Of Nurses and Paediatricians And Daddy - 15 June 2002

Bryan is 26 days old today and has already been out of the house twice after coming home from the hospital. We had to call on a doctor again this morning to check why his sticky eyes have not cleared after so many days.

For Bryan, it was another adventure. At such a tender age, he already knows the joy of “kai-kai” (going out). He would be nice and quiet the whole morning just before the journey. He wouldn’t sleep after his bath but feast his eyes at all the commotion around him as we get ourselves ready and also prepare his baby bag. We had to get him ready before “Poh Poh” (grandmother) comes to take him to the paediatrician. He must be thinking why everyone including himself is all dressed up today. I really melt at the way he stared at me as though he was asking why Mommy looked so beautiful today. He seems contented knowing that he is going to broaden his horizons today, extending out of the four pink walls of his nursery. He is too naive to know that future trips to the paediatrician may not be as enjoyable in the coming weeks when he is scheduled to take his immunization vaccines.

He was such a good boy when we took him for an early bath. Bryan seems to enjoy playing with the bath water with his ever-active hands and feet. Oddly enough, he wasn’t as fussy as usual even though we haven’t fed him. It was as though he knows that we are taking him out today. We usually bathe him before his feeds so that he can be lulled into deep sleep after his meals. Most of the time, he would be so impatient when we dress him. He would flap his little mitten-protected hands, kick up a fuss with his bootee-covered feet, and start wailing for his bottle.

However, his wails don’t usually come with tears. As such, we categorized that as crocodile tears whenever he yells for our attention. We thought nothing of the sticky yellowish substance that oozes out of each eye every time he becomes frustrated or whenever he wakes from his sleep. On his first visit to the paediatrician, the specialist told us that the sticky eye could be due to an infection on the umbilical cord. Well, he’s the specialist, so we believed him and paid a good sum for the diagnosis! Unfortunately, after finishing the whole course of eye drops and the umbilical cord has detached, there is still no sign of improvement to his eyes. We now know not to trust doctors who go around giving name cards at the maternity wards.

Our confinement lady advised us to check with another doctor to see if anything was wrong with Bryan’s eyes. Through her experience with other mothers and babies, she suspects that there could be something wrong with Bryan’s tear-ducts. True enough, the child specialist that we brought him to this time established that Bryan’s tear-ducts could be blocked. As such, we will need to massage areas around his eyes and nose to clear it. A little eye drops would help prevent further infection. Hopefully this specialist knows what she is doing to our baby.

Speaking of which, Daddy is really concern on whether the doctors and nurses knows what they are doing. When Bryan was still at the hospital, the nurses had to take some blood samples from the soles of his feet to perform the jaundice test. The anxious Daddy saw how the nurse poke three times on poor howling Bryan’s feet and scowled angrily at the nurse. The nurse sensing displeasure in Daddy’s eyes, stopped what she was doing to explain that the baby’s tiny feet were too cold for blood sampling. She further clarifies that she would have to redo the test later. Daddy was even more infuriated as the nurse should have known better not to cause so much agony to his precious baby and yet fail to accomplish anything. Even though Daddy refrained from taking the nurse to task, his angry stare was enough to ensure that the nurse did a successful and careful sampling the second time.

Bryan’s next visit to the paedatrician would be for his second dose of Hepatitis B vaccination. So far Daddy has not accompanied him for these visits (which is good news for the nurses) due to his busy work schedule. He feels really bad about this and on the nights before the visits, he would make a list of questions for me to ask the doctor. His lists are quite comprehensive, and really shows how prudent and cautious he is in noticing Bryan’s needs even though he sees Bryan for only a couple of hours a day. For example, he noticed a black dot on his belly button (a mark left behind after the cord detach), which I have carelessly missed. He also ensures that I check with the doctor various things which would not have crossed my mind at all, such as how to clear his nose and whether it would be safe to shave his head. (It is Chinese custom to shave a baby’s head on the baby’s full moon ceremony).

Well, even though Baby Bryan didn’t lament on the absence of his Daddy on those “first” occasions in his life, I am sure he wanted to hear the soothing voice of his Daddy after the doctor’s rough handling just as much as Mommy wanted to. I was really lost the first time when Bryan screamed in my arms after the doctor gave him his Hepatitis jab. I almost fainted but I garnered enough strength to console him. We really need him the most now that we are at our most vulnerable times, both emotionally and physically.

However, since it’s Father’s day in a few days time, I shall refrain from complaining too much about him not being around for Bryan and me during my confinement period. I am sure he wanted just as much to be there for us. After all, it’s HIS first time at being a father too. I understand that his responsibilities and his commitment to provide a roof over our heads and bread on the table have spread his time very thin. This weekend however, it’s going to be different. He has promised to spend the entire weekend with us, both to celebrate his first Father’s day and also Bryan’s full moon. He is taking Monday off too, just to distribute the full moon packages to our friends and relatives.

Daddy, if you happen to read this, Bryan and I would like to send you our hugs and kisses to thank you for trying so hard to be a good Hubby and Daddy. We love you, Daddy.