I wanted Blake to win but I knew he wasn’t going to.
I’d invested so much emotionally in this season and now here I was at the end of it, in a hospital bed with my newborn baby lying on my chest, painkillers making me less “me”.
Jordan won instead.
As American Idol blared in the background, the nurse walked in and told me we were going to get this baby to breastfeed no matter what!
Eventually she was right, but it took a while and her patience and mine too.
At one point she held him in her lap, directing the few drops of my “liquid gold” from the small syringe, into his mouth.
I looked at her shoes and wondered how long she’d been wearing them just THAT day.
I thought of the hundreds of thousands of times she walked those halls with conviction, wielding the power to make mother and baby bond and become feeder and feed-ee.
She smiled as she picked him up and delivered him back to my chest, her long, nice-smelling hair brushing my arm.
Her English accent lilted through the air as she talked to my baby and directed us both and then suddenly he was doing it and we both cried out in joy.
After a few more minutes her “nurse” shoes carried her from our room and we only saw her again briefly the next morning when she came to see how we were doing.
“Brilliantly,” I beamed. She smiled back and left us, my baby suckling like a champ.
That was four years ago. I wonder how many pairs of shoes she’s gone through since then… And how many mommies and babies she’s helped. I’m guessing a lot on both counts.
The sweet nurse who got us nursing and my newborn baby boy…
the prompt was…. write about your character (or yourself) and a pair of his or her shoes…
this is more of a memory than anything else but this is what first came to mind…
I really enjoy your take on the prompt. Her shoes are a vehicle to carry her into service. Nice!
What an inspired choice of writing topic – it’s amazing how we’ve all interpreted the prompt differently. That nurse clearly played such a huge part in those first days.
I don’t know what exactly it was about this piece, but tears sprang into my eyes.
I think the juxtaposition of the American Idol moment with the nurse syringing breastmilk into a tiny mouth. It’s a perfect snapshot back to such an important moment.
I had a terrible nurse who made me cry and basically told me I couldn’t take her home without giving her formula. Thankfully, the next day her pediatrician laughed and told me to throw it all in the garbage if I wanted.
I love the sentiment, and you framed the story so well! Nurses can be pretty amazing people. Amen for the kind ones!
Awesome. Beautiful story, beautifully written. Beautiful.
Amazing take on the prompt dear friend!
I had wonderful nurses, too, and could so relate to the sentiment here!
This really got me. I had an angel nurse at the hospital who convinced me to stay an extra night (rather than check out early). I think about him a lot.
Great take on the prompt!
What a lovely tribute. Nurses are truly the most important people to the new mom on the maternity ward.
What a great take on the prompt. Sweet & sentimental.
I loved the nurse that I had when I was at the hospital. I remember that after I had my 3rd daughter I was ready to go home & she convinced me to stay and rest since I wouldn’t be able to when I got home. She was so right!
Nurse shoes always remind me of my mom…and how those shoes literally hold the women/men who our lives in their hands. I liked the way you interpreted the prompt and the story you told us. It is an important and heartfelt one.
What a great story. I wish I had a nurse like that… but breastfeeding never worked out for me. Oh well!
Okay, so I’m catching up on blog reading/commenting…and wow, this one hit me hard and makes me SO EXCITED to start nursing school in a few weeks and have the opportunity to impact peoples lives in such a profound way. Beautiful writing, Elaine!