#neonates

[the-random-hamlet]

[kohiandie]

little guy is fighting — for his life & me, every time i try to feed him but we’re taking it an hour at a time.

neonates are so hard but each one of these little babies deserves the best shot & to know love

[omarsaadibrahim]

Today in my work, I noticed this cute baby which was careless about the disease, the doctors and the whole Neonatal ICU, and was living his beautiful dreams❤️

[ask-a-vetblr]

so my cat is pretty close to giving birth and it's her first litter is there anything i should to make it easier or comfier for her and the babies?

i made her a little den with an empty lidded litter box + an old blanket (i'm hoping that will redirect her from attempting to give birth under my blanket on my bed) i also took the little swinging door off of it so it's less scary and easier to get in and out of.

but is there anything else i can do for her?

gettingvetted here.

Give her her own room and make sure it is well heated using a space heater. Generally 85 degrees for the first week, 80 for the second week, 75 for the third, and whatever temperature you keep your house after that. Otherwise, sounds like you’re doing well. Make sure to weigh the kittens daily and if one loses weight or does not gain weight for two days in a row, you know it’s time to intervene.

[mdrambles]

A peds resident's "NEW BABY (yay!): HERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU[R PATIENTS] PROBS WEREN'T WARNED ABOUT", a starter pack for non-peds medblrs

✨Babies are jerks! ✨

(DISCLAIMER: THIS POST IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE NOR SUBSTITUTE FOR A MEDICAL ASSESSMENT OR ADVICE FROM A LICENSED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.)

Some tips that may be helpful for non-peds medblrs that see kiddos sometimes and dunno what to say to parents about their precious little beans that are being jerkfaces. Thank you all for taking such good care of our babs!! Hopefully something in here makes your job a bit easier (or funnier...?). Always open to suggestions/edits/additions! ╰(*°▽°*)╯

Newborns like to just occasionally pause breathing and then do this weird 💩 called "periodic breathing" (NOTE: I include this only because the samples of the actual baby's breathing are very helpful to see; I don't necessarily endorse this channel or anything else said in this video and am not affiliated in any way) which just looks scary and ridiculous because their little immature brains haven't figured out that they're supposed to, y'know, keep breathing. It's just normal--until it's NOT?! Pro tip: These breathing pauses are normal UP TO 10 seconds MAX. Anything longer and anything repetitive (i.e. multiple episodes in a row of weird pauses like this) are concerning, especially if accompanied by: persistently fast breathing, subcostal indrawing, head bobbing (+/- tracheal tug since most neonates also have barely any neck so it's super hard to see for them), abdominal muscle use and/or paradoxical breathing, or cyanosis.

💩! Many parents are freaking out because their baby's poop changes colour. As a pediatrician, I give 0 💩s about what colour the baby's 💩 is UNLESS it is ⬛black, 🟥red, or ⬜white (clay-coloured). So, YES, 🟩green 💩 is actually FINE, and is usually a reflection of mom's diet (in breastfed infants), variations in a baby's gut flora, and sometimes inflammatory processes if your baby's fighting something off (e.g. a virus). So I would not be worried if your baby's 💩 is 🟩green unless their tummy is distended, they're also vomiting like there's a prize for it and/or they're dehydrated, they're losing weight, or they look unwell.

Speaking of 💩: it is NORMAL for a baby to poop more than once a day, sometimes more than 3 times a day, and sometimes once every 3 days. As long as your baby is growing and gaining weight well, their little tummies are soft and comfy, and their poops do NOT look like anything described in #2 (LOL), they are okay! Baby poop should generally look like seedy mustard, but can sometimes become sort of pasty like smooth peanut butter as they get older and start eating more solids. Anything that looks like a pebble in your baby's diaper is strange and warrants a visit to your baby's doctor, but is usually very easy to treat.

Okay, I think this is the last 💩 thing: You know how I said babies haven't yet figured out the art of breathing all the time? Some of them haven't figured out the coordination of pushing a poop out and relaxing their anal sphincters (poop outlet valve) yet, either. So they are pushing this poop with their tummies really hard while also squeezing the exit shut as hard as they can, which is, like, really uncomfortable. As long as your baby is growing well, has a nice soft, non-tender belly, feeds well, and looks totally normal and fine after they finally get the poop out, they are exhibiting a condition called "dyschezia" (basically doctor-speak for "baby-guts-and-anuses-haven't-learned-to-get-along-yet" syndrome). It is benign and will go away on its own as your baby grows up and its guts and anus reconcile and learn to get along. What can you do? Gently push your baby's bent knees up to their chest in a rocking motion (kind of like you're gently stamping the imprint of your baby's chubby thighs on their chubby tums), or gently alternate bending each knee toward their chest in a "bicycling" motion (as if you're using the arm part of the mountain-climber workout machine thingy at the gym). YOUR BABY WILL PROBABLY FART A LOT WHILE YOU DO THIS--THIS MEANS IT'S WORKING. THEY WILL PROBABLY LET OUT SOME SHARTS TOO--THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN. This is a team-building exercise between you, your baby's guts, and your baby's anus. Farting and pooping are evidence of progress.

You do NOT need to give your baby a bath every day; in fact, you shouldn't, since it can dry out your baby's skin. A bath every couple of days is sufficient (or after big poo-namis or vomit-ruptions), and you can moisturize baby's skin with any unscented baby lotion or just plain petroleum jelly (I do find greasy beans super cute but they are also a little slippery...).

MOST BABIES SPIT UP. Spitting up is technically physiologic because like their brains and literally everything else about them, the lower esophageal sphincter (read: their backflow-prevention valve at the bottom of their food intake tube that connects to the stomach) is underdeveloped. It's a newbie traffic officer in the first stretch of its job and it really doesn't know what it's doing yet, hence it will often let foodstuffs do a U-turn on what's supposed to be a one-way street... After about 4 months or so on the job, usually it gets its 💩 together and figures its life out. Who needs to be seen in the ER? Babies that have frequent LARGE volume spit-ups (e.g. >50% of their usual feed volume); have BILIOUS (🟩green) or BLOODY (🟥red/reddish brown🟫) vomit; whose vomit can literally be used as a cannon to hit unsuspecting visitors in the face from 3 feet away (i.e. projectile); who vomit so much that they can't actually keep down a feed; or who are vomiting so much they are dehydrated (i.e. less than 4 wet diapers in a 24 hour period). Who should see their baby's doctor? Babies who spit up frequently even after 4 months of age; babies who are not gaining weight or who are losing weight; babies who have other weird red flag symptoms; and babies who are very uncomfortable and mad when they spit up so they look like they're being inhabited by demons when they do.

Babies do a bunch of weird movement things that are totally normal. If it looks like this, it is something called the moro reflex that is a normal newborn response to sudden loud noises or sudden shifts in your baby's position (you may see your baby's doctor do a bunch of weird stuff to make your baby do this on purpose--don't worry, none of these maneuvers will hurt your baby). If they're doing OTHER weird movements, it's worth it to touch bases with your baby's doctor to make sure things are okay.

If your newborn (1 month old or less) has a fever, GO TO THE ER RIGHT AWAY. Do not pass "GO", do not collect $200, GO STRAIGHT TO THE ER. Babies between 1 to 3 months of age can also be at risk of serious infections and should see a doctor ASAP if they have a fever. Babies older than 3 months usually do not need to see a doctor within the first 24 hours of fever UNLESS you are concerned that your baby looks unwell or has other symptoms that freak you out, but WHEN IN DOUBT, HEAD ON OUT (to go to the ER).

BOTTOM LINE: If you're worried about your baby, I promise I am very, very happy to check them out in the ER. (I will not think any less of you!! New babies are stressful! And I love them 😍)

Congratulations! Enjoy your new little jerk bundle of joy ♥

[drferox]

Fostering onto mother dogs

Anonymous said to ask-drferox: Do you ever have pet owners who volunteer their dog that just gave birth to feed puppies who themselves have lost a mother? Its seems like its not that uncommon in my country. My teacher did that with her small podengo who had given birth and someone with spaniels puppies whose mom just had died drove to the vet my teacher was at so the puppies can have a drink.

If a clinic works with enough breeders, it can and will happen. Raising a newborn puppy or kitten is a lot of work, and it’s probably better for that neonate’s psychology to be raised by the right species instead of by hand, so when it’s possible they get fostered onto a receptive mother.

Many breeders experienced are happy to add one or two more pups to their dog’s litter, and being a different breed is generally no problem as it’s easy to tell who belongs to who. I wouldn’t expect backyard breeders or accidental litters to do it though.

Cat rescues also do it all the time. There are frequently very young (under 2 weeks old, sometimes under three days old) kittens that show up, and the extremely young ones do much better on a receptive mother than the bottle. If they’ve got a nursing queen, they’ll almost always try to foster them on.

You just have to know the right people.

[er-cryptid]

Fontanelles

-- found on the heads of neonates

-- allow the head to be molded

-- eases passage through the birth canal

-- defined as the area or space between the bones of the skull

-- this space eventually closes

-- posterior fontanelle usually fuses by 3 months of age

-- anterior fontanelle fuses between 9 and 18 months of age

-- fontanelle depression = likely dehydrated

-- bulging fontanelle = increased intracranial pressure

-- fontanelles close to form sutures

.

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[the-bloody-masquerade]