Details you might want to share with child care providers
Categories: Babies, Safety, Development
When I work at a local drop-in nursery during the winter months, I am always amazed at what the parents don't tell us when they drop off their kids. Sure, we always inquire about any dietary needs or allergies, but that covers a fairly limited territory when it comes to comprehensive care.
The other day I went to change a five month-old baby and found quite a surprise lurking in his pants. When I loosened his diaper, I came face to ace with what appeared to be man sized testicles. To say it was shocking would be an understatement. After a moment of breathless horror that maybe something was seriously wrong and we needed to call 9-1-1, I summoned one of my fellow workers over to the changing table. She too was speechless. We then showed our supervisor who informed us that she had seen his condition before.
Turns out the baby has hydrocele, condition that usually goes away but sometimes needs to be surgically repaired. Other than proper cleaning during changing time, it was not anything that we had to worry about as far the baby's routine was concerned. When the mother came at the end of the day she asked if we were surprised when changing her son, and apologizing that it had slipped her mind. We all had a good laugh, but it would have been nice to know before we had such a shock.
The other day I went to change a five month-old baby and found quite a surprise lurking in his pants. When I loosened his diaper, I came face to ace with what appeared to be man sized testicles. To say it was shocking would be an understatement. After a moment of breathless horror that maybe something was seriously wrong and we needed to call 9-1-1, I summoned one of my fellow workers over to the changing table. She too was speechless. We then showed our supervisor who informed us that she had seen his condition before.
Turns out the baby has hydrocele, condition that usually goes away but sometimes needs to be surgically repaired. Other than proper cleaning during changing time, it was not anything that we had to worry about as far the baby's routine was concerned. When the mother came at the end of the day she asked if we were surprised when changing her son, and apologizing that it had slipped her mind. We all had a good laugh, but it would have been nice to know before we had such a shock.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Anji 2-01-2007 @ 9:50AM
Oh my... I read this and burst out laughing. I'm going to hell for it, I know. I just can't imagine opening a baby's nappy and finding a huge set of torpedoes in there. *wanders off giggling to self*
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Amy 2-01-2007 @ 11:09AM
I babysat, one time, for a little boy (3 or 4 years old) who had cystic fibrosis. His mother told me all about what to do if her drunken ex-husband came to the apartment (it was then that I learned the word "inebriated"), but neglected to mention that her son had a serious, life-threatening, eventually-fatal disease.
While I was there he coughed and coughed and coughed, and I couldn't do anything to make him comfortable. Of course, I told Mom when she got home and she said, "Oh, yeah, he does that... He has cystic fibrosis." I was 12 at the time. It was pretty upsetting, not only to learn that this poor kid had a fatal disease, but that there *had* been things I could've done to make him comfortable, and she hadn't shown me how or told me what to do.
Other parents thought I was crazy, I'm sure, when I would make sure their kids didn't have any diseases before they left for the night, but after that, I didn't take anything for granted.
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SKL 2-01-2007 @ 7:45PM
I had a similar experience when I was 17. The parents had gone to the bar for the evening. The babies were in bed and I was told it was better to leave them alone if they woke and started crying. Well, the 1-year-old woke and started crying, and after a while I noticed it was some pretty weird crying. I went upstairs and found the child gasping loudly for breath. I had no idea what to think - was this serious or not - if I called an ambulance, they would have to pay and I would probably get in trouble - but if I didn't . . . . Finally I called my mom and she suggested I boil some water and make the baby breathe the steam. This worked wonders and soon the baby was sleeping peacefully. When the parents came home I told them what had happened, and they nonchalantly said, oh yeah, he has whooping cough.
HelLO, if you kid has whooping cough, what are you doing leaving him with a 17-year-old who has no idea he's sick? Low-lives . . . .
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