Welcome SITS Sistas!

Welcome SITS sistas'!

So happy to be the featured blog today and thrilled to make your acquaintance!

Come on in, the door is open (ooh, don't mind the dog, she jumps but just might lick your face)

On second thought, maybe we'll just sit on the front porch because the house is always a mess, and we can watch the neighborhood kids run in the sprinkler while we have coffee and brownies. They're always a little underdone at our house, just so ya' know.

Then we'll tell funny stories about our week and laugh loud enough to wake the baby.

I won't tell anyone if you laugh and coffee shoots out your nose, I promise!

We have a little bit of everything here. Some bullriding, some stories about people who just can't stop apologizing (Parts 1-3, no less!), and of course you can't forget our 2 monkeys at work.

Usually when I'm with friends and family the conversation eventually comes around to something like this: "Missy, tell your social work story about...." (Fill in the blank with any number of stories that fit into the category of you-can't-make-this-stuff-up)

Now I don't make fun of the sad stuff, the clinical stuff, or the HIPPA-controlled stuff. But that still leaves plenty, let me assure you! So maybe my new SITS sistas' would like to hear one?

Okay, so it was my last semester of my masters program, and I was doing an unpaid internship required for graduation... As in, 40 hours per week unpaid. As in, thank goodness for generous parents so I can eat unpaid! But I snagged the coveted internship slot as a medical social worker on the maternity & NICU floors at a large hospital in Austin, TX and I was over the moon.

One of my duties included routine visits to any new mothers that were under age 18, to determine if there were any resources that we could provide for them to make their transition home a little easier, and to assess their mental state. It was just a superficial assessment to look for obvious issues, because as well all know, you don't really fall apart post-partum until you come home and have to be ALONE with the baby! So terrifying! But I digress...

So one particular girl that had just given birth was only 14 years old. Healthy baby, healthy mom. She had a large, loving and supportive family who were always by her side. I kept popping into her room to see if I could catch her without all 20 relatives and giggly 8th grade friends (yep, I said 8th grade, you heard me right). I was really happy one late afternoon when I stopped in and found her alone with her newborn. Immediately when I walked in I noticed that there was something unusual in the baby's bassinet. Upon closer inspection it appeared to be a half-unwrapped Taco Bell burrito. I'm thinking "Ooookay, not so ideal to have adult food 2 inches from a newborn, but just let it ride for a minute because someone probably just placed it there accidentally and forgot it."

You don't see where this is going, do you? I couldn't either.

We discuss her support system, how it feels to have this new responsibility (those darn social workers, always obsessed with feeeeelings!), and her first diaper changing experience. Then it just goes quickly downhill.
Me: So how is he eating? (totally NOT connecting the burrito into the question)
Young'un: Yeah, it's kinda weird. He won't eat at all.
Me: Well don't worry, it takes a while for babies to establish eating patterns and I'm sure the nurses have discussed your options for breastfeeding and formula, right? But we can get them back in here if you're worried.
Young'un: Maybe, but I mean, I just laid the food there and he just won't eat. I even walked away and left him and he STILL won't eat!
Me: Huh? (ultra-intelligent response, as I'm still not getting it) So you're laying the bottle down for him and he won't take it like that? The doctors recommend that you don't feed them laying down yet, so you could try holding him to give the bottle.
Young'un: No! (meaning DUH! Why is this old-lady 23 yr old so dumb?) I left the burrito there for him and then walked away. Because you know, with my hamsters, sometimes they don't always eat when you're watching them so you have to like, give them space and see if they want it then.

Oh no she DIDN'T!

Homegirl was going to feed a 1 day old baby a burrito.

Needless to say, appropriate services were put in place and I couldn't sleep for weeks worrying about this teenager and her baby. Seriously folks, you can't make this stuff up!

More stories from a disgruntled social worker coming soon...