Baby Stuff
My first son was born a week ago today.
Now, I could launch into one of those treacly perorations about the miracle of life and how you never know how much you can love another being and blah blah blah. Hey, I think it's really cool to be a dad, and quite frankly my boy is the most beautiful baby ever born, but folks who go on and on like that have issues.
Instead, I will first point out how amazing it is to see real pros in action. My boy was breech, so in we went for a C-section (and by that I mean, in my wife went to have her belly slit open like a grouper, and in I went to watch). The anesthesiologist was not only great at what he did, but he actually explained things and made us feel better during what was a very tense situation. And man, the surgeons and OR nurses -- they sliced and diced and never once let on that this was anything but a quiet day in the office for them! And so everyone is healthy -- thanks to all of them for that!
But I will also point out that medicine is one area where you should be able to expect consistent answers and advice. But after the birth, we had a steady string of nurses taking care of my wife, and it seems every one had a different story. No sooner had one told us to do this for the baby and that for my wife's incision, than the next one on shift would tell us the exact opposite! Whazzupwitdat?
And plus, you'd think medical professionals would actually want to hear a patient's complaints before rendering judgment. The other day we went for a first checkup at the pediatrician's office. The surly nurse who checked the baby out "listened" to my wife's question about his wanting to feed constantly, and said, "It could be gas. You know about what you shouldn't eat when you're nursing, right -- chocolate, coffee, and broccoli." Uh... A) How did that even apply to my wife's question? And, 2) Why is this nurse telling us this pantload like she has any clue what she's talking about? In this case, the very non-medicine-practicing hottie buxom British chef-ess Nigella Lawson is right: a nursing woman should eat everything, so the baby will learn to tolerate everything! (I'm no doctor, but you don't suppose "allergies" are skyrocketing because nursing moms only eat noodles, and then their kids only eat noodles till they're thirty, do you? Huh?)
Ah, well, thank goodness for the Internet. Nowadays it's best to ignore most advice and research stuff for yourself. You still probably shouldn't attempt a home C-section, but you can certainly ignore the less-able "help."
Now, I could launch into one of those treacly perorations about the miracle of life and how you never know how much you can love another being and blah blah blah. Hey, I think it's really cool to be a dad, and quite frankly my boy is the most beautiful baby ever born, but folks who go on and on like that have issues.
Instead, I will first point out how amazing it is to see real pros in action. My boy was breech, so in we went for a C-section (and by that I mean, in my wife went to have her belly slit open like a grouper, and in I went to watch). The anesthesiologist was not only great at what he did, but he actually explained things and made us feel better during what was a very tense situation. And man, the surgeons and OR nurses -- they sliced and diced and never once let on that this was anything but a quiet day in the office for them! And so everyone is healthy -- thanks to all of them for that!
But I will also point out that medicine is one area where you should be able to expect consistent answers and advice. But after the birth, we had a steady string of nurses taking care of my wife, and it seems every one had a different story. No sooner had one told us to do this for the baby and that for my wife's incision, than the next one on shift would tell us the exact opposite! Whazzupwitdat?
And plus, you'd think medical professionals would actually want to hear a patient's complaints before rendering judgment. The other day we went for a first checkup at the pediatrician's office. The surly nurse who checked the baby out "listened" to my wife's question about his wanting to feed constantly, and said, "It could be gas. You know about what you shouldn't eat when you're nursing, right -- chocolate, coffee, and broccoli." Uh... A) How did that even apply to my wife's question? And, 2) Why is this nurse telling us this pantload like she has any clue what she's talking about? In this case, the very non-medicine-practicing hottie buxom British chef-ess Nigella Lawson is right: a nursing woman should eat everything, so the baby will learn to tolerate everything! (I'm no doctor, but you don't suppose "allergies" are skyrocketing because nursing moms only eat noodles, and then their kids only eat noodles till they're thirty, do you? Huh?)
Ah, well, thank goodness for the Internet. Nowadays it's best to ignore most advice and research stuff for yourself. You still probably shouldn't attempt a home C-section, but you can certainly ignore the less-able "help."
posted by Steady Earl at 8:10 PM
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