About 3 weeks before my delivery, we discovered a congenital condition in our baby, which caused us to switch hospitals along with our OB and prepare for an extended NICU stay for our daughter after her arrival in a best-case scenario. Nevertheless, giving birth was a very scary proposition; it was going to be the day we would find out if our daughter was strong enough to survive. I ended up having a C-section to deliver my daughter. It was a very scary journey, but the L&D team helped calm me throughout the process. That was just the beginning of my great experience at St. David's Medical Center.
After my delivery, my daughter transferred to the NICU. One afternoon with Sharon as our daughter's NICU nurse had a huge impact on our family. Sharon immediately greeted me and started asking questions to understand what my family's experience was and how she could support us. She quickly learned that this was our first daughter, and we had many questions/things to learn to get ready for our baby to come home with us. She spent the afternoon chatting with me to help better prepare me for her coming home while working with us both- helping us attempt breastfeeding, teaching me to swaddle, or just figuring out why my baby was crying and how to soothe her.
After one afternoon with Sharon, I feel lightyears more ready to care for our baby! Additionally, she really worked to explain NICU life and the next steps. Her positivity made me so excited and optimistic! In our time in the NICU there were very few nurses who spent such time and attention helping me (vs just our baby) understand what things were going on and how I can better support my baby. Sharon really went above and beyond to care for both our daughter and us during our time in the NICU.