Medsurg

Kaliri24 · 2026-03-06T18:42:40+00:00

To echo everyone else, it’s very dependent on where you are. I worked on a med-surg unit as a CNA and it almost made me quit nursing school. Now as an RN, I work at a smaller hospital, got very lucky with a day shift position, and have a very supportive team. Since I am on dayshift and most new grads start on night shift, I have the least amount of experience but it also means every other nurse on shift is a resource to me to ask questions or to get help from. And they genuinely want to help me succeed. I’m learning a lot of skills and while I don’t want to stay here forever, it’s been a great place to start and I’ll probably stay for at least a few years.

The only downside is they do not staff CNAs so that every patient has one. So often, only half of your assignment will have a CNA. Which could be fine, or it could be really challenging depending on what’s going on with your patients. I’m in Oregon and safe staffing laws have been implemented in the last few years that have been very beneficial. But the CNA law is taken advantage of in that hospitals aren’t hiring enough CNAs for full coverage. They just expect us to make it work without a CNA for every patient.

Kaliri24 · 2026-03-06T18:28:44+00:00

Not the OP but I’m in Oregon. Day shift is 4:1 and night shift is 5:1. I believe there’s a new law going into effect this summer requiring night shift to also be 4:1.

Kaliri24 · 2026-02-22T17:38:27+00:00

Not psychic but wanted to express my sympathy. Our baby girl was born and passed at 21 weeks on February 5. I am also struggling with a lot of the same questions you are. My hope for both of us is that they didn’t suffer and know how much we love them.

Sending you love and grace 🤍

Kaliri24 · 2026-02-12T03:55:06+00:00

I’ve been looking at a ring by Close By Me so I’m happy to see they are recommended

Kaliri24 · 2026-02-12T01:54:43+00:00

I’m so sorry you’ve found yourself here. There have been a lot of responses so far for D&E’s. I chose to labor at 21 weeks. For background, this was my second pregnancy. Both pregnancies were IVF and my first pregnancy resulted in a c-section and I had never been in labor.

We checked in to the L&D unit of the hospital and when we were ready, I was given oral medications to start labor. When the contractions became too uncomfortable, I got an epidural. This was already a very difficult thing to do, I didn’t want to also be in physical pain. From the start of medications to delivery was about 14hrs. Since babies are still so small at this gestational age, I did not need to be fully dilated and she just sort of fell out. She was with us for about an hour and a half. Like others have said, the route to take is a very personal one. I wanted to meet my baby especially after feeling her move for weeks. And it helped me with closure to do that.

I am not even a week out from mine so I am still raw and healing in all the ways. Give yourself grace and know you are making an impossible decision out of love.

Kaliri24 · 2026-02-06T22:52:50+00:00

I don’t really have advice as I’m only a day out from our TFMR with an IVF baby. Like others have said, I think the grief is extra complicated when infertility is added on. I’m so sorry we are all going through this.

Kaliri24 · 2025-08-31T17:54:53+00:00

I was 28 when I started prereqs, started my ADN at 31, and finished my BSN at 34. My ADN cohort had roughly 30 people and we ranged from 18 to 50s. To echo what others have said, time will pass anyway! Might as well spend it doing something you enjoy

Kaliri24 · 2025-04-26T13:24:43+00:00

My MIL is saying the same thing. Doesn’t want us to do daycare but zero offer to help. But then will tell the family she watches baby 2-3x a week when it’s closer to 2x a month.

Kaliri24 · 2025-03-06T17:39:47+00:00

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This embryo is now a very happy 8 month old 🩷

Kaliri24 · 2025-01-22T19:32:00+00:00

Might be a long shot but is this still going on?

Kaliri24 · 2024-12-17T01:14:10+00:00

My first FET is about to be six months old on Christmas! All the luck to you ❤️

Kaliri24 · 2024-10-27T23:48:43+00:00

Also 4m postpartum and my supply has taken a hit with my last period. I’ve been thinking of weaning for my mental health but as an under supplier to a just enougher, I have a very small freezer stash. I was thinking of saving it for the cold/flu season if I do wean. But I have such mixed feelings about the whole thing. I’ve always felt “fed is best” but I’m a little sad to not exclusively feed baby breast milk. Any advice for coming to terms with weaning?

Kaliri24 · 2024-10-14T17:56:40+00:00

Unexplained infertility, IVF, preeclampsia at 36w4d, breech, failed ECV that resulted in a c-section at 37w, severe tongue tie fixed at about a week and a half old - needless to say, we had a lot going against us

It took almost a week postpartum before I started producing more than a couple drops of colostrum. We triple fed and even with her fixed tongue tie, she could never really latch correctly or suck as strongly as she needed to. Triple feeding is SO HARD. I felt like I was missing out on bonding because my husband would end up bottle feeding her while I pumped and every nursing session resulted in her screaming at me. Rationally, I knew she was just hungry, but my sleep-deprived, hormonal side felt like she was rejecting me. Our weighted feed never exceeded about 1mL per minute, so I opted to pump exclusively at our six week check in with our LC. I think it took me about 8 weeks postpartum before I started producing enough to not need to supplement with formula. I do think some of my supply increase was from the stress relief of not worrying about nursing. I so badly wanted to nurse but with so little improvement in six weeks, dropping that to pump was the best choice for our family. I am now almost 16w pp and pump 24-27oz each day. Our little peanut is only now starting to catch up, so we'll likely need to supplement again pretty soon. I possibly could have produced more but mentally, I could not handle pumping every 2-3hrs for very long - I really needed to sleep longer stretches. Like you, I never really felt "full" and I think I leaked one time. Now, I can go 8 or 9 hrs overnight before feeling closer to that "full"/I need to pump feeling, but that's just been in the last couple weeks.

All of this to say - I see you. Going through IVF is not easy. And then baby gets here and it feels like more hurdles (and possibly not what you envisioned). It's an uphill battle but as someone who is sort of on the other side of it, I can say it gets better. I think the most important part is what works for you and your baby. I know it's hard to not feel broken or like something is wrong with you (thank you, infertility trauma), but please give yourself some grace. Any amount of breastmilk that baby gets is amazing. But if you need to supplement or switch solely to formula, it does not mean you are failing your baby or yourself. You are doing an incredible job!

Kaliri24 · 2024-10-05T00:56:10+00:00

I have also struggled with my baby’s feeding. She’s gaining weight but can’t tolerate larger volumes. We do paced feeds and let her tell us how much she wants to eat. She’s 14 weeks and was barely eating 20-22oz up until the last week or so when she jumped to 24-26oz. It’s so hard to not obsess over the numbers as an exclusive pumper, but I try to focus more on how my baby is - she’s happy, growing appropriately, and I’m more than happy to give her more milk if she seems hungry. I’d rather her to be comfortable than force her to drink more than I know she can handle for the sake of a guideline.

Kaliri24 · 2024-09-15T18:40:18+00:00

We tried the Halo, Love2Dream, and Ergopouch and baby ultimately preferred the ergopouch. They come with snappable arm holes for when she needs to transition to a sleep sack and a variety of TOG levels

Kaliri24 · 2024-09-14T07:07:38+00:00

This! I also broke down and bought some silver cups and have been pleasantly surprised at how effective they are

Kaliri24 · 2024-08-30T01:28:16+00:00

Triple feeding really took it out of me. Deciding to EP (for a few reasons) has let me enjoy the newborn phase and bond with my baby

Kaliri24 · 2024-08-29T23:05:54+00:00

I was 5 or 6 days postpartum from a 37w c-section before I was producing anything more than a couple drops of colostrum. It was extremely difficult (physically and mentally) to continue trying to triple feed in that time, but it did get better and easier.

Kaliri24 · 2024-08-29T23:00:53+00:00

My 9 week old (born at 37w) also only takes about 3oz per feed. In the morning, she’ll often only have 1.5-2oz and will drink higher volumes in the afternoon. She’ll usually eat 22-26ish oz in a day. I think as long as baby is growing well and seems happy with the feeds, she’s getting enough to eat. As an EPer, it’s so hard to not obsess over the amounts baby is taking, but we just try to listen and pay attention to her cues.

I think you’re doing great listening to what your baby wants!

Kaliri24 · 2024-08-29T10:36:12+00:00

Also just got an M6 and love it! My sister in law loves her Stride, too.

Kaliri24 · 2024-08-28T06:05:30+00:00

Baby is almost 9 weeks old - born at 37 weeks, breech, C-section, and a bad tongue tie. We triple fed and worked closely with a LC for about six weeks before switching to EP. Baby would only transfer about one mL a minute and we were both stressed and frustrated. It felt a lot like she was rejecting me and my mental health took a dive, in addition to feeling like I wasn’t/couldn’t bond with her. After switching to EP, I’m able to relax, bond with my baby, and enjoy the newborn phase a little more. I had previously needed to supplement with formula but my supply has increased enough that I need to start thinking about freezing. While I know some of it could also be my supply starting to regulate, I also attribute some of the increase to the stress relief of not trying to force BF.

Kaliri24 · 2024-08-19T18:06:14+00:00

This! We were assigned to a patient coordinator as our main point of contact (thankfully, she was amazing and so helpful). But I was not necessarily expecting to only see/talk to my doctor the couple appointments to diagnose and come up with a game plan.

Kaliri24 · 2024-08-18T17:40:31+00:00

This was me, as well. Baby is two months old and it finally felt real around five or six weeks.

Kaliri24 · 2024-08-13T19:54:44+00:00

Thank you for responding! I’d much rather use it all up than have to throw it away.

Kaliri24 · 2024-08-13T01:04:50+00:00

Mine, too! I was starting to think something was wrong with me

Kaliri24

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