Can you tell where my mind is these days?!?!
As a side note: I’ve been feeling super anxious and overwhelmed these last few days. Although I’m slowly checking things off my list, my body is every bit of eight months pregnant and not always on board with my plans… I’ve been frustrated and mad at myself for worrying so much (which has the opposite effect of productivity mind you) and at the same time stressed and busy trying to actually DO stuff. Then, yesterday, I came across a post I wrote at almost this exact time during my pregnancy with Sam, and – I kid you not – I could publish the whole thing here today and it would still be 100% accurate. I don’t know why exactly, but I found a strange comfort in knowing that this is, apparently, just par for the course for me (and lots of people? maybe?) during this stage of pregnancy… It’s nothing new. And, good news, I got pretty much everything done in time for Sam’s birth, and we totally survived. 😉 So I feel a little better today… I still want to do all the things (y’all should see my insane list making skills right now), and I don’t think that pressure will pass until D-day; but, I am trying to forgive myself a little and keep things in perspective…
Speaking of which, did you see this on my Facebook page this week from Micha Boyett?
My friend Pryor (who also happens to be a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner) sent that quote to me in an email this week, and it totally resonated. Pregnancy is hard on us Type-A/control-freak types (I mean, it’s hard on everyone, but you know what I mean). I can’t just make myself carefree about it – as much as I might want to or know that is better – but I can give myself grace and allow God to teach me and work in me through it. Good stuff.
ANYWAY, on to the matter at hand today… Thank you gifts for the labor & delivery nurses at the hospital. This seems to be a growing trend among new moms lately (at least in the blog world), and I’m debating whether or not to jump on the wagon myself…
I didn’t do this when I delivered Sam, but I did have some wonderful care during my FOUR DAY hospital stay after he was born and always wished I had done more to show the nurses how much I appreciated them. I know it’s their job to take care of patients, but some of the things they do I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy! Haha! Plus, I’ve always felt kind-of a kindred connection with nurses as a teacher. I can’t really pinpoint the similarities in our jobs, but I guess just the fact that we both serve people, give a lot more than just our minds to our job, and don’t really get the compensation or thanks we probably deserve. I get paid big bucks (ha!) to love other people’s kids, teach them English, and grade their papers, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a special thank you once in a while. I imagine nurses feel much the same way…
SO, did you do this when you delivered? If so, what did you give? I’m leaning more towards a gift basket type of thing – something that can just sit at the nurses’ station for all to enjoy – since I won’t know exactly how many or which nurses will be there, but I’m open to suggestions. Maybe just cookies or donuts?
Also, NURSES (I know you are out there?!?), what would you really WANT to receive as a thank you gift? Please be honest!
Cute ideas and tutorial from CurlyQPaper
Thanks for your input… Now back to lesson planning my life away!
E
P.S. Today’s the last day to enter the give away Heather and I are running from The Animal Print Shop. Don’t miss it!!
Food is always very well received at the nurses station… Especially chocolate & carbs! Honestly, I’m always the most touched when my patients ask me to be in a picture of their new family. Now THAT is a gift!
I so agree with that the “Type A Pregnancy” thing is REALLY hard… really hard! And I think being a Type A Teacher/Pregnancy… wow… just DIFFICULT!
Anyway, I did bring a plate of homemade cookies and brownies for the nurses. At our hospital there is a postpartum lactation visit that you go to when the baby is 5 days old. That is when I brought the plate of baked goods with a printed note and picture of the girls with the nurses. I kept it SIMPLE and thoughtful!
I think a gift basket is a great idea. Just order one and have it delivered to the nurses station, no need to go all Pinteresty and stress out. SIMPLE!
For Reade’s birth I did a basket with food and a thank you note. Jennifer
I delivered in a hospital with a midwife group and was part of a program they had called centering. I was grouped with women who were all due about the same time and we had our quick regular (monthly, then weekly) appointments after which we’d meet as a group to talk about labor and delivery, childcare, etc. It was much the same sort of bonding you might have with a birthing method class. Our class went together and did a giant basket for the midwife group of the same sort of snack items you showed above. Then we went together and gave the midwife that led our group a Starbucks gift card (because hello all nighters!). Both were greatly appreciated. If I could do it over again, I’d do something similar for the nursing staff in L&D. But I did note and jot down names (ok, my mom did) of all the care providers and then wrote a letter/note to the hospital letting them know how much I appreciated the care and listed everyone by name. This included the catering person who delivered my meal every day. She was seriously one of the sweetest people I encountered while at the hospital!
For the record, I’m not a nurse. But, I will put in my two cents.
-Like teachers (I’m a teacher), I think nurses are inundated with junk food gifts. In fact, I know that nursing is a profession with one of the highest obesity rates. Thus, if you give a gift, it might be better to avoid high calorie treats.
-If you are already stressing about getting things ready for the baby, why add one more thing to the list? I think Elsa sang a song about it. . .
-My sister is a doctor of physical therapy at a hospital, and they have a star system for positive patient reviews on the hospital survey. The star system does not lead to anything too fancy–mainly just recognition at team meetings and at hospital-wide meetings.I imagine many hospitals have similar systems. I know the positive reviews that list her by name mean so much to her. I know because she has told me. Therefore, if you really want to “thank” them, perhaps just spend a few minutes completing a thoughtful patient feedback form, mentioning specific caregivers by name. This information will get back to them, AND their superiors will see it–what better way to thank them for their hard work?
That’s just me!
I’m an OB nurse, so from experience I can say a basket or tray of goodies is appreciated. My favorite “gifts” have been a fruit basket, cookies or brownies the patient gave out from her room to the RN’s/NA’s who cared for her, hard candy or mints, donuts or bagels the new dad delivered.
I work on a hospital setting and I agree with other comments about recognizing your staff by name to superiors. At our hospital, positive feedback could result in a raise or a monthly recognition with a financial gift. People don’t often think to do that, but it goes a long way! We also love coffee-like a box of decent coffee from somewhere like Starbucks or dunkin donuts-and something like donuts or a fruit or veggie platter would be greatly appreciated. But, I also agree with Jennifer-if you’re already overwhelmed, let it go!
Another great idea that nurses love are cute and funky scrub hats. The caps that hospitals provide are so boring, but funky scrub caps allow nurses to include a little fashion and personality. A great site to find cute scrub hats is http://www.scrubhats.ca/
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