from the mouth of babes

im about to finish my pedia rotation in 2 weeks.. gone through the outpatient department, ward 9 (where incidentally, 10 months ago, i met gio!) and nursery. next week ill be rotating in the pedia ER (scary! toxic na naman)

my favorite so far, i have to say, is the nursery rotation! usually they're healthy and the mothers dont complain! unlike the ER or wards where they're frantic for obvious reasons.  basically our job in the nursery is to receive the babies from OB, suction the amniotic fluid and secretions, tactile stimulation, and thermoregulate.. do pediatric aging. and on our preduty days, go to the wards to check on the babies and advise the moms about the importance of breastfeeding, newborn screening and Hepatitis B vaccination.

sa dami ng nanganganak everyday, you see a wide variety of babies.. chubby, thin, hairy, bald, pale, brown, red, babies that look like coneheads and babies with perfectly symmetrical features. you know right away if their nose is matangos or pango. but one thing is certain, their cries seem to be in unison! some shrill-like..

the babies are covered in vernix (that white lard-looking stuff)and blood when they come out but after their hot bath in Johnsons top to toe wash, they're all so cute! like puppies who dont look like their smelly mommies! hehehe. my blockmate, tiger even started using the top to toe wash during duty hahaha... (para daw amoy baby!) well ,the babies in pgh share bassinets so if a tag is not placed on them right away, there could be a case of switcheroo... years later, "inay? bakit hindi ko kamukha mga kapatid ko?" hahahaha... niloloko nila yung mga mommies. "mommy tandaan mo na yung itsura ng katabi mo, baka mapagpalit yung babies niyo." bad!

but anyway, even after 24 hour duty, the best part about this rotation is carrying the babies and looking at them.. it's weird sometimes you end up talking to them coz you're the only intern there and you have no one else to talk to. when they cry, i try to carry them all one at a time and soon after they go back to sleep in my arms. naks! i was telling my HS friends last weekend about it, baka daw gusto ko na magka-baby! uhmm, no thanks! hindi ko pa ata kaya ang responsibility! and i tell my mom, "wow, 5 times ka nanganak!" she says "madali manganak, mas mahirap magpalaki ng anak." indeed...

the PGH moms also have stories to tell, 7th baby and counting, 1st baby and twins pa, 1st baby at 40 years old,  and tragic endings as well. i think ive seen 3 babies die during my duty. one in the nursery where i got to intubate the baby (ang liit ng airway!), two in NICU. and ive seen mga 6 twins, they're really tiny- some less than 2 kilograms each and the healthy ones- 3 kilograms. imagine carrying that much weight around for 9 months!

and i cant explain why i feel so sentimental when i go to the mom and show her the baby after the initial resuscitation. the content look on their faces. ika nga the miracle of life!

so if you have a baby and you need a babysitter, you know where to find me :) limited offer only! hehehe