Who We Are
NATALIE
Working full-time as a mom of a 3 year old and 8 month old I was getting burnt out. I felt I was constantly rushing from work to daycare to home just to rush to get dinner prepared, and have about an hour to spend with my kids before putting them to bed. Then the exhaustion kicked in as soon as the littles were down that I hardly had energy to get anything done around the house or spend much one-on-one time with my husband before crashing.
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I found myself constantly researching best practices, recommended products, toddler and infant activities, recipes, meal planning, and wished there was one spot to help simplify my life! I recruited my lifetime best friend, Ariel, and together we came up with The Busy NP Moms to organize our thoughts, share our knowledge, and hopefully help other busy parents who are seeking the same information.
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I live in Maryland with my husband, and 2 young children about an hour from where I grew up. I work full-time in a family primary care practice, and absolutely love my job. Prior to primary care I worked in urgent care, and the emergency room. Ariel actually inspired me to become a nurse (and nurse practitioner!) We grew up 2 houses away, and have been friends since we were toddlers. When she told me she was going to study nursing in college, I decided that seemed practical enough since I really didn't know what I wanted to do. I received my undergraduate degree from Towson University, and worked in a community ER for about 5 years. It was physically and emotionally draining seeing patients on their worst days day in and day out. I loved working in the emergency room, but wanted to do more for my patients, and enrolled in the Family Nurse Practitioner program and University of Maryland. After working in urgent care for a few years I finally decided to get on the preventative health care side.
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I'm so grateful for my education, as without it I'm sure to have been constantly anxious about my children and my own symptoms. Am I doing the right thing? Is this safe? Should I take them to the doctor? What could I be doing better? Should they be eating more? Should I be eating less? Is it ok to poop once a week? And so on...
Of course I still wonder all of the same things, but have the knowledge to address or at least research a lot of my concerns or questions myself. I frequently "call a friend," and hope to provide some of that information on our blog.
ARIEL
Wife to Nathan, mom to Oliver, nurse practitioner and primary care provider. I graduated from the University of Delaware with my bachelors degree in nursing in 2009, and started my career in the cardiac intensive care unit. After 5 years of bedside nursing, I graduated with my masters in nursing, and became an adult gerontological nurse practitioner. I practiced for a year in endocrinology before life called us to travel. I took a few short term contracts in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Rapid City, and South Dakota working in chronic disease management, pain management, and finally primary care. I found my true calling as a primary care provider, developing long term relationships with my patients, and walking with them on their life journey. After a year of traveling the country, we moved back home to Delaware to be near family, bought our first home, and I started my career as a primary care provider. We have since got a dog, Teddy, had our son, Oliver, and settled down into family life. Outside of work and family, I enjoy reading, hiking, traveling, camping, cooking, and eating!
