Almost Done - Week 10 & 11

The maternity rotation is starting to be fun.  I've learned more in lab, I'm getting assigned two patients at a time (or one complicated one), and I've done my first baby bath.  I also know how to do baby assessments.

Babies

Babies are super fun.  They wave their arms and legs around, make cute noises, and blink with wonder at blank space.  They're also fuzzy.  I think fuzzy babies are awesome.  Newborns have soft downy "fur" all over them called lanugo. After you bathe the newborn, the soft fur goes all fluffy.  It's fantastic! 

One thing that has surprised me is how big newborns are.  I always thought they would be smaller considering the size of the opening they come out of.  Sometimes I look at the baby, look at the mom, and scratch my head.  How did it get out?

Teaching

New moms (and dads) have a huge learning curve.  If they're lucky, they did a ton of reading while mom was pregnant.  If not, they have to learn an encyclopedia amount of information in a very short time frame.  It means that I can rattle off information non-stop and it's likely that mom will get something out of it that she didn't know before. 

I have been impressed at how eager new moms are to learn.  They're like sponges.  I guess when you go through that much trouble to bring a kid into the world, you want to make sure you're doing your best for them.  So I do my best to provide as much info as I can, keeping things as bite-sized as possible.

Less Blood

Thankfully, I haven't had to work with as much blood as last time.  There's still blood, but it's manageable now. I think I won't be as scared if I ever come across the same situation again.  I know a lot more about what I can do about it, and about the resiliency of a mom.  Moms have super powers, in a sense.

This week, I'll get to see a mom give birth.  I'm worried that I'll pass out.  Fingers-crossed that I'll be more useful to mom than as a decorative floor mat.

Have a great week!