I’m Mary! I’m so glad you’re here.
I always dreamed of becoming a Nurse Midwife and helping to welcome new humans earthside. After hustling and getting through an accelerated nursing program, my dream hospital did not have a Labor and Delivery job but instead offered me a position in the NICU. I took it thinking I would work there for a year or two until a L&D position opened but that was over ten years ago. The tiny warriors in the NICU wrapped me right around their bitty fingers and I have never looked back.
More about Mary
Working in the NICU has allowed me to care for hundreds of families and serve as witness for their most beautiful joys and deepest pain and everything in between. Daily I am humbled by the trust families put in me daily to care for their fragile children.
While I know my purpose is still to serve this unique and often forgotten population, my time working in the healthcare system during the pandemic truly highlighted the limitations and gaps in care. This leaves many children behind and causes unnecessary stress and anxiety as every parent just wants to do what is best for their child. Over my career I have served in many roles, including the NICU Nurse Educator. I saw first hand what education and support can do to empower families to bring back autonomy and foster positive experiences and bonding.
After the birth of my second daughter a year ago, I struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety and felt lost in my purpose. I sought clarity through therapy and realized that much of what I was feeling was unrest that my work was not aligning with my core values and true purpose. I know first hand how important finding a guide through the mess of postpartum and the newborn phase was to helping me feel grounded and be able to positively experience motherhood.
So many resources for postpartum families focus on the well-baby/”normal” experience and NICU families feel scared, abandoned and like no one understands their unique needs. With The NICU Translator I hope to help to begin to fill this gap and serve myself, my family and my NICU community in my most authentic way.
The NICU is not something that most families plan for prenatally.
So, when it does happen families are often consumed by feelings of overwhelm, shame and guilt.
I Believe:
1. Your birth does not define who you are as a mother
2. You are the best parent for your baby
3. The NICU is just the beginning
FUN FACTS
FUN FACTS
Get to know me with some fun facts!
Before nursing school, my first degree was in:
1. Marketing
2. Pre-Law
3. Education
My favorite thing to drink first thing in the morning:
1. Hot cup of coffee
2. Lemon water
3. Gigantic iced green tea
My favorite moment as a NICU nurse:
1. Getting a baby out to hold for the first time
2. Showing a new mom how to change their micro preemie’s diaper
3. Watching the baby that defied the odds over and over again finally discharge home
4. All of the above
Ready to thrive at home?
Support doesn’t need to stop at discharge.
Find your NICU crew and get your questions answered by people who get it.