Like a bee rushing to a bowl of honey

Last week was World Breastfeeding Week!  I don't know if you know, but breastfeeding support, education, and advocacy are some of my passions.  We here in the valley participated in "The Big Latch On" on Saturday Aug 6 at 10:30am, joining women around the world.  We had a decent turnout for the valley- 9 people latching on and others standing in support!  I'm part of the breastfeeding coalition that put the even together.

As someone who doesn't have kids, I'm a big fan of the surgeon general's report about how much of the discontinuation of breastfeeding is from lack of support outside the home.  While I can't relate personally to the trails and struggles (or the joys and connection), I know the benefits and have seen enough barriers to want to speak out we should tear down these walls and support women who breastfeed.  My ultimate goal is to see breastfeeding as normal.  I wrote this article for the "Valley Courier" last week and I was a little annoyed by the headline that they gave "Breastfeeding is natural," while this is true, it also puts it into the hippy category that it shouldn't be.  So, here are my thoughts that I shared with the entire valley...

Breastfeeding happens. Breastfeeding is normal. We are all part of the breastfeeding community, directly or indirectly. We all need to support each other to make breastfeeding the norm for all babies. While mom to mom and provider to mom support is so important, the support that women get outside the home and clinic can have just as much of an impact. It is not mothers alone that make breastfeeding possible, but the community (friends, family, work, neighbors) that can sustain the continuation of breastfeeding.

I’m not the typical breastfeeding advocate and that’s a good thing. I don’t have kids and I don’t even remember my experience as a breastfed baby (although I am proud that I was breastfed). However, I believe people have the right to all the information regarding health and to carry out the decisions that they make based on this information.

If we make women uncomfortable and add extra barriers to breastfeeding in public, the woman has a lower chance of continuing to feed her baby the nutrients it needs to grow and be healthy. This can look different for everyone. Just as you might need to pick up a snack when you’re unexpectedly hungry in the afternoon, a baby might need to eat randomly during the day. Every mom will have different levels of comfort with what they want to do in public, but every mom should have the opportunity to feed her child as needed.

Ultimately, it is my goal to see breastfeeding as so normal in everyday life that no one makes it a big deal when breastfeeding happens. I don’t mean to downplay the significance and beauty of breastfeeding, but I want to celebrate the normalcy of the breastfeeding mom. She’s not alone, she’s not trying something new and different, but she’s in a community that supports babies and a healthy start to life for everyone.

And, wherever you see this sign, you know that breastfeeding is supported!

My Progress Report

So, one lovely Saturday morning back in December, I received an unexpected letter in the mail. My wonderful boss, Della, nominated me for the statewide Nightingale Nurse Award for Excellence in Human Caring the category Advocacy. I couldn't believe it, I was so honored and a little overwhelmed by the letters of support some friends wrote for me. I had to write a litle essay about my experiences, nursing philosophy and how I put it into practice. Della had told me that they read some of what you and everyone wrote at the award ceremony- that made me really nervous. I submitted it at the end of December and had to wait until the end of February for the regional awards ceremony.

Now, trust me, I was not under the impression that I would be getting any special recognition. What happens is that 11 nurses were nominated in the valley and 6 (one in each of the different categories) can go on to the state ceremony. Well, I made it to state! Gotta be honest, I think I won on a technicality because there was all this paper work and I think maybe we were the only ones who filled it out! Whatevs, I won and they didn't! I'm just beyond honored and still can't really believe it- and this is only after 2 1/2 years of being a nurse, imagine what I'll be capable in just a few more years! (wait, what? I still have to do more?  Shoot....)  We kept the celebration going Alamosa style- at Chili's!  One highlight: having cosmos with the house coordinator, Alice!  She's great and wrote one of my letters. I will be going to an awards ceremony in Denver in May. Even my parents might come out for it!  I'm kind of a big deal...

With Della

With my housemates

The commemorative hand painted plates

So I can practice being Florence Nightingale and

 visit my patients by candlelight!

I do want to say a few things about my work these days.  It is so different and quite rewarding, really.  My biggest accomplishment has been creating a nurse home visitor program for moms and babies.  I put together the curriculum, the proposals, and made the presentations to get funding.  It was so different for me, but it was a good experience (and will continue to be as the program really gets going).  This job is pretty self-directed, which is a little hard for me, but I'm learning to figure out what I need to do.  Other things I do: communicable disease investigation (where'd they get it and how to stop the spread), immunization clinic, and community education.  I'm excited about opportunities for the next few years.

Assessing my life

I thought I'd share what my "normal life" is looking these days, so we can all be on the same page (and so this isn't just a place where I share my "deep" thoughts, oh goodness).

I work Monday through Thursday from 7:30 to 4:30 and now have a 35 minute commute! Oh, it makes life so much more simple. Most evenings, I have stuff going. On Mondays, we are starting to have family dinners again. Tuesday, or every other Tuesday, is knit night. Generally, I try to have Wednesday as my night "off". Thursday is church at our house, which has been so good for me to learn to be more open to hosting without so much of the responsibility of this-is-my-party sort of feel. Now, Fridays are my favorite day of the week. I'm the only one who has them off in the house. This is my time to myself that I cherish, I don't know what I would do without them. A few of my friends and I have started having brunch on Saturday mornings. This is so good for me as I have missed this from my "past life". The best part? I get a coffee, an egg, and a pancake for a grand total of $3 at my coffee shop! Things aren't super scheduled around here for the weekends, so it's sort of see-what-happens. Things that could happen: a hike, dinner with random people, helping out with an event, game night, brew pub, work around the house, some fun little local festival, and possibly an excursion to one of the small cute towns around the valley.

The weather has been weird here. On Tuesday morning it was -23 when I left the house, but I was able to go for a run outside in a tank top yesterday! It gets really cold at night, but it's pretty much sunny everyday so it warms up during the day. It snows every so often, but we should have had more snow by now according to locals. The local ski place gets the most snow in all of Colorado- can't wait to check it out!

I sip on dreams

I think I am in love. With Public Health. Got your attention, didn't I?

Last week I was in Denver at the American Public Health Association annual conference. The theme was social justice- awesome! I just feel like this where I am supposed to be. I would be bored out of my mind at a med/surg conference, but I'm fueled by all these talk of public health. It's exciting to be on the other side of problems- trying to stop them before they happen or looking into the root cause of issues.

This conference was a little overwhelming- attendance was the amount of people who live in Alamosa. I basically went to presentations of research projects, sometimes really boring and obvious (yes, people are going to make trade offs when they have high medical bills) and sometimes pretty interesting (the calories on menus really are affecting eating habits). I've already been able to apply some of the things I've learned to everyday and my practice. Now, I love public health nursing, but I only went to one session by that group. And, I was a little disappointed- “Innovations in Environmental Nursing” was explaining a new sort of social network for information on our effect on the environment, starting with “Now you enter http://...” Come on, nurses.

It definitely made me think about wanting to go back to school for more training in this field. Hmmmm....

Under Construction

Dear Saguache County:

Please stay healthy for the next week and a half. Could everyone wash their hands often, sneeze and cough into your elbow? I'm going to be your only hope (nurse) for public health while the director is gone and I'm still a little new to this, please be kind to me. If you have a reaction to your flu shot, could you wait till Tuesday the 19th? It's been fun getting to know, but I don't want to find out dirty secrets this week by myself. Thanks so much and have a nice day!

-Mikaila Holt, PHN (Public Health Nurse)

P.S. Saguache is the county I work for and I'll be the only nurse there till the 19th! Eek! Pray for the residents and me? Thanks!

You can do it

I should tell you a little bit about my job. I can really only tell you a little bit because that's all I've seen so far, really.
I am THE public health nurse for Center, CO- I'm kind of a big deal with an office, business cards, and a press release coming out! A town of about 2,000 people and about 45 minutes north of La Jara. This drive isn't that bad, everyone keeps commenting on my commute, but I really don't mind it. I would muuuuuch rather do this than 45 minutes in traffic! Here I can enjoy the beautiful scenery, which involves the sun rising in the morning. I see the river, fields, mountains, cows and horses along the way, it's quite lovely. Well, I say all this now, ask me next year (after a winter) what I think of it!
The public health office is really just me and a receptionist; there are some other people in the building doing different things. I manage the immunization program for the community, follow up on communicable diseases (especially Tuberculosis), postpartum visits or phonecalls, a few health fairs, and work with other organizations and committees to serve the needs of the community. I am going to be starting some programs that they haven't done before, including vital signs and teaching at a retirement center, forming a relationship with the school nurse to do pregnancy prevention, and starting a community assessment (this I'm pretty excited about). So far everything has been quite interesting, but so different from what I've been doing and I have a lot to learn!
The population of Center is mainly Hispanic, with a large migrant population coming in for seasonal agricultural work. Today I called a patient and told her some information and made an appointment with her- in Spanish! Well, more like spanglish, but more Spanish than English. I was super nervous as I haven't really been practicing (I know, I'm getting on it, Mom), but I got more comfortable as the conversation went on.
My boss is awesome! Her name is Della and she is the Director of the Saguache County Public Health (that's the county I work in). She first got her masters in public and worked in the Peace Corps, then worked with the UN refugee program in Kenya. She returned to the states and got her 2 year nursing degree and started in public health out here (she said that was her hardest degree!). She is very helpful and really teaching me a lot. I'm very thankful for her.

And, here's me being a nerd (mainly my parents are bugging me for pictures of my office/exam room):