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Glad to hear that you future moms and curious ladies alike are enjoying the stories and tips! Today’s tidbit is a tribute to Nurse Nancy.

As mentioned in my first post, Liljana had a case of jaundice. After back and forth consultation with the pediatrician and nurses, it was decided that we qualified for in-home care. You know, the old fashioned type of situation where the doctor/medical professional came to your house? (They still do this in Paris, by the way). 

We brought Liljana home on a Saturday and learned that we needed to begin treatment of the jaundice on a Sunday. Treatment meant Liljana would need to sleep on special lights for three days. These lights help to eradicate the jaundice. I was a basket case. Keep in mind, my head was f-l-o-o-d-e-d with rules, tips, how-tos and other random bits of information that flew my way from doctors, nurses, admin assistants and all other folks that claimed to know what was best for our newborn.  We spent that Sunday at the pediatrician’s office for one exam, then Children’s Memorial for blood work. Then we came home, waited for the phone call and the subsequent conclusion that Liljana needed at-home care (my nephew had the same thing, so don’t fret if this happens to you).

Within an hour or two, our phone rang and someone named Nancy was on the line. She was going to drive down from Morton Grove (a NW Chicago suburb) to our downtown Chicago home that night and get things set up for us. Ok, I began to feel better.

Traffic was a pain, but Nancy finally arrived. I learned she wasn’t just Nancy, she was Nurse Nancy. As soon as she walked in our door, took off her shoes and said hello, I felt like things were going to be OK. Perhaps it was her Chicago accent. Perhaps it was the fact that she was a mother of five girls. Perhaps it was the fact that she told mom and me ‘how it is’ with the baby, jaundice and trumping everything else we heard at the hospital. I couldn’t get enough of this woman.

Nurse Nancy went to town. She set up the special jaundice clearing lights, instructed mom, me and Michael on what we needed to do for the next three days (feed baby every two hours, take temperature, jot down wet/soiled instances, keep baby on lights at all times, supplement with formula if needed). I continued to ask questions and Nurse Nancy answered all of them. At the end of our meeting, I looked at her with exhaustion and cried. She must have sensed my tears were coming because she cried, too. Then my mom cried. It was the first time I finally felt OK. Granted, having my mom in our home for 10 days was a Godsend, but Nurse Nancy’s no-nonsense style to new mom advice was so refreshing. Having her in my home was so natural and put me at ease. Mom and Nurse bonded, swapped stories and I felt bad for not having listened to all of my mom’s tips at the hospital.

For the next two days, Nurse Nancy visited us, weighed Liljana, took a blood sample and ran that sample at the hospital. Our little champ is a fighter and pulled through earlier than expected.

Big thank you to an amazing woman who was ‘just doing her job’, but made an impact on all of us that I won’t forget.