There is such a demand for people to enter the field of nursing that many new programs are being developed to certify nurses in record time. There are a number of options available and an accelerated nursing program is usually the most popular option among those who want to enter the field of medicine.
Some people may not be comfortable knowing that nurses can be trained in very little time. However, a good accelerated nursing program will be through and effective in helping the future nurse master the skills required for the job.
One thing to consider is the traits of a good nurse. The skills required to be an effective nurse are not completely taught in the classroom. Some people have the natural talent to be in this field while others will never master the job no matter how many hours they spend in the classroom.
An accelerated nursing program recognizes that the technical skills need to be targeted while the more subtle skills that the job requires are often inherit in the individual. Many patients have encountered the perfect nurse but few of us think about why that person was so good at his job.
There are some qualities that a good nurse has that can not be taught. Consider your best encounter with a nurse. She probably had the ability to put you at ease in just a few words. Or she could simply make you feel relaxed through her demeanor and approach.
Describing such qualities in your caregiver is often difficult. There is something about the person that helps you through the difficult situation but you are not sure what it is. Of course, an accelerated nursing program does not go into depth on developing such qualities. Neither does an extended, traditional program.
Now consider your worst encounter with a nurse. She was probably abrasive and indifferent. Maybe she was sarcastic. She may have made you feel as if you were a burden. She could have technically done everything “right” but you just feel awful after seeing her.
Bedside manner is briefly covered in an accelerated nursing program but it is equally addressed in the traditional school. The nurse who made you feel uneasy was probably unaware of her effect on you. She was just doing her job.
The fundamental difference between the good nurse and the bad one is their attitude toward the profession. The first nurse is caring for a person and she recognizes this. The second nurse is just doing her job.
Accelerated Nursing Program
A Nursing Resume Should Reflect Your Qualifications As Well As Your Personal Skills.
Every employer is looking for a specific set of skills and expertise from job-seekers that match the skills necessary to perform a particular job.
Basically a resume should contain your full name, campus and permanent address, telephone numbers and email addresses. Apart from that a nursing resume should include the following information:
A clear cut career and job objective which shows your sense of direction to the employer.
Your resume should have the names of each of your employers and your corresponding job titles.
Give a brief description about the employer like what they are doing, if they are not well known.
The number of staff that you manage(if applicable)
Mention your education, training and licenses as well as academic honors, scholarships and extracurricular activities.
As a specialized professional nurse, demonstrate what type of individual you are and give as much details as possible of your skills and experience.
Mention your interactions with other departments, external agencies and health care professionals.
Highlight your duties and responsibilities as a registered nurse, including planning, assessing and evaluating patient care, record keeping, the type of work or ward and routine tasks carried out etc.
Present a narrative statement of your value like: experienced with a comprehensive background like pediatric, oncology, long-term care and ICU/ER, knowledge of Medicare home health regulations and JCAHO standards/reimbursement requirements, registered nurse with 10 years of track record providing quality, patient centered care in home, hospital, nursing home, hospice and private office settings etc.
Highlight any other achievements that have benefited to your department and obviously your organization in general.
Breaking The Silence - Forensic Nursing
It was in 1992 when the term Forensic nursing was first heard. But what is it exactly? Forensic nursing is a specialty field that deals with the care of crime victims, collecting evidences and providing health care services in the prison system. It is a combined health care and judicial system profession to be precise. International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) is the official association of forensic nurses established in 1992 by a team of nurses who specialize in sexual assault examination.
1. A Day In The Life
Contrary to popular belief forensic nurses don’t spend their day hanging around with corpses. Examining victims of sexual assault and training colleagues how to treat violently injured patients eat up most of these nurses days. Another related job for a forensic nurse is providing counsel to schoolchildren who fired guns.
2. Training
Training as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner is the entry-level position you need to obtain in order to break into forensic nursing. The nurse should be a Registered Nurse (RN) before being able to complete the specialized training needed to meet the standards of the IAFN. Forty hours of didactics and forty hours of clinical work are also needed. The nurse should be trained in handling and collecting evidences like hairs, fibers and swabs of fluids for DNA testing.
Forensic nursing is not limited to helping rape victims. Forensic nurses also work with other types of interpersonal abuse such as domestic violence, child and elderly abuse, neglect and physiological, as well as psychological abuse. They could also examine victims of near-fatal or fatal traumas like shooting or stabbing.
A lot of forensic nurses work as nurse examiners in the emergency rooms in the hospitals. In cases like shooting or stabbing, the forensic nurse works in collecting bullets and other debris left in the body that will help in the investigation. Removing the clothes the victim is wearing and storing them in a special bags are also some of their duties. They also have to photograph and measure the wounds of the patients. In case the victim dies, the nurse has to work with the medical examiner (ME).
3. Other Considerations
Forensic nurses are qualified to testify in court as an expert witness or a fact witness. As an expert witness, the nurse is allowed to give his or her opinions while on the witness stands in order to shed light on the case. On the other hand, as a fact witness, the nurse is only to state the details and answer the questions. A forensic nurse should state the information in an objective manner. It means that he or she should not speak for or against either the victim or the accused. As the duty calls for it, the nurse only has to state the information he or she obtained, not make conjecture about what he or she thinks happened.
4. Tools of the Trade
A forensic nurse should also know how to use different tools in order to document what he or she has gathered during the examination or treatment process.
- A digital camera
- An Omnichrome
- A Coloscope
To date, specialty areas are being related to forensic nursing. This includes a Forensic Nurse Specialist, Forensic Nurse Investigator, Nurse Coroner or what is known as Death Investigator, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), Legal Nurse Consultant, Forensic Gerontology Specialist, Forensic Psychiatric Nurse and a Correctional Nursing Specialist. Forensic nursing is a growing industry in the field of nursing. More and more nurses are being drawn to it. Nursing schools are also taking notice of this need. Forensic Nurse Programs are now being offered in nursing schools.
Advance Your Nursing Career with Online Nursing Degree
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nursing is one of the fastest growing occupations in our economy with over a 27% spike in employment projected over the next 5 years. Qualified nurses are in highly demand in the health care market, earning a nursing degree will definitely lead you to a brighter future.
If you already in the health care market as a RN, it time for you to advance your nursing career by earning a bachelor or master nursing degree. With a higher degree you are more employable, you will earn a higher salary, and you will have much more freedom to chart your own career path.
Today, there are many prestige online universities offering RN-to-BSN online degree programs, and now you can earn your nursing degree online. The major benefit of pursuing the nursing degree online is convenience. Like most of prospective online nursing students, you have jobs that you cannot afford to give up in order to return to traditional campus based schools to pursue a higher degree. Having the ability to "attend" class online from anywhere internet access is available at any time that works for your schedule; online nursing degree enable you to achieve your nursing career goal while allowing you to continue your current job.
The Bachelor's degree in Nursing is the basic degree at the professional level of the nursing profession. By earning an online bachelor degree in nursing, you may go on to have successful careers in specialized fields such a:
- Emergency Room Care
- Home Health Care
- Mental Health Care
- Critical Care
- Oncology
- Geriatrics
- Pediatrics
- Pulmonary
- Obstetrics
Master Science in Nursing is one of the hottest degrees and students with master degree in nursing are highly demand in health care job market. Most often, students who choose to pursue a graduate degree in nursing have already gained experience working in the nursing field. The graduate degree will enable you to advance your career to a higher pay position, most often at the managerial level. You can also earn a graduate degree in nursing through online nursing program. Most often, as a master degree student, you will need to choose a specialization to focus in your study. Among the common specialization for graduate degree in nursing are:
- Community Health Systems
- Elderly Nursing
- Psychological Nursing
- Health Care Systems Administration
- Family Nursing
After you complete the graduate degree program, you will be specially trained to be successful in the field of your focus of study.
In Summary
Nursing is one of the fastest growing occupations as projected in next 5 years. Qualified nurse with bachelor and master degree are highly demand in the health care job market, getting start now to earn your nursing degree will lead you to a brighter career future. Online nursing degree enables you to earn your degree from anywhere and at your own schedule while preparing you to compete in this booming health care sector.
A Complete Nursing Career Overview
With almost 2.6M registered nurses (RN) in the United States, nursing is now the largest health care profession in the country. If you think that hospitals are the only place a nurse could be found, you are certainly misled. Public health agencies, communities, ambulatory care centers and other places where health care services are rendered also commonly have nurses employed.
1. The Nursing Practice
Nursing covers a wide area of practice. It includes
- Childcare
- Elderly care
- Services for pregnant women
- Services for newborn infants
- Specialty area - injury nursing
- Specialty area - cancer nursing
- Specialty area - forensic nursing
2. Choose Your Nursing Program
The first step to be a nurse is to graduate from a nursing program. This would enable you to take a state licensure examination. In the US, more than 1500 nursing programs are offered. Three of these programs prepare you in assuming different tasks once you graduate.
A. A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
This is a four-year curriculum offered in colleges and universities. A graduate of this course has the advantage of learning health care settings that includes leadership and management. A degree in BSN is preferred and often required in many fields of nursing.
B. Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN)
This is a 2 to 3 year program offered in community college as well as in junior collages. This program prepares the student in handling direct patient care.
C. Hospital Diploma
This is a 2 to 3 year program that is based in hospitals.
3. Nursing Positions
Now that you’ve covered the basics, let’s take a closer look on some of the nursing positions you can occupy. These positions are based on your experience and education.
A. Entry-level nursing position
This is the Staff Nurse Position. The nurse takes on making judgments based on scientific knowledge. You have to rely on procedures and standardized care plans.
B. Certified Mid-wife
This is a specialty nurse position where the nurse aids childbearing women. It starts during the preconception stage and goes through the prenatal, labor and delivery. Postpartum period care is also included in her duties. The nurse also provides family planning counseling as well as gynecological care for women.
C. Case Manager
Over time, a nurse can become a nurse case manager. In this position, the nurse will be involved in the process of organizing as well as coordinating the resources and services of an entire group of nurses, such as an entire hospital.
D. Nurse Educator
This is also a position a nurse could get involved with. Educating people about proper health care needs and procedures would be the basic tasks for this position. A Nurse Practitioner on the other hand conducts physical exams on patients, conducts diagnoses and provides treatments. A nurse practitioner could also write prescriptions and could also manage patients with chronic conditions such as diabetics and those with hypertension.
E. Nurse Anesthetist
A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist assists during operations. They give anesthesia to the patients before and after the operation.
There are also various specialty nursing programs that would help you specialize in a specific area. Radiology Nursing, Rehabilitation Nursing, AIDS Care Nursing, and Forensic Nursing are few of these specialty areas. Radiology Nurses are concerned with patients that undergo diagnosis in radiology imaging environments. It also includes Ultrasonography, magnetic resonance and radiation oncology. Rehabilitation Nurses or Psychiatric Nurses takes on providing physical and emotional support both to the patient and their families. They deal with patients having mental incapacities. An AIDS Care Nurse manages the physical, psychological, spiritual and social needs of a patient suffering with AIDS. A Forensic Nurse works in a different environment with other nurses. They work with the law enforcement officials to help in the investigation of crimes like sexual assault and accidental death. They also help in the treatment of the victims of these crimes.
Are You Considering a Job in Nursing?
Healthcare careers are booming and nursing is one of the fastest growing occupations projected in next 5 years. Qualified nurses are highly in demand, thus if you are considering a job in nursing, you definitely are in the right career path.
One thing to take note is nursing jobs are a time-honored profession and a nurse must be dedicated and diligent. You must be a kind of person who can give an extra ounce of energy in order to be successfully in your nursing career path.
There are many nursing career options for you to participate in and you can select a working environment that suits your tastes and preferences. Among the common nursing jobs are:
Hospital Nurse
Most of nurses are generally working at hospital but this is not the only option in nursing job field. We will explain other type of nurse jobs in next paragraph. A hospital nurse takes care of hospital patients. If you work as a hospital nurse, your daily care and interaction with the patient has a major impact on how fast the patient recuperates and on the patient's attitude.
Private Duty Nurse
Private Duty Nurse is assigned to care a dedicated patient at hospital or at home. You will need to coordinate care between physician and family according to individual situations.
You will need to follow physician's orders for medications, treatment and keeps accurate record of patient's condition and reports to physician periodically. Beside the patient, a private duty nurse will also have the responsibility to educate the patient and the patient's family on importance of maintaining proper diet and health habits.
Hospice Nurse
A Hospice Nurse assesses patient health problems and needs and works to develop and implement nursing care plans with the goal of patient comfort. A hospice nurse typically administers care to patients in a hospice, home or long term care facility.
Operating Room Nurse
An Operating Room Nurse must understand the use of modern operating room equipment, the type of procedure the doctor is doing and the kinds of tools the doctor will need. The nurse must be ready to assist the surgeon and the surgical team in their tasks. Other then that, an operating room nurse will also need to oversee the work organization within the operating theatre, and mediate between the various hospital departments, the surgeons, and the management.
Home Care Nurse
Other than the above nursing job, home care nursing is one of the major booming sectors in health care industry. Today, home health care nurses work in rural, suburban and urban areas, traveling from patient to patient to care for and monitor the patient's needs and communicate with doctors and other medical staff. With the enhance of medical technology, home care nurses can now use mobile monitoring equipment to monitor everything from heart rate and blood pressure to blood sugar for diabetics and more, so the nurse can treat one patient and check on another one in the car on the way to visiting a third patient.
Earn Your Nursing Degree
In order to start your nursing career, you must be qualified in this field. Although you can start you nursing career as LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) or RN (Registered Nurse), a higher degree you are more employable, you will earn a higher salary, and you will have much more freedom to chart your own career path. Beside the traditional classroom-based nursing degree, now you can earn your nursing degree online. The major benefit of pursuing the nursing degree online is that you can attend the online class at any location and at your own schedule. And the best part is you can continue with you current job while getting your nursing degree online.
In Summary
If you think nursing is for you, look into local nursing schools or online universities that offer the related nursing courses and get started on the career path to nursing.
Be an Independent Nurse Contractor and Start your own Successful Nursing Agency
How To Start A Nursing Agency Business Guide Books are flooding the internet. Most of these manuals are extracts from articles found on the world wide web. Because individuals seeking to start their own nursing agency buy information guides that do not have all the contents and key tools for success, a good number of these agencies either fail within their first year of business or simply never get to launch their new business.Thats many business man today want to build their own nursing agency.
Entrepreneurs have made lucrative business in nursing agency, nursing registry, homecare business, medical recruiter recruiting, or as independent nurse contractor in their own field.The time is now for entrepreneurs to start a nursing agency,nursing registry business, operate a homecare business, or as a medical recruiter or just become an independent healthcare contractor. By being an independent healthcare contractor, you are bypassing the agency and are self employed. Healthcare facilities are the clients. Homecare are regulated by all levels of goverment from local to fedeal level. Homecare levels of regulations depends on the category of service provided to clients. Homecare services ranges from providing just companions or the more medically needed clients such as terminally ill clients. Homecare services can be in the form of social service, non-medical, and medical services.
Nurses now a days wake up and take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity. Are you tired of having no input in your career, little money in the bank, lack of respect for your profession and little compensation for the long hours and years of dedication? Starting a nursing agency business or becoming an Independent RN Contractor is a great way to renew your interest and rejuvenate your nursing career. An Independent contractor can contract his or her nursing services directly with a healthcare facility or with a patient and continue bedside practice.
You don't have to be a nurse or a doctor to start your own Nursing Agency. All you need is our packages and the desire to be self employed. This is the only industry where there will always be a shortage. 2007 Professional Edition of "How To Start A Nursing Agency" covers all 50 states and is jam packed with new additional products and services, making it the most comprehensive guide offered on the internet today! And NEW Searchable Database of over 22,000 Hospitals and Nursing Homes.
For more info: www.nursingagencykit.com
12 Things Nursing Taught Me About Owning a Business
Have you ever wondered whether you're cut out to be an entrepreneur? Nurses sometimes tell me they aren't sure if their nursing career has prepared them to start and succeed in their own legal nurse consultant practice. Yet even the most routine nursing job is full of life lessons that apply to the business world.
My first job as an intensive care nurse in a major medical center prepared me for business success. Subsequent jobs reinforced those early messages. I invite you to look closely at your own nursing career and discover the lessons that will help you succeed as a legal nurse consultant.
Success Lesson 1 — Find Your Passion and Turn It into a Business
As much as I loved my work with critically ill patients and their families, my inner voice told me I wouldn't be working in a hospital forever. As a young nurse, the vision of myself working in the ICU at age 40, 50 or 60 just wouldn't come into focus.
With only 6 years of nursing experience, I left the hospital and started my legal nurse consultant business. From there, I listened to my inner voice and reconnected with my first passion teaching. At age 8, I spent hours every day teaching an imaginary class. Today I am privileged to teach, coach and mentor nurses to live their career dreams. I turned my passion into a business, and since then I haven't worked a single day.
Listen to your inner voice, and you will find your passion. Many nurses have reconnected to their passion through legal nurse consulting, a choice unknown to them before they took my program.
Success Lesson 2 – You Have the Power to Take Control of Your Career Destiny
Patients heal faster when they take control of their health and practice healthy habits. Even the smallest positive action can give a patient a sense of control and empower the healing process.
I learned this lesson time and again as I struggled to gain control of my own nursing career. Each time I refused to give in to the frustrations of working within the healthcare system and took a positive step on my own, I felt better. With every step I grew, I thrived and I came up with new ideas to further my sense of control and satisfaction.
The same is true about your career. You have the power to practice the healthy habits essential to take control of your career destiny. Educate yourself about the steps to achieving career health, including new career options like legal nurse consulting. Then take action on those steps. You really can take control of your career destiny.
Success Lesson 3 – Don't Give in to Fear
As a nurse, I frequently treated patients who had the same progressive disease, yet experienced dramatically different outcomes. We all have known patients who lived years after their predicted demise and other patients who should have lived but didn't because they gave up or didn't want to live. The fact that so many elderly patients die within months of losing a spouse is a solid example of the mind-body connection. In almost every case, the patients who died too soon had given in to fear.
There's also a mind-business connection that will influence the health of your business. When I give in to fear, I become the biggest obstacle to my success. That was true when I started my business 19 years ago. That is true today.
Fear will paralyze you instantly. Practice mind control and exercise your mind daily for positive thinking. Shake off your lack of confidence and negative thinking. Don't wait for an MI to stop inhaling the toxic smoke of fear. Don't let fear be the reason you don't live your career dreams. Always remember the mind-set of the patients who live and the patients who die.
Success Lesson 4 – Nurses Can Do Anything
As nurses most of us have brought patients back to life. We all can recall at least one miracle story a case where, with our help, a patient survived against all odds.
Whenever I face a business crisis, I remind myself, "I'm a nurse and nurses can do anything." I've repeated this same message for 19 years, and it has helped me overcome every obstacle.
If you can heal sick patients and handle life-threatening emergencies as easily as you make your bed in the morning, you really can do anything – especially something as straightforward as starting a business.
Success Lesson 5 – You Can't Climb Mount Everest without Practicing on the Foothills
I had to have extensive education and training just to qualify for my first nursing job. All the lessons from that job helped prepare me for the next. Each successive nursing position required new and different skills necessitating more training and education.
The same applies to owning a business. Today I handle things easily and successfully that seemed impossible 19 years ago. But that's because I've been in training for what I do now ever since I became a nurse.
If you're frustrated with your nursing career, don't feel like you've thrown your life away. No experience or job is a waste. Everything you have done has trained you to move up to the next level. Above all, don't let the fact that you're not trained to climb Mount Everest stop you from pursuing your dreams of becoming an independent legal nurse consultant. Your nursing training and experience was the first step. Start the next step of your training today, and you will make that climb to start your successful legal nurse consultant business.
Success Lesson 6 – The Nursing Process Is Your Friend
When I left clinical nursing, I thought I could set aside the "nursing process" forever. I couldn't have been more wrong. Business requires that same process of assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation. Every project I take on requires me to assess the possibilities and needs, diagnose the problems, plan how to achieve my goals, implement the plan and evaluate my results.
Your nursing jobs have prepared you well. You can apply the nursing process to any business situation and challenge. You will thank your nursing instructors for this one. Every time you review a medical-related case, interview with an attorney or face a challenge in running your business, you will rely on the process they taught you.
Success Lesson 7 – Act Quickly and Decisively
As an ICU nurse, I learned that seconds made a difference in patient outcome. That's true for nurses in any specialty. I rarely had lots of time to ponder or brood over a clinical decision.
I have applied the same principles of acting quickly and decisively in business, too. Am I always correct? No. Do I make mistakes? Yes. Yet because of my nursing experience, I'm never paralyzed into inaction and I've been able to make the most of numerous opportunities I would have missed without acting quickly.
Don't miss your chance to succeed. Learn to act quickly and decisively, and you will grow your legal nurse consultant business.
Success Lesson 8 – What You Focus on Is Where You Achieve Results
In nursing I was often overwhelmed by short staffing, heavy caseloads and lack of support from hospital administration. I soon learned to triage and focus on what I needed to do to heal patients in this less-than-ideal environment. Nursing taught me that where I focus my time is where I achieve results.
That skill comes in handy in business. It's as important to triage and prioritize your actions in business as it is when working with patients. Every day I'm confronted with dozens of challenges, five things that must be done at once, and 20 new creative ideas for my business, but I rarely panic. The organizational and multi-tasking skills I learned as a nurse have served me well.
When you start your legal nurse consultant business, you will not receive any extra hours in the day. In fact, the days will feel shorter. Even the general public knows that working conditions for RNs are worse than ever. Your ability to focus on what's really important under these conditions is the perfect preparation for your successful legal nurse consultant practice.
Success Lesson 9 – This Is Just Business, It's Not Breast Cancer
Ministering to patients and family members helped me put life with all its problems and challenges into perspective. Today when I overreact to a problem or feel I'm in crisis, I think of sick and dying patients. I think, "Now fighting for your life is a REAL problem."
In business I've had lots of ups and downs. When the down moments come, I remind myself, "This is business – not breast cancer." This helps me focus positively on solving the problem rather than embarking on a pity party. I've thrown plenty of those "parties", and they never helped me solve a single business problem.
As you grow your legal nurse consultant business, it helps to ask "So what if this month is not as successful as I planned?" or "So what if my best attorney-client retires?" and to remember its just business, not breast cancer.
Success Lesson 10 – Illness Can Wake You Up
As a nurse I treated many patients who only began to live after they almost died. We've all had patients who said they are glad they got sick, because while they were well, they weren't living the life they wanted. The health crisis forced them to wake up, reassess their lives, decide what was truly important to them, and go for it.
Not every day is a healthy business day. Some days I wake up to a disease challenge in my business. Surprisingly, it's the business ills and mistakes that often awaken me to creative ways of injecting my business with new life.
If your career is facing a health crisis, this is your opportunity to wake up and change things for the better. Legal nurse consulting is one way to restore the health of your career.
Success Lesson 11 – Business Is Personal
Even though technical skills are vital for an ICU nurse, the relationships with patients and their families were what mattered most to me. Those relationships paid off one day when I made a mistake. Because of our relationship, the patient requested that I continue being his nurse despite my error.
Legal nurse consulting is a service business where you will apply the same relationship principles you learned in nursing to your attorney-clients and prospects. Provide quality service and excellent work product that no other legal nurse consultant can replicate, and soon you'll feel like you're in a short-staffing situation all over again.
Success Lesson 12 – Healthy Patients Take Care of Themselves
We've all worked with healthy and unhealthy patients and we've seen the effects of poor health habits on the human body. The health of a pregnant woman is often dramatically reflected in the health of her offspring.
To run a successful company you must enjoy an optimal state of health. Give yourself permission to take care of yourself. I love my business, but I love myself more. After all, without a healthy me, I couldn't muster the energy to give 110% to my clients and employees every day.
Every lesson I learned from nursing, I apply to my business today. You've already learned similar lessons yourself. You don't need another hospital job to help you succeed in business. Take a moment to revel in all nursing has taught you. These lessons will multiply your success when you transfer them to your new legal nurse consulting practice.
Your Nursing Area
Once you've reached the third trimester, you'll
probably start stocking up on nursing bras, breast
pads, and loose button down shirts for the coming
months ahead. While getting ready to breast feed,
you can also create your personal area, a custom
designed breast feeding area for yourself.
Your nursing area should reflect your personality.
If you like a loud, yet friendly surrounding, you
should consider setting in a corner of the living
room or family room. Keep an extra chair or two
near you so family members or even friends can keep
you company.
If you prefer peace and quiet, a cozy study or
empty guest room would be ideal. You can close
the door, dim the lights down, then take a few
deep, calming breaths while you breast feed.
Your own chair
No matter if it's a glider, overstuffed recliner,
or desk chair with wheels, you should make sure
your nursing chair is very comfortable. You'll
be sitting in the chair for hours each day, so
you'll want it to be very comfortable. You should
always look for one that offers back and shoulder
support, along with arm rests.
Support underfoot
You can use a footstool, low coffee table or a
stack of pillows to elevate your feet as you breast
feed. If you raise your legs and feet to bring
your baby to your breast, you'll avoid possible
backache.
Pillows and more pillows
Your neck, arms, feet, and back will need as
much support as you can give, so don't hesitate
to surround your body with pillows. If you lay
a pillow across your lap for your baby to lay on,
he'll be very comfortable and that much closer to
your nipple. For extra comfort, you can even
purchase a specially made nursing pillow that
will encircle your waist.
Table for one
You should always keep a small table or stand
within arm's length of your breast feeding chair.
What you use should be big enough to hold a
coaster and glass of liquid. Some women prefer
to drink through a straw, while others prefer to
drink from the glass.
You'll also want to keep healthy snacks on hand
as well, such as fresh fruit, nuts, or crackers
and peanut butter to help you replace the
energy you use while you breast feed.
Distractions
If your baby is a slow eater or has a really big
appetite, you may want to keep yourself busy
while he feeds. You can fill the shelves of a
nearby cupboard or bookcase with your favorite
books or crossword puzzles to occupy yourself
until your baby is full. You should also keep
a phone nearby as well so that you can talk to
family or friends to pass the time.