1.43 pounds and growing

So first day today. It was a first day. They are always slightly chaotic and you ask stupid questions and never know where to find anything or anyone. The NICU doesn't even have labels on the bed so you just have to find the right area or the right nurse and look at the labels on the chart. Fortunatley it is a very enclosed space with maybe 40 babies so your numbers are limited.

Plus it seems like it's own little world in there. They have different acronyms and different lab trees for recording stuff. And super crazy calculations to figure out food and electrolytes and growth and total fluids etc. etc. I need to figure out how to figure. It looks like plug and chug once you have the formulas and concepts down...neither of which I do yet.

I have eight patients. They range in acuity. The smallest is 1.43 lbs. She is a tiny peanut. Her fingers are about as big as the earphone plug on my iPod. I am afraid I'm going to break her. It's like everything in miniature. The nurses are really great...thank goodness. They really run the place I think. And ask us to write orders.

Which brings me to the next thing. I get to write orders now...orders that don't have to be cosigned. It is a strange thing. I still feel like I should be finding someone to put their stamp of approval on my thoughts or changes. I pretty much do ask, they just don't have to sign it. And hopefully soonish I will feel comfortable and knowledgable enough to not ask about every little thing.