A Face Only a Mother Could Love

This weekend at work I had occasion to take care of a baby who was, well, a little homely.

For those of you who are new to my blog, I am a Registered Nurse and work in the Newborn Nursery. And, I love getting to care for all the cute, squishy-fat babies that roll through our doors. And we get a lot of kiddos! I love their smooth skin, fat feet, and most of all I love chubby cheeks. This particular baby, however, had none of those "cute" features. Which was OK by me. My co-workers always tease me about cuddling & nuzzling all the babies, including the "ugly" ones. But how can you not find something sweet about a newborn?

I picked him up in the Labor Unit when he was born Friday night and took care of him pretty much all weekend. The poor thing had dry, peely skin and was kind of scrawny. His little eyelids were darker than the rest of his face so he looked like a baby raccoon. He did have pretty hair, though--lots of dark curls. I was happy to see that as the weekend wore on, his dry skin sloughed off a little more with each bath. And he started to look more like a sweet baby than a ball of Play-doh that had just been pushed through a pasta maker! Oh, and it also boosted my opinion of him that he finally learned how to suck a bottle mid-way through Saturday night's shift. It's kinda hard to feel all googly about a baby when you're frustrated to no end because the kid won't eat and/or spews barely digested formula all over you! As if the stuff didn't stink bad enough the first time!

Thankfully, though, by the time I left Monday morning I could truthfully say that he was a cutie pie. Now the dark eyelids just make him look like a cuddly panda bear instead of a raccoon. His belly is a little more round than when he started out and that dry skin is...you guessed it...soft as a baby's bottom. I'm always amazed at how these babies grow on me, and they're not even mine! Especially when they have a face only a mother, or a sappy baby nurse, could love.