Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah out there in Blogland! One of my New Year’s Resolutions (or Goals or Intentions, however you like to call it), is to blog at least twice a week about Life as a nurse/presenter/humorist, with Helpful Tips and general info on these subjects. At my last presentation, an audience-member asked me how I could stand the stress of working with premature babies and their families.I told him it was definitely a “calling,” and that although the emotional toll is sometime a burden, the strain is far outweighed by knowing I have helped to ease the burden of...

(Reprinted with permission from Health4Mom.org) Premature infants thrive when parents spend lots of time interacting with them. NICU parents: Do you feel anxious, frustrated, aching to do more for your premature baby’s growth and development besides pump that milk, and sit and stare?You are not alone. LAYING DOWN TRACKS There is still much to learn, but every year researchers add to the evidence that premature infants thrive when parents interact with them. Each minute your preemie’s brain is making 200,000+ neural connections; early recognition of you as parent is key. Now we know that singing or...

(Reprinted with permission from Healthy Mom & Baby  magazine and Health4Mom.org) Expert advice on pumping for your preemie By Candace Campbell, MSN-HCSM, RN Share: Are you the mom of a preemie who dreads pumping milk at night while the baby is in the NICU? You’re not alone. Who can blame you? It’s inconvenient. It interrupts your sleep. And perhaps you’re discouraged that even though you are pumping every 2-3 hours during the day, your milk supply is also dwindling.  While there is no solution to the fact that your milk supply follows the simple principle of supply and...

Hello parents everywhere, This month let me tell you about a movement in California that has generated great concern among many of us moms who are also nurses. You are aware that the decisions of one state often lead to the next legislation for the other forty-nine. Parents of preemies, listen up, as your child may be involved in one of these scenarios. There are presently two bills pending before our legislature which intend to protect the school districts from lawsuits brought by parents who react to faulty administration of medications to their children. These bills, AB 1802 (re: Insulin) and SB...