Nursing...it's all about the babies!

As most of you already know, I have had a strong passion about working in healthcare since I was young. I am currently completing my final courses to be eligible for the bachelor program and will be submitting my office application to the School of Nursing in a few short months!! For a while there I had really begun to question my path, but I am proud to say that I am now back on track and happier than ever about my decision! I have ultimately decided that there isn’t a better place to start off my nursing career than in the Labor and Delivery department. Ever since I had my son I have been drawn to pregnancy, babies, and birth stories and I honestly feel a calling to help bring these little miracles into the world! I just hope that I don’t get too annoyed at these women…I’ve been there before myself and it’s not really that hard! Maybe I just had a wonderful experience, but I feel that the yelling isn’t really necessary and that having an all natural labor is ultimately the best way to go. I think that women are a lot tougher than they allow themselves to believe and that ultimately, you just need to have faith in yourself and your body’s natural abilities.

But more importantly, I have decided that a second form of nursing is in my future…breastfeeding. I am a firm believer in nursing babies and it is something that I am very passionate about. Not only it is a beautiful bonding opportunity for mother and baby, but it offers so many health benefits that cannot be manufactured. I am very proud to say that I nursed Lucas for an entire year and the only time he ever even touched a bottle was when I was in the ER. There is nothing more amazing than knowing your child depends solely on you for survival. I miss the countless hours of comforting Lucas and staring into his eyes as he leaned to me for support, nutrition, and love. I am currently researching what it takes to become a lactation consultant and would love to incorporate that into my nursing career! From the brief research that I have done, I have found that lactation consultants are subcontracted out by the hospitals and/or families, so I believe that will suit my needs perfectly! As I mentioned before, I wish to start in labor and delivery, but as my children reach school age I would like to transfer to becoming a school nurse (so that I will have a similar schedule to them.) My love for children goes hand-in-hand with my passion for healthcare and I honestly don’t see a better fit for myself. It is extremely important for me to find a career that allows me to be mommy first and I feel that both of these will give me the flexibility and freedom that I am looking for.

I am very happy about my decision and I know that it is something that I will genuinely enjoy doing. Breastfeeding is something that I am extremely passionate about and I would love to help other mothers see the benefits as well. My goal is to have the flexibility to offer in-home visits to mothers and their newborns in addition to a hospital based nursing career. I am so excited for my career to get going and if you can’t tell…I’m getting impatient! Nursing applications are due Oct. 1st so I will know by mid November which semester is reserved for me to begin. I was devastated to learn that ALL applicants must wait a mandatory 18-24mo waiting period, but I’m confident I will have lots to keep me busy until then. (I was told however that those with the best grades are likely to be bumped up...so fingers crossed!)I am currently 1/3 of the way completed with my psychology minor so I plan to utilize that gap to finish my remaining courses, work on becoming certified as a lactation consultant, and to enjoy everything that life throws my way! =)