Becoming a Mother with a Special Nurse

With Mother’s Day approaching, it has me reflecting on the time when I first became a mother. It was December 2009, and I was 9 days overdue. I was incredibly anxious to meet my daughter!

I worked with Dignity Health and SocialMoms on this post to pay tribute to the incredible nurses who helped me become a mother in honor of #NursesWeek.

I will never forget getting to French Hospital and meeting my wonderful nurses. I was throwing up because of the pain, and they were holding my hair back and wiping my mouth for me. They were so sweet and accommodating!

I have always had a hard time with needles, but not for the reason you might think. They don’t scare me at all – I just have slippery, hard-to-find veins. I’ve been poked so many times and had giant bruises from a needle going straight through my vein before. So I always warn nurses that I don’t do well when it comes to IVs and such. My nurse, Claudia, was perfect. She calmed my fears and said that we would find a nice vein and that she’d never missed before. She was asking me about what we were naming the baby, where we were from, and before I knew it – the IV was in! Magic I tell you :) She also made sure that I had all of the red Jell-O I wanted!

Here is the direct quote from my labor story: “My nurse, Claudia, was INCREDIBLE! She bent over backwards to make sure that my family and I were comfortable. She was such a sweet, calming, funny, perfect person to have around. Love that woman.”

I remember my mom coming to meet us at the hospital. I was laboring and they had the whole labor & delivery wing nice and quiet with dimmed lights. My mom said that Claudia greeted her warmly and asked in a hushed tone who she was here for. When she said my name, Claudia gently led her to my room and made sure she, Matt, and I had everything we needed. It was all such a peaceful experience thanks to her and the other nurses! I remember telling my doctor that I never wanted to leave Hotel French ;)

For such a life-changing event of becoming a mother, I am forever grateful that I was surrounded by such loving, kind, and considerate nurses. They made the labor, surgery, nursing, and recovery the most memorable and wonderful experience in a situation that can be overwhelming and uncertain. Thank you, nurses.

Which nurses have touched your life and made an impact on you?

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This blog post is part of a paid SocialMoms and Dignity Health blogging program. As always, the opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.