Ashley Altman
October 2024
Ashley
Altman
,
BSN, RN
NICU
Bayhealth
Dover
,
DE
United States

 

 

 

We felt very safe leaving him in her care and were very grateful that she was his nurse for several days of his NICU stay.
Ashley is very kind and caring, she would always ask how me and my husband are holding up being that our son was in the NICU. She listened to me vent and cry as a scared first-time mom of a NICU baby and reassured me that the situation of my son's birth and complications was not my fault. We could tell that she really cared for our son and would check in on us even though he might've not even been her patient for the day. We felt very safe leaving him in her care and were very grateful that she was his nurse for several days of his NICU stay. She also encouraged me to continue to pump breastmilk for my son and would always provide me with bottles to continue to bring milk in. I appreciated that because I know it's easy to just use formula, especially when you are away from your baby, but she respected and encouraged my choice to breastfeed.

My son's NICU stay was unexpected, and he was there for a couple of weeks. He would have good days but then have bad days which set him back and was discouraging to his dad and I since we just wanted him home. Over a week into his stay, he still couldn't maintain his blood sugars, and Ashley had to be honest with us about what this could mean for him. Complications are not something any parent wants to hear, but I appreciate her honesty. I began crying after talking about this and my husband and I left the NICU depressed. Ashley called me later that evening to let me know my son had eaten his full bottle and his recent blood sugar level was high. She said she knew we were upset earlier and wanted to call us with good news. This put us in a better mood and was very appreciated.