Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Am I a NICU Nurse?

So, I'm already a paranoid new mom. Caleb woke up 2 days ago with swollen eyes and a red rash on his upper and lower eyelids, cheeks, and forehead. It also had what looked like little tiny blisters. Initially I thought it was newborn rash but when he woke up yesterday it looked worse and his eyes were more swollen. I called the pedi and the nurse said that the swollen eyes were not normal so I should bring him in. I took him in and saw the nurse practioner. She was interesting. She was older and spent most of her time cooing over him and telling him he was a sweet baby. That's nice and all but I just wanted to know what this rash was. She thought it was just newborn rash. She gave me some educational papers about "normal" newborn things such as frequent hiccups and irregular breathing. I knew all of these normal things since I work with babies everyday but I didn't want to tell her I was a nurse and feel stupid that I couldn't diagnose a simple newborn rash. Today his face is much better and his eyes aren't swollen. And...he is getting whiter. I think he will have my skin tone and Ethan has Mondo's. Poor Caleb!

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