So I have read a lot of great articles about motherhood lately. If you haven't read them yet, you should here:
It has made me think a lot about how prepared or in many ways, un-prepared I was to be a mother.
Like many girls, I started babysitting in my jr.high years. I come from a family with lots and lots of cousins and I have nieces and nephews, all of which left me feeling comfortable with babies and kids.
With all this hands on experience, I think the thing that prepared me most for motherhood was becoming a nurse. I learned simple tasks, like how to change a bed (although I doubt I will ever really have to do it with a 400 lb child), how to give someone a bath, and how to feed someone to more advanced tasks like starting IVs, placing NG tubes, and negotiating with four year olds to take their 20 medications while still keeping on their good side (sometimes the hardest task of my day).
My job was not to cure the patient, but to implement interventions to make their healing process progress more quickly and comfortably. I learned what interventions worked best for RSV, Influenza, Rotavirus, and Pneumonia. I learned that for most of the above, the best intervention was simply the mother's touch. While medicine can fight off armies of bacteria, a mother's touch fights off fear, sadness, and pain.
I learned to not even bat an eye at diarrhea and vomit (unless pregnant for the later).
I learned how to soothe a child after a traumatic event.
I learned that soothie binkies are like bouncy balls.
I learned a shift usually starts before you are ready and ends much later than you anticipate.
I learned my bladder has a high holding capacity and my stomach can operate on empty if necessary.
I learned that while a band-aid can't cure anything, it can sure fix a lot.
I learned that I will make mistakes. I learned I have a lot to learn.
I learned how to multi-task. I also learned that sometimes there just isn't enough hours in a day to get it all done.
I learned how to deal with difficult parents and more importantly that I was not going to be a bad parent. I worked with parents who were addicts, who inflicted the wounds for which the child was hospitalized, who had only four words in their vocabulary (none of which I care to repeat), who used the hospital as a day-care, and those whose idea for a healthy dinner was a mountain dew and bag of Cheetos. No joke.
I learned how to prioritize my day. I learned how to delegate. I learned that no matter how nice I am, not everyone is going to like me.
I learned that most days you will be underpaid and under appreciated.
I learned how to distract and re-direct. Lidocaine can numb skin, but music, conversation, and candy can dull pain.
I sit here now realizing that I probably couldn't get an IV on the first stick anymore or change trach ties without making an entire room laugh, but I have a wealth of experience and knowledge that goes beyond tasks. The stuff that most of the textbooks leave out.
So while nothing can really prepare someone for the exhaustion, frustration, and up-and downs of Motherhood, no one can really describe the extreme joy, happiness, pride, and jubilation that comes with it either. I am thankful for what school taught me, but I am even more grateful for what Samantha teaches me everyday. Yep, being a mom is a lot like being a nurse, except now, I only have to change one person's diaper!
