All about Kate Arquilla, MS, RN, CBC
Nursing background and certifications:
I always knew I wanted to be in the medical field! My father along with 7 other family members are doctors and nurses, so I had a lot of exposure to medicine. My cousin, who is about 13 years younger than I am, was born with a rare heart condition which required emergency surgery within hours of being born. I went to visit her in the NICU at the Children’s Hospital in Chicago and I immediately knew that I wanted to be in a nurse. I graduated with my Bachelor’s in Arts from Miami University in Ohio. I did not study nursing in undergrad – the nursing school at Miami was a 5 year program. I decided that I wanted to take some science classes before committing to the program and decided after freshman year that a post-Bachelor’s nursing program was going to be a better route for me! After graduation, I attended DePaul University (with Natalie!) to receive my Masters of Science in Nursing in 2013.
During nursing school, I knew that pediatrics was going to the route I took – but Labor and Delivery threw me for a loop! I also LOVED L&D – and actually did my internship during nursing school in L&D. But I learned quickly that when the baby came out – I was all eyes on that babe. I shadowed in the NICU where I work now, and I never looked back! I have been there since I started as an RN.
I am also a certified CPR, BLS and PALS instructor, certified breastfeeding counselor, and certified sleep consultant.
Why I created bumblebaby:
As a nurse, but specifically a NICU RN, I would get texts and calls ALL the time from friends and family who were having babies.
“Does this poop look normal?”
“Do you think my nipple is infected from breastfeeding?”
“Is it normal to be constipated when you’re pregnant?”
“My baby won’t take a bottle!” (Keep them coming! Ha!)
I realized there was no place for parents and expecting parents to turn to for supportive and accurate information (DON’T GOOGLE! I would always say). Bumblebaby started out as CPR classes for friends and family, a small baby care book, and maternity photos! It grew into something that I never expected and I feel so lucky for that.
Services that I offer:
- Sleep consulting through the Moms on Call Method
- 1:1 consulting through text and videochat
- Bottle consults
- Postpartum and prenatal virtual support
- Breastfeeding counseling
- In-home CPR
Difficulties I’ve encountered in motherhood:
I grew up with 50 first cousins and a sister who is 10 years younger than I am – that in combination with being a NICU nurse, I thought motherhood would be a breeze! But nothing quite prepares you for the rollercoaster of parenthood. Since I am adopted, and since my mom never had the experience of pregnancy hormones or breastfeeding hormones, so when I was experiencing perinatal and postpartum depression, we all chalked it up to hormones!
Babies (especially newborns) are my comfort zone – I always loved the newborn stage. It’s familiar to me as a NICU nurse – I know how to read their cues well and comfort them. But pregnancy, not so much! Being pregnant, while something I feel lucky to be able to experience, was difficult for me mentally and physically.Adjusting to two kids under 2 and postpartum depression after Beesie’s birth was one of the most challenging times of my life. You feel so out of control and out of body, not to mention you don’t have your “normal” body to yourself for so long. You can read more about my PPD story here.
After finally coming out of PPD (thanks to medication and therapy), I found out unexpectedly that I was pregnant last year. I struggled a lot with this pregnancy – not ready to be pregnant again and petrified to experience PPD again. Thankfully, Roey was born in March, healthy and so happy, and I remained on medication throughout my entire pregnancy and postpartum period and NO PPD! You can read more about my perinatal depression story and unplanned pregnancy here.
My favorite part of motherhood:
I love seeing my babies become little people. Finn and Beesie are SO different – not only in size but in personality. Finn is fearless, reckless and SO witty! This last year with him has been so fun (he is 3.5 years old) and I feel like he’s my little companion. We have full conversations, he cracks jokes, he’s so creative and imaginative, and truly a sweet kid. Beesie is cautious but sassy and my velcro monkey – so different from Finn who never wanted me to hold him! She is such a GIRL – loving all things girly from Elsa to real jewelry (“WOWWW!”). I am excited to see who little Roey becomes.
As a mom, I can’t live without:
COFFEE! I am a coffee snob and very particular about what coffee I like! Also SLEEP – I am a wreck without it.
