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Family

A NICU nurse was so loving to their baby, the parents asked her to be godmother

She needed to be in his life.

nicu nurse, godmothers, austyn evans
via Pixabay

Lucky baby gets the most caring godmother.

It’s a little funny that there are people who make tremendous differences in our lives that we never speak to again when their job is done. People in the healthcare profession regularly save people’s lives and then, after we thank them, we're likely to never see them again.

That’s why this story is so touching. A family appreciated the work of a NICU nurse so much, they asked her to be part of the family.

Good Morning America reports that when Austyn Evans was pregnant with her son Conrad, she and her husband, Branden, learned that he had a rare birth defect known as lower urinary tract obstructions. The defect can be life-threatening, so Austyn and Branden moved from Florida to Houston in her third trimester so she and Conrad could be cared for at Texas Children's Hospital.

"It's a very bad diagnosis to get," Austyn told Good Morning America. “A lot of these kids do not survive past zero or they just survive a few days past birth."


As soon as Conrad was born he was rushed into the neonatal intensive care unit where he was cared for by Carly Miller, 27, a NICU nurse at the hospital.

“Carly was instantly charismatic and funny. She kept talking about how cute Conrad was,” Austyn told Today. “The way she talked to him when she was doing his vitals or she was taking blood, she was constantly talking to him in this really cute little mom voice and trying to be as comforting as she could even though he was extremely sedated.”

Conrad’s needs were so intense that he would often be Carly’s only patient. She regularly worked the night shift, so when Austyn would call, she’d hear about Conrad’s condition from Carly.

"She never started a phone call telling me all the bad. It was always, 'Oh my gosh, he's so cute,' or, 'All the nurses think he's so cute,' and then obviously I'd get the medical report," Austyn told Good Morning America. "It was such a small thing but it helped immensely."

The relationship meant the world to the Evans family because they were all alone in Texas.

“We were so isolated because of COVID and being away from our family,” Austyn told Today. “A relationship that was so professional over time became so personal to me.” When it came time for Conrad to be moved to a complex dialysis machine, Carly learned how to work it so she could remain by Conrad's side.

After six months of round-the-clock care, Conrad was finally able to go home with his family. Even though the family had moved on to the next stage of their lives, they knew they couldn’t walk away from the woman who meant so much to them.

“We kept everything as professional as we could in the NICU but just the conversations we had sitting in his hospital room or the victories that we celebrated and we cried over together were really important to me,” Evans told Today. “Thinking about leaving that place and having to never see Carly again was heart-wrenching.”

To make it official, the couple gave Carly some flowers with a card from Conrad with a note attached that read, "Will you be my godmother?"

Carly said yes.

"I just feel very honored," Carly told Good Morning America. "It's something I never expected and the fact that they wanted me to do that for him means the absolute world."

via @5kids5catssomedogstoo/TikTok

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Lynalice Bandy, who goes by @5kids5catssomedogstoo on TikTok, posted a video that showed her home looking like a disaster after she worked six 10-hour days straight while her husband did nothing to help.

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Parents are debating over whether to give children "adult" or "baby" names.

The names we choose to give our children can significantly impact their lives. Multiple studies from across the globe have found that a person’s name can influence their employment, social and economic outcomes.

Unfortunately, humans make snap judgments about one another, and having an unusual name can lead people to make unflattering assumptions. “We’re hardwired to try to figure out in a heartbeat whether or not we want to trust somebody, whether we want to run from somebody,” Northwestern University researcher David Figlio said, according to Live Science.

However, an increasing number of parents are giving their children non-traditional names to help them stand out. “Parents are trying to be original, almost branding their kids in an era where names are viewed on the same level as Twitter handles or a website URL,” writer Sabrina Rogers-Anderson said.

Ruby, a mother on TikTok, took a hard stance on parents giving their children names that sound childish in a post that’s received over 11 million views. Ruby says she named her kids as “adults, not babies” hoping they would never “outgrow” their names.

@rubyyvillarreal

#stitch with @nikkiruble love having nicknames as they are younger and it doesnt mean they will perfer it over their name as they get older. Just gives them options 🤷🏻‍♀️ #nicknames #babynames #babytok #adultnames #pregnancytiktok #toddlersoftiktok #momtok #momlife #babynames #babyname

“The whole concept when I was trying to look for a name and choose a name for her is I did not want her to outgrow her name,” she said in the viral video. “I wanted the name to fit her as a baby, as a toddler, as a child, and into adulthood. So, it's like I really am happy with what I ended up with naming her and it just fits her so well.”

She captioned the video, “love having nicknames as they are younger and it doesn’t mean they will prefer it over their name as they get older. Just gives them options.”

People in the comments responded with modern names they think that kids will outgrow.

"My name is Koazy and I’m here for a job interview," Stalker joked. "Hello sir, I am Bluey Mason Garrison! I was called in for a job interview last Tuesday," Pastel Purr added.

"I can’t imagine knowing [a] 30-year-old named Emma or Posie," Mikey wrote.

However, a lot of people commented that names that seem like they’ll be outgrown will sound fine in the future when those names are popular with the new generation. “Kids grow up with their generation having their own names on trend. They will be normal adult names when they are grown,” Kerry wrote.

“Names grow with the generation,” Lauren added. “The name Dennis sounded like a baby name once too. Names grow up just like generations.”

@rubyyvillarreal

Replying to @19eighty_5 my kids name and the process 😬 #babynames #nicknames #babytok #adultnames #momsoftiktok #momlife #momtok #pregnancytiktok #toddlersoftiktok #babyname #babyfever

In a follow-up video, Ruby shared the names she gave her children. Her girl is named Karla Esmerelda and her boy is called Deluca.

“I just really liked how simple, how bold, and strong that the name by itself just really kind of is. Doing some research names with the letter K tend to be like very bold and powerful names, so I really wanted it with a K and not with a C,” she said.

She named her son Deluca, after a doctor on “Grey’s Anatomy.” She said she chose the name because there was nothing to connect it to, and it sounded “nice.”







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