Am I Doing This Right?

Hi there! My name is Mati Pumphrey! I am new to the blogging world, but have always been a fan of writing and sharing experiences (personal and professional) that I feel could potentially benefit the life of another. I am excited to utilize this platform to do that, so bear with me while I get my feet wet!

First of all— thank you for taking the time to click, open and read the thoughts that I have going through my head, I hope that you stick around to see where this can go. I’d like to first introduce myself and some of my backstory, explain my roles, and then would love to go into what my goals are for blogging and how I want what I write to benefit the community of women around me.

For starters, I am a wife and a mother. Those are the two roles that I take the most seriously and the roles that mean the absolute world to me. As for my professional roles— I am a Registered Nurse and have been since 2016. Like a number of new grads, I landed myself on the beautiful Med/Surg floor. When I say beautiful.. I don’t actually mean beautiful FYI. I worked for about a year and a half, gaining experience, knowledge and a whole new level of confidence. I started to question what it was that I was intended to do in this field and as a bedside RN. I thought hmm maybe I transfer to ICU and go the CRNA route, or maybe try a whole new specialty? I started applying to ICU positions, while also getting certifications in other specialties that could potentially boost my overall “look” on my resume. A few of those resume boosters just happened to be a couple of maternal child certifications.

Baby Nurse— Circa 2017!

From what I can remember— got an award for somehow surviving my first year of Med/Surg.

I received a phone call from HR from a hospital that I had applied to for an ICU position. Apparently the HR representative was also trafficking job inquiries for other positions within the hospital as well, because when speaking with her she said, “I know that you are applying for an ICU position, but I saw a few maternal-child certifications on your resume and wanted to let you know about an RN Residency Program with Labor and Delivery”. I thought to myself, “I think this is God showing me (very clearly) that I needed to rethink my interest in ICU and potentially consider this position with Labor and Delivery”. Let me tell you, I could not be more thankful for that blatantly obvious sign from above, because with that simple question she asked me and a split second decision— I had made one of the best decisions in my life. Stay tuned for the compilation of events that followed that decision (in another blog post ;).

A slow night and a scrub tech with a passion for photography, turned into a photoshoot using the OR’s lights to get the perfect pictures!

But in the meantime— let’s chat about the other most amazing decision that I made in my life, my husband.

My husband, Brian, and I met back in 2017.. I say met but should say that I swiped right on a dating app. At the time, I didn’t realize what one simple swipe could mean for the future but let me tell you— I am surely glad that I did, I met an absolute prize. The man that I now call my husband, is my biggest supporter and I truly can not fathom where I would be in life if I had not met him. Fast forward several years of the “dating scene”, we have a dog named Moose and I have a ring on my finger with a wedding date on the books. I know it sounds weird, but I thoroughly enjoyed every part of planning my wedding. Of course it was stressful, but it was very enjoyable for me to plan the day that would kickstart the rest of our lives. Probably sounds cliche, but it is the truth! Our wedding day was wonderful! Other than marrying the love of my life, I think one of my most favorite parts of the day was looking around the space we were in and seeing all of the incredible people that have influenced our lives from every stage we have been through, all in one spot. It was a blessing and a privilege.

A honeymoon and about a year later, we were blessed with a positive pregnancy test. That positive pregnancy test was the beginning of a new chapter and eventually turned into a first ultrasound (which made everything really sink in that we were going to be parents within a short 8 months). I remember thinking to myself, “this little baby that is growing in my belly is going to completely change my life”— spoiler alert.. he did and he is the best thing that has happened to me.

If you have made it this far— first of all thank you for reading, second I want to actually chat about what my goal is for this blog because it’s definitely not to blab about myself. I just feel like it’s important for you guys to know my backstory a bit? I am going to get into what the rest of my career has looked like from that day that I accepted my Labor & Delivery position in another blog post, but I’ll give you a quick synopsis. I worked for about 4 years on the Labor & Delivery unit and loved every single second of it. Working with mothers and their babies was clearly my life’s passion. I decided to go to Graduate school to become an Advanced Practice Provider, with the formal title of ‘Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner’. Fast forward two years and I graduate from my program in 2021 and start working at an OB/GYN clinic while simultaneously still working in L&D. Through this work, a spark was ignited within me that eventually turned into a full blown fire within. The bottom line is, women need more. Women need more support, education and empowerment— from their first period, to their first time trying to conceive, to their first positive pregnancy test, to the first time they hold their baby in their arms. We need more, and the healthcare system unfortunately can fall short if you don’t have the correct support in your corner.

So with all of that being said, I decided to take matters into my own hands and create The Hub for Wellness. I want The Hub to be a resource for women in the community to obtain access to the support and education we need and deserve, through the years of trying to conceive (TTC), pregnancy and through to postpartum. I want this blog to be a space to share professional, clinical based information.. with a sprinkle of personal opinions and women-to-women advice. I want to be able to answer questions and inquiries about topics that women can be hungry for during their pregnancy and postpartum period. I want to be able to share the things that were helpful and useful for me during my journey to motherhood. I want to be able to talk about the world we are living in and the opportunities that we have around us and the ability to make decisions that can affect our family’s lives. So let’s dive in!

Stayed tuned! There is so much more to come! My goal is to get a post out every month, so be on the lookout and reach out to me and let me know if there is a specific topic you would like me to cover!

Stay happy & see you in May!