kinds of machines, hoping they will one day get stronger.
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Another challenge


Having a baby in the NICU can be made even tougher when there are already other children in the family. After all, they often need plenty of care and might feel left out whenever their parents are visiting their newborns at the hospital.

Many parents will typically use all of their energy with their newborns before having to return home to try and care for the rest of their family. It’s often a juggling act where it’s tough to keep all the balls in the air at once.
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A list of complications


It looks as though a premature birth can happen to any of us, and many times doctors have no idea what causes an early labor. Sadly, the earlier a baby arrives, the more likely it is the little one will have long-term medical issues.

Preterm babies are typically very small while some may even have difficulty breathing depending on when they are born. As if that wasn’t enough, some babies arrive so early that they don’t have their swallowing or sucking reflexes meaning they struggle to eat.
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Plenty of care


Being in the womb means that babies usually have everything they need to grow stronger and healthier. The NICU aims to replicate these conditions as best as it can by keeping the newborns as warm as possible. Plus, the nurses are always there to monitor their vital signs at every moment of the day.

The nurses don’t just care for dozens of newborns at once, but they also help to support the parents in any way that they can. It can be a pretty demanding job for many.
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Missing out


The mother was devastated the learn that the nurses working in the NICU believed that she and her husband weren’t doing a good enough job, especially when they were both already feeling so emotional from it all.

Many preterm moms miss out on the birthing plan they had hoped and planned for and could forgo that first cuddle with their little one if they need to be immediately hooked up to a machine. Many worry about what the future might hold for their baby.
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Offering care


Most of the focus goes onto the babies as they need plenty of attention while in the NICU. However, the nurses also know that both parents need care to ensure they are able to cope with everything that’s happening with their newborn.

It looks as though this mom was stretched to her limits while trying to care for her baby and older child. She might have wanted the best for her family, but it appeared that the nurses wanted to see a little more input from both parents before they were satisfied.
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Home at last


Spending days at a time in the NICU can be a traumatic experience for many parents. This mom thought that she was doing everything she could to be there for her child. Now, it appeared that she was being judged the entire time instead.

It looked as though the nurses were ignoring her personal circumstances and focusing on the mom’s time in the unit instead. If only they had known how their comments would affect the family. Thankfully, the newborn has since made their way home and is out of the NICU.
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A normal family


Some people who commented on the mom’s post spoke about how their behavior in the NICU didn’t match up to “typical families” who have been in similar situations.

So, what makes a typical family after all? Many families face their own problems and circumstances as they learn how to grow alongside one another. This mom needed to take care of her older son while her husband was forced to work long night shifts. They simply couldn’t be in the NICU as much as other parents.
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Splitting their time


Bringing another sibling into the family can often cause waves amongst everyone, especially the children that have already got used to their parents’ attention. After all, they were usually once the center of it all, and now there’s someone else stealing the spotlight.

It looks as though this mom and her son were no exception. The mother confessed that her son didn’t understand why his mom was gone so often and wanted her to be at home. The mother was left with a tough decision as she split her time between her two children.
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Forming a bond


It looks as though the NICU nurses do a lot more than care for the babies in the unit. They are also in charge of taking all their vital signs and keeping check of the young ones throughout their long shifts at the hospital.

That’s not all. Many nurses also grow to support the families in their care as they teach parents everything they need to know about caring for their newborns, including reading monitors and dealing with any situations that might arise in the future.
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Feeling the emotions


Many people dream of spending all day caring for babies and helping families. However, life as an NICU nurse isn’t all roses. In fact, there can be plenty of grief that comes with watching the little ones as they battle to survive.

Many nurses working closely with these little ones admit they find it hard to leave their work at the hospital. They often think about the babies while they are at home, and usually feel the grief the parents experience when there is any bad news.
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Keeping track


It looked as though the nurses in this NICU were just trying to do their job, even if they did manage to upset the mom and her husband as a result. Many believe they didn’t mean to cause any harm with the comments in the visitor’s log.

They were probably just worried about the baby and their home life when they left the hospital. Maybe they should have questioned the mom and her situation before putting their pen to paper and causing all the sadness?
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Spreading the joy


Thankfully, not every parent has an unpleasant experience with the nurses working in the NICU. In fact, many parents have the opposite experience whenever their babies are receiving professional care at the hospital.

Many admit they form strong bonds with the team of nurses and want to use the internet as a way to spread the good joy. Here, parents often write open letters to thank the nurses for all their help and advice along the way.
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Every step of the way


Not all parents can be with their newborns in the NICU every moment of every day. This is where the team of nurses step in to pick up where they leave off. These nurses often do a lot more than help the babies as they grow stronger.

The nurses also change their diapers, get them dressed, take pictures, and can even send updates to parents while they’re gone. The best bit? Many nurses have plenty of skills they help pass on to parents so they can put them to use once they’re home.
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Varied experiences


Many people have different experiences with the NICU as they wait and hope that their little ones will get stronger. As if that wasn’t enough, many parents come from diverse backgrounds before they make their way to the hospital.

That can mean that everyone has a different feeling about the nurses, even though they are all receiving the same amount of care in the unit. Hopefully, other parents from the same unit left with opposite feelings as the mom and her newborn.
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A rewarding career


Working in the NICU can often be challenging and every day typically presents new patients and cases that need to be handled. However, many believe that their time in the role is rewarding and they have the best job on the planet.

Working in the NICU means these nurses often make a significant impact on people’s lives as they help to ensure the babies grow stronger by the day thanks to the medical treatment they are receiving from the team.
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The next chapter


Thankfully, many parents get to take their little ones home as soon as they are strong enough. The best bit? It’s often the nurses that have cared for them throughout their stay that get to help them prepare for the move.

They can teach parents the signs to look out for as well as any risks that need to be watched. As soon as they make it out the doors of the hospital, many parents can start the next chapter of their lives with their little one at home with the rest of the family.