One of the things that I love about my job as a NICU nurse is the opportunity to sign up to be a patient’s primary nurse. When you sign up to become a primary nurse, you are choosing to be assigned to that patient every shift that you work. There are a number of reasons why a nurse may choose to become the primary nurse for a baby. It could be because we know the baby well, we really love the family, or we feel the baby needs a strong advocate. Sometimes nurses sign up because a parent has asked us to. This could be because their baby is going to be in the hospital for several months, the parents are looking for more consistency in care, or they just really love how you care for their baby.

In the two and a half years that I have worked in the NICU, I have had three primary patients. Three perfect little babies who brought me so much joy. It didn’t take long for me to become attached to them and their families. They became like family to me, and will forever hold a special place in my heart.

While all three of these babies are special to me, Bodhi is special in that he was my very first primary patient. I quickly fell in love with him and his parents after only a short time of taking care of him. They are such kind people and are wonderful parents to Bodhi. We had both good and bad nights at the hospital. Nights when we laughed and nights when we cried together. I never imagined we would become such great friends. Staying in touch with this family after Bodhi left has been just as exciting as watching him grow in the NICU! I am so incredibly proud of this boy AND his parents!

I am so excited for you to see some of my favorites from this day! Bodhi looked so handsome for his photos. Doesn’t he have the most gorgeous blue eyes?!

Happy first birthday, Bodhi! It was such an honor taking these photos of you!