I don't wanna go!!!!!!!!! My vent. Hear me roar.

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So blah. I do my first OB clinical tomorrow. I'm terrified of babies. And they're gonna make me hold one! I'm soooooooo not a kids person. They're wiggly little critters. Can I go on strike?

Specializes in OBGYN, Neonatal.

They are really not too bad. I did not have children when I went through that rotation but I was excited to learn plus these patients have some advantages...

- they don't expect you to make conversation

- they don't care if you say something silly

- they won't hurt your back (most of the time)

- MUCH easier to clean their hineys than adults LOL! (and puke, etc. etc.)

That rotation was fun! I have a son now so I'm sure some of what I learned helped. I'm going to be starting a job in a level 3 NICU in September!

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Specializes in Neuro.

Before my peds clinical this quarter, I had never held a baby. I was an only child, none of my friends have babies, I have no young cousins, no nieces or nephews. No exposure to babies whatsoever.

So of course I was wigged out when A) my first patient was an 8 month old, and B) because not much was going on with my patient, my instructor asked me to keep an eye on the 2 month old across the hall because no one was in the room with her. Despite the fact that she cried most of the time I held her, it wasn't THAT bad.

Last week was my last time with babies for peds, and I was down in the ER. They brought a 2 month old in from another hospital and the parents were following the ambulance, so they would be a little while. The nurse asked if I could hold her until the parents came. She was cute and snuggly, and holding her was kind of fun. Until I looked down and noticed she had ripped out her IV and was bleeding all over both of us.

SO... while I managed to survive (barely) 2 baby-holding experiences without anyone getting dropped, I still think kids are weird creatures and I have no desire to work with them in any big capacity for several years.

Hopefully in OB the babies will be healthy and IV-less so maybe I won't get bled on anymore. :uhoh21:

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Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.

It's funny how different people are.

Here I'm itching to get into peds (though the peds floor where I go isn't impressive) and wouldn't mind OB at all....in fact would prefer OB over any med surg floor.

I hate these other rotations. I want babies, children or pregnant women...my order of preference.

I do find I don't hate most of the big people like I thought I would but I could never make a career out of it.

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Specializes in LTC.

we had a 4 week OB rotation and in our rotation we had more to do with the post-partum moms than the babies. We did assesments on the babies or watched the baby when mom showered but really stuck more to fundus checks, b/p's and assessments on mom. We also had to attend a breast feeding class and each got to attend a birth. So don't be afraid of the babies they'll be great, newborns are quiet and sleepy, it is the moms that scared me!

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I still think kids are weird creatures and I have no desire to work with them in any big capacity for several years.

The above gave me quite a chuckle, LOL. Good luck with your rotation, and PLEASE let us know your impressions after you're done.

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I feel your pain, I am terrified to hold new borns!!! I have tons of nieces and nephews and i dont touch them until they can hold their head up. When i held my niece i had to sit there and freeze and not move because i was so afraid. I'm ok once they can hold their heads a little bit. But come this fall i gotta somehow suck it up and get used to it, i hope i can because i would hate to do this well and fail because i am afraid to hold a baby

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Specializes in LTC/Skilled Care/Rehab.

Holding little babies is scary. I was terrified to hold my DD for the first time. I thought I would drop her. I realized that newborns don't really move at all. I can't wait for my OB and Peds rotation. I would love to work with babies, children or pregnant women one day. Good luck!

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Specializes in LTC.
It's funny how different people are.

Here I'm itching to get into peds (though the peds floor where I go isn't impressive) and wouldn't mind OB at all....in fact would prefer OB over any med surg floor.

:yeahthat: I was terrified the night before my 1st day in OB.. I couldn't sleep at all...but after one day I liked it so much, I would love to work with babies and pregnant women. I don't particularly like working with "big" people either!

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if anyone else wants to skip out on their OB rotation i will gladly disguise myself as you and take your place!

i have baby fever....

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haha, this is a fun thread to read. don't worry about dropping the baby - they aren't all oily and slick, so maintaining grip is no prob. also, as mentioned by previous post, the don't really move much - especially when their swaddled (they just plain can't!). except for the necessity to hold the head (to keep cervical spine safe), it's kinda like holding a football; uh, without fumbling!

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Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.

They're going to let you hold the babies? During our peds rotation the nurses wouldn't so much as let us breathe on them.

I'm not fond of children either. Babies are nice because..

1) Lifting them is easy

2) They can't talk and therefore won't bug you with incessant demands

3) They smell better than most grown-ups

4) They'll probably just sleep the whole time

But I think everyone already mentioned all that.

You might find you like it very much. Even though I'm not into kids, I really enjoyed my OB/Pedi clinicals most of all. The pregnant Moms were my favorite because, for the most part, it's a happy experience, they're healthy and just glowing from all those prenatal vitamins. Most of them are well-informed and active participants in their health care. It's a breath of fresh air compared to lots of other stuff I've seen.

Enjoy!

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Specializes in Neuro.

OMG, this post is just too funny!!! :lol2: Yes, they are "itty bitty creatures" who then grow up to be big, even weirder creatures. The creature part never goes away. Especially true for teenagers!!! With that said, though, I grew up not wanting kids. I never babysat, nor had younger siblings, so I never got to experience what babies were about. Fast forward to age 25, when I had my first son. THAT ALL CHANGED!!! So much so that I had 3 more in a little over 4 years. Needless to say, I had 4 in 5 years and would have LOVED even more. BUT, my husband is one of 18 kids, and we were heading in the same direction, so I put a stop to that real fast!!! LOL!!

Anyway, babies will not break, they are snuggly and cuddly, and totally dependent on you. Oh, and all they do is eat, sleep and poop ALOT!!! So they are much easier than dealing with a crabby old man!!! But, you will be amazed with the love you can give to them, even if for only a couple of hours. They are very contagious (not disease-wise, but due to the fact that once you hold one or care for one, you don't want to put him/her down.) Enjoy your rotation. Who knows, one day in the future, we may see you on here posting that you are going into pedi's or NICU!!!

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