A note from the Night Owl

I survived my first two night shifts! All the credit goes to God. I have never done well staying awake all night, I get sick to my stomach, extremely tired, and grumpy. I never pulled all-nighters in college and I haven't had to work night shifts at my job in the USA, so I was freaked out about having to stay up all night. As most of you know, I have also been gifted with the ability to sleep. I can sleep a lot, so I was wondering how in the world I would stay awake for a 12 hour shift. I am pleased to say, I stayed wide awake, I did not feel one small desire to sleep, I never felt sick and I wasn't grumpy! I actually enjoyed the shifts. In the wee hours of the morning I had the pleasure of holding a beautiful 3 month old baby that had a cleft lip repair. He wakes often during the night to eat, because he finally can, so he cries and wants to eat all night long. I let his mama sleep and I held his precious little 8 lb body and feed him with a spoon. His little tongue was so precious he just could not get enough to eat. Now, I am on the other side of my night shifts and trying to stay awake during the day. Last night I ended up waking at 2:00am and read for a few hours, then I tried to get out of bed this morning and it was hard. I want to go to sleep now, but I start day shifts again tomorrow, so I must get on a normal sleeping schedule. The joy of swing shifts. God bless all of you who do this on a regular basis! Please pray for nurses. I received a note from our ward supervisor today. We are short about 1 nurse each shift now. 5 nurses left, 1 came. Our patient load is going to increase and if we cannot handle the pressure, we will need to cancel surgeries. Pray for our strength as nurses, but also for more nurses to come. Well, I have been sitting in one place too long again, I am about to fall asleep, I must get up and move. Later.