Emergencies, Injuries, and First Aid

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R: Welcome back to the podcast. Today we have Dr. Nkeiruka Orajiaka, who is a board certified pediatrician, pediatric ER doctor, public health physician, wife and mom of three, fellow mom of three. I love that. Dr. Orajiaka completed her master's in public health at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, and residency at Columbia University. Affiliation at Harlem Hospital. She currently practices as an Pediatrics ER fellow in one of the largest emergency rooms in the US and is a passionate health educator and strong advocate for children's health and safety. And I was first introduced to you on Instagram as I meet most people that I really just love and admire and I think you're doing such important work. So thank you so much for coming on the podcast today.
D: I'm very happy to be here with you too. You are doing an amazing, I love your community, the way you're building a community, talking about sleep, it's been amazing. So I love you on the podcast with you.

R: Thank you. And so today we're gonna talk a lot about, you know, some kind of scary topics because you do see kind of the scarier side of pediatric health being an ER physician, right? And is that something that you knew that you wanted to do right from the time that you were in medical school or did you kind of fall into doing ER work?
D: So that's interesting. I actually finished medical school wanting to be an OB /GYN, kind of take care of the mothers. And when I rotated through pediatrics, I was like, no, I love the kids. I fell in love with pediatrics in the emergency room, like it's like always chaos, it's like hussle and bustle. But then I still get to have like, conversation with families that have like kids who are well, but they're really like concerned just have that conversation. So I think having the variety of like sick kids and families that I can still like reassure having like regular conversation, that was what drew me to pediatrics in the ER. And then that's been doing us in sense.
R: I love that. And how old are your own kids?
D: So I have a 16, 14 and seven year old.

R: Oh my gosh. gosh So you're out of the thick of like the baby and toddler stage But I know they say what do they say like big kids big problems little kids little problems. Do you find that to be true or do you feel like it's gotten easier if they get older?
D: No, it's completely true. Like Every stage has its own challenges. So like initially saying I can't wait for you guys to grow up on I'm like, oh, yeah Did I really say that? It's every stage has its own problem. I mean it's interesting. It's fun and different things to learn, but it's like, it just never ends. It's always entertaining.
R: Right, right. And well, especially with three, there's just, I mean, there's always so much going on, right?
D: Yeah, yeah, different personalities, different like concerns, like this was just about about one thing. The other one is like, oh, really? I don't care what you mean. So it's...
R: Oh my gosh. So have you ever had any, have you ever had to have your own kids in your... ER? Like has there ever been anything that's happened in your own family?
I better knock on wood. - No, excitedly, no. I've only had one burst out their lip, but they really need to go to the ER. I had to remind myself, okay, they're just, then you have to control the bleeding 'cause once yours gets hurt, like your whole like medicine goes out the window. It's not like mom version trying to console them. And I think the most I've had is one of them going to get like a cotric. repair in an urgent care, but not necessarily the ER. So knock on wood and string good.
R: Knock on wood. Oh, good. So as a mom then, because of course you're a doctor, but you're also a mom. So as a mom, what are the things that you would be looking for? Let's just talk about little kids first. What would be some things that you'd be concerned about with a little one? Because I know a lot of parents wonder, like, am I being overly dramatic? Do we really need to go to the ER or...? Or, you know, can we just treat this at home? So what do you what advice do you give to parents who are really concerned that that they might miss some important symptoms or something?
D: Yeah, I think it's a good question. But then it's also variable versus like illness or like injuries. So it just kind of depends on what it is. But I think one thing I always tell families is one, your maternal instincts is always right, right? There's always something you're concerned about. So if it's something that's going to bother you and you cannot sleep at night, you can get it seen. You can either call like the nurse line, go to an urgent care or to an ER depending on the time because that one thing is, oh, regardless of what I tell you, you're probably not going to sleep tonight. So you want to go get it checked out. Like I've seen kids, I've seen families with such minor things that has nothing to be done. And we just want to discuss IT which is fine. But I think other things to consider will be, is this something that you can sleep? They can sleep. And then you talk with your doctor in the morning. Because like things like like ear infections, they might be in pain, but you can control their pain and then get seen in the morning. Things like fevers, I know a lot of us families, once we see the number on the thermometer, like we are like red flags, I'm going into the ER and you say, okay, let's pause. let's not take a look at the thermometer. Let's take a look at them.
What do they look like? What do they look like after the fever medicine you've given? If they're okay, able to sleep, it's okay to actually sleep and get seen in the morning and not just go to the ER, have like the long wait times, and then they send you back home. But of course, if your child is like fever, they're not responding to medication, just kind of laying there, not like they're acting usual baby child that you know of course you need to get them seen or maybe they're vomiting excessively cannot keep hydrated because kids can get like dehydrated pretty fast also want to get them seen to what's um especially because the night can go to they can sleep through the night and not be able to drink anything and the next morning they're dehydrated or cases of like they're not responding to you unconscious those are reasons why you want to get them seen.
R: Okay, that really helps. And then I know we're kind of in the RSV flu season too. So what would be some things that parents might look for in terms of respiratory or like breathing patterns that would be concerning?
D: Yeah, we are in the thick of it. So I always tell families, number one, when I like to see like every couple of, say every couple of months is just have a recording, a video of your child. child when they are well and nothing is wrong with them. Cause that comparison always helped when a child is trying to figure out, Oh, is this normal breathing versus not? Like a whole mind is not acting the way it's supposed to be acting. So everything else emotions are taking over it. You have a recording video of when they are well and active and nothing happening. So you can always have that comparison.
Of course, when it comes to like bronchiolitis in areas where multiple viruses beyond the fevers, Your kid may have a really congested nose and once because most babies can only breathe through their nose and not be a mouth like we can as adults, they don't have the extra backup. So once their nose is a clog, they start working harder to breathe to make more space for air to be able to get in.
So when you're suctioning their nose, you're noticing their nose is moving in and out, to your nose, center of tracks, which means their belly is given in and out or like sucking in, you really need to get them seen because maybe they need suction and maybe they need some form of oxygen support. But other things, if you notice your baby usually drinks like maybe six ounces of bottle and it's going down to like one or not even able to take any, we're concerned about the hydration too.
So really want to get them like evaluated to see maybe they need IV fluids, a little bit of help or like persistent days of fever and that's not resolving. Yes, it may still be virus, but we're still getting concerned about pneumonia too because that gives you like high fevers, increased walk of breathing. So we need to take a listen to them and make sure they don't have an pneumonia or even do an x -ray. Just kind of look for extra stuff.
Rachael: Yeah. Oh, that's such a good point. I remember when my sister was a baby, she had pneumonia. She had to be hospitalized for like a month. Like that is not something that you want to mess around with. That can be really scary. So you can, um, okay. So that's really, really helpful. I tell parents all the time, taking videos is such a great idea. Like sometimes they'll ask me, Oh, is my child having a night terror? I can't really tell. Or, um, you know, they seem to be really restless in their sleep. I always say, like, just take a video because when you're describing it to your doctor, everybody paints a different picture in their mind of what that might look like,
right? So it's always helpful to have videos like that on hand.
D: Yes. Yes. And also when they come in for us to see them, once you walk into the room, the kid, I mean, especially with kids anxiety, they don't like you as an adult, like as an extra person. So they may start crying. And once they're crying, it's difficult for us to assess them. I usually tell families, Oh, do you have a video? And that's enough information for me to have a discussion with you and we can decide what to do. So videos are always so helpful for parents, but also for us as providers.
R: Okay, that's a really, really great tip. So what do you think are the most common injuries or the common accidents that you see happening in your ER that are totally preventable that parents could do something pretty simple at home to prevent these types of things from happening? Are there common ones that you see over and over again?
D: Yeah, I think the first thing to know as parents is that your child at some point in your life is meant to fall.
R: Oh my god, yes. And they're going to bonk their head a million times. Yeah.
D: Times you can just move this to there and they will go find that thing and bonk their head and it's okay. Your parents are supposed to experience that. What we're trying to prevent is the one that's going to cause serious harm, the ones you can prevent because not everything is 100 % preventable. And just kind of taking it towards the ages. I think one of the main ones that most kids do is fall off the bed, fall off the crib. Because babies, 'cause they like advanced mouse tools within a few weeks. So we might be assuming that, yeah, oh, they can not roll over and then your baby wakes up one day and rolls off the bed. Like, so we need to be a few steps ahead of them. So one, avoid placing them on high surfaces where it's not covered or where no one is around them within arm's length.
Because you may just say, let me turn around and grab like a diaper. No, they're gonna fall off.
R: Yep, yep.
D: They're gonna fall off so fast. And that's one, like, you know, I mean, when I have families coming, they always like that guilt. I'm like, no, I see this all the time. So I want you to always remember, act as if they're going to fall off until they don't. So anything that's going to happen, before you change your diaper, have everything you want and need before you put them on the changing table. Before you put them in a bath, have everything around you so you don't have to step out to grab anything 'cause drowning is another one with infant bath. You always assume they're comfortable, they don't move. No, they're gonna go in and get submerged in the water. So have everything ready to go before you do anything with that.
And then when it comes to the cribs, especially with you being the sleep specialist, as no, like, always... move their crib settings, drop the settings down ahead of time. I know when we have like different disabilities on there being able to bend over, but are you be surprised babies can go from like rolling to pulling up and then they're flipping out of the crib?
I usually tell families, families, you notice one sign of a roll, one sign of a roll, you want to drop the settings so they can't reach because I mean, they turn around and they're walking around and they're like, how did you start working so early? Every baby is different. Well, and some kids, some kids practice it in the,
Rachael: some kids even start practicing it in the crib. Like the parents don't even see it during the day, especially if the kids at daycare and they don't spend a lot of time with them during the day. And then, you know, it's a busy evening and they're just trying to get through the bedtime routine and stuff like that. And then they look at the monitor and they're like, Oh my God, like they can stand up, they can pull themselves to stand. So sometimes it's just like a huge surprise. I hear it all the time. And I also love that.
It's always that surprise that comes in an injury.
R: Yeah. And I love what you said about the changing table too. That was always one of my like mom anxieties, that they were going to roll off the changing table or roll off the dresser when we were changing their diaper. And like you said, like it just, it doesn't take much for them to be able to scoot off or to roll off. I used to even tell, I was kind of crazy. Like I would tell my in -laws if they were going to be watching my baby I would lie and say, "Oh yeah, he's rolling over." Just because I was like, I wanted them to be careful and I didn't want them to put him down on something high. So I would lie and be like, "Oh yeah, he can roll. So just make sure you really watch him."
D: Yeah, definitely. That's a needed lie. I started telling family, you see, change them on the floor. I mean, they cannot fall off the floor. They're already on the floor. So just kind of change them on the floor, or put them on the floor. like a cloth down and have them just gonna kick around and be on the floor, which is perfect.
R: Also just so important what you brought up about putting the baby on the bed. Like I know lots of parents in my community, co -sleep or bedshare and you know, all of that stuff and part of doing that as safely as possible as always being with the baby, right? And making sure that you're not gonna have them fall from a bed or get trapped between a bed and a wall or something like that. So I'm really glad you brought that up too 'cause I'm sure that those are really preventable. injuries that you've seen.
D: Yes. Yeah. And then kind of in the same line, like when you're with them in the living room, make sure everything is against the wall. Cause like, you know, couches, I mean, especially when they're towards the age of growing or moving around couches that have like space at the back, they're going to get up the, on top of the couch. And as long as there's a space behind, they are going to want to see what's behind that. So it's like either you're moving things towards the end of the wall, make sure furniture is anchored. That's another huge one because like as long as it can fall over, they're going to try to reach for it. It's another common injury we usually see.
R: I bet. Yeah, we're in California, so major earthquake zone. And so that was like one of the first things we had to do when we baby -proofed. And even just when we moved into our house was make sure all of the furniture was mounted to the wall because not only can they climb it and knock it over on themselves, but if there were an earthquake, God forbid it fall on them. So yeah, that's another really important one. And I also love that you brought up water safety. So are there any other things parents should be aware of as far as like, even if they don't have a pool, even if they don't have a big body of water by their house, you know, accidents can still happen in the home. So how would you suggest keeping kids safe from water or drowning injuries?
D: Yeah, I think for me, I always want families to assume the fact that babies can drown in any amount of water. 'Cause I think there's always this misconception that it has to be pools. The highest drowning in babies younger than one year of age is actually in the bathtub. 'Cause families put them in the bathtub and then just... kind of step out to go get the towel or maybe put them in the bathtub with another toddler or like a five -year -old or even a nine -year -old that I mean those ones are still babies they don't know what to do with that so they might just be playing on their own in the
water like an older kid and the other one is like struggling and that's one thing never to do if you're not ready to be there 100 % with them don't put them in the bath and I know it's hard because you want to multitask.
It's just like some things you don't want to multitask with because drowning. It's a lot of injury. It's a lot of guilt that comes with the injuries. And as much as we don't want to discuss that, I've seen a lot of things when it comes to that. And it's not like a guilt like family can actually like remove because it is either, I mean, I don't want to talk about the devastating things that it happens. But if you're not ready to put them in the bath, just wait to give it a moment. Wait for an additional adult to come back. They don't have to take a bath then. Then they can wait, they can live without being clean, but just go in when you're ready to be with that.
R: My daughter right now, she's one and she's starting to be very curious about the toilet. And so we're having to like put locks on the toilets because I've also heard that babies can like kind of try to climb in and then they fall in head first and let's like, I can't even imagine. So it's like things that you just don't even think about too. And even if you've had kids or babies before, like they're all so different, we've had to baby proof differently for all of our three kids, because they're just all like into different things, curious about different things.
Like my first was just, he just was like, an old man, like he was never curious about anything, like didn't really care that much to like get into trouble. He just wanted to like sit and read his books. But my middle daughter was a climber. And so we just discovered like this whole new world of things that we had to babyproof because she was climbing on everything.
And now my third puts everything in her mouth. So we're constantly having to like pick everything up off the floor and lock the toilets. And she's trying to throw things into the bathtub all the time. So we have to keep electronics away. It's just like, you think that you've done it the first time. And then every kid is different.
So also, just like, don't assume that just because you're on your second or third or fourth kid, that your house is already safety proof, because they will find that one thing that you haven't done.
D: It is such a great point. Such a great point. They're also different. And yeah, I completely agree with you. Like, you know, you mean, you never know. And again, it's like, times keep changing. Like, right, we get like different toys. I recently saw this toy that had like the water faucet that just constantly cycles and like I didn't even know existed back then which is another risk because then apparently it has like a layer that covers so they don't have access to the huge pool of water they have access to the faucet but the one that has seen like on tiktok have like the baby clean on the open water faucet and there's a danger of tipping over to fall into that so like things like water tables…. make sure that there's no water inside when you're not around them.
Things like, especially like a chest, especially in the summer, dress up drawers, a house in water, even a small, a small as a pet water bowl right? You want to make sure it's in a location that your crawlers can’t get… some babies. My daughter was so excited when I visited one of my friends. They had like a cat or like a dog, I can't remember cat or a dog or both. So she was always crawling towards the water. water. But I'm like, girl, okay, we don't have any pets. So I'm going to move you away.
R: There is something about those little bowls of water. My kids have all done that. They're all obsessed with the dog bowl.
D: All obsessed, yeah. So it's a lot of concentration when it comes to kids and dangers, but those are the little things you can actually just move around because there are always possibilities around that.
R: Yeah, such a good point. So, what do you think? about just those everyday things, those like bumps and bruises and cuts? Like what would you suggest to parents for kind of treating things like that at home? Like what would be some essential first aid skills or first aid tips that parents should know about?
D: Yeah, I think another thing I like parents to remember is head injuries happen a lot with kids. And most of the majority of the kids, they do well, they do well, they do great, right? So... So I always want families to know, okay, so the bump on your head, the sound of the bump is actually more scary compared to what the bump looks like. Because once you hear that, you're like, oh my gosh, my child is not going to make it.
R: oh my God, I hear that in my nightmares.
D: I should tell families, okay, the time happened. And once you scream, your child always will react, how do you react? But I mean, as a parent, you're definitely going to scream. You can't, that's how we, it's all fight OR flight, or what's the other one, fight.
Freeze, yeah. - It's okay to react, but just exactly. So just remember to calm down, to know they're going to respond the way you want to respond. And then think about it this way.
If your child just kind of moves along and continue to do what they're doing, it means they're going to be okay for the most part, right? It happen, they're back to playing, and just going to take your time to continue to observe them. Of course, if your baby who bumped your head moves along and then all of a sudden within the first 20 to 30 minutes, they stop responding, they just fall asleep immediately and they're not responding when you talk to them.
I would definitely get them checked out because there's something called like an interval where babies bumped their head, they're okay and then all of a sudden they're not. So we get worried about like completely just accumulating, accumulating, accumulates immediately. But any, they move along, comes along and comes to you, holds your head and just kind of moves along again. It means it bumped your head, it probably hurts, but they're trying to walk through it and be okay, right?
So that's something to consider. Of course, you want to watch for like vomiting, one episode of vomiting, it's not uncommon because when you bump your head, like even as an adult, we get a little shake in our head and brain and the body is trying to walk through it. So vomit once to give them some time to recover or let them maybe sleep it off.
I think one of the highest myths I want families to remember is it's okay for your child to sleep when they bump their head. Like it's one of those things a lot of people forget and they're trying to keep their child awake. No, head injuries. Once you bump your head, one, they are in pain. So their brain is trying to recover from all the mechanism happened.
So sometimes sleeping might be a way to get to recover. The sleeping, as long as you're able to wake up, when you call the name, I kind of go back. The one you should be concerned about is when your child is actively sleeping too much that you cannot wake them up, then that's what I will be concerned about.
R: Okay, so more of the lethargy and non -responsibility. -responsiveness and just way too sleepy, that would be more of a concern. Okay, that's really good to know because I think that is a huge misconception. Yeah.
D: It is a huge misconception because what happens is that if you're trying to keep them awake or keep waking them up multiple times, then the brain is not recovered, they're exhausted, they have a headache and now you can't really figure out are they worse because they didn't sleep or are they worse from the head injury.
R: That makes sense. Is there a spot on the head that is more concerning than others? Because I've heard like, oh, if they just smack their forehead, they're usually fine. But it's the back of the head that you worry about. Or is that, is that another myth?
D: Yes. Yes. It's a thing. So the front of the head is one of the places that has more, just going to say more forgiveness. It gets, I mean, the swelling can look really bad. It gets like really swollen, takes a couple of days. Like the goose egg takes a couple of days to disappear. Cool compresses is fine. It may go through multiple colors to recover, but anything on the sides and in the back, especially when it's huge,
It doesn't necessarily mean it's bad, but we get more concerned because it's more likely to be bleeding into the brain and the back of the brain from those. So those who don't want to recommend to get it checked out.
R: Okay, that's really good to know. know. And then what about injuries that are not on the head? So maybe they bump their arm, bump their leg. How do you know when it's something that's worth taking them into the ER? Because sometimes a kid's temperament, they might, like my son, for example, he'll scream and cry about an injury, like a tiny little cut or a tiny little bump. He'll scream and cry forever. And it's like, we know his personality now, we know he's probably fine. Whereas my daughter will bond herself, get back up and keep going. And maybe she is actually really hurt. So, you know, they all have different pain tolerances and stuff too. So what are some things that you would want to look for if there were, like, you know, some type of injury that would need to be treated?
D: Yeah, that's a great comment because I've seen kids like different ones. I've had fractures for like days and they got me in because the child is so stoic. So I think a couple of things would be one of course if it's an injury that's bleeding profusely that you can’t stop the bleeding of course you want to get it checked out but if it's one you want to compress is able to stop bleeding does not look like an actual cut maybe just like a scrape, you can wash it out with some warm soap and water put a little bit of visual maybe a little bit of jelly aqua four and many honey on top of it and just kind of cover it.
So if you see one that looks like a cut, maybe like flesh sticking out, or maybe you're seeing like some of that looks like bone, I mean, it is always gross. You want to get that checked out to be able to decide if he needs anything to be done. And of course, if you're looking at it, so usually know that the arm is supposed to be straight, right? And you see something that looks bent. That's one you also want to get checked out because it may be cracked underneath. So these are like easier ones to see. So coming down to like different temperaments, if your child is different, bumps ahead based on the one that responds and the one that does not, you can try some pain medication first, right?
Because a lot of kids, something that has to do with pain and the air that they hurt themselves, pain medication can help resolve it. But if every time you touch, let's say you probably give it a couple of hours to maybe a day, depending on what it looks like. If you touch a location and your child jumps, significantly uncomfortable, you may want to get someone to check it out. Or maybe they're left -handed or right -handed and they're not wanting to use that arm or they're walking with the limp, you want to get it checked out.
Because if kids are injured, sometimes you might see them, sometimes you might not. But if their favorite one are meaning not wanting to use that location, it probably hurts and it's preventing them from using it the way they're supposed to. So we always recommend to get it checked out because it's not, I mean, I know they hurt it one time may not be serious, but maybe an expert can help us make sure there's no fractures underneath.
R: Okay, that makes a lot of sense. And so when we are talking about bringing our kids into the ER, or even just for doctors visits, are there things that you see parents doing, or maybe parents not doing to prepare their child for that visit? Because I know you mentioned before, lots of times you see kids that are really scared crying. What would you recommend like a parent do to kind of just prep for that visit or or how do how do they comfort their child while they're there?
D: Yeah, yeah. I think one of the main things to always remember is you can start with your regular doctor or your nurses hotline to make sure you need to come in because years I waste care than like the regular doctor's office. Cause another thing, especially now that it's super busy with the respiratory illnesses, we have a lot of families who wait for a long time to get seen, especially ER is not first come, first serve basis.
It’s the sicked patients get seen first. So you may have someone within five hours, yeah, something their regular doctor may have resolved.
But then if you're coming into the ER, one of the things I say is one, you can give your child pain medication. or fewer medication. If you think they're uncomfortable, it's not going to change how we're going to manage and we just want them to be comfortable while they wait. So whatever medication they take, of course, if they have other than the medication that chronic illnesses that they take, you want to bring it along or give it to them before they get it.
The other thing when it comes to like hydration, unless your child has a belly pain persistently vomiting, you can bring along whatever they like to eat or drink. And as the nurses in triage, people that get checked in, is it okay to continue feeding them? 'Cause the wait times can be long, kids they're hungry and cranky and just like hangry. So it's okay to continue making sure they're comfortable eating whatever they want. Yeah, some ears have like snacks, popsicles, juice, but it doesn't happen everywhere. We don't have everything. So you want to make sure you have enough of what they'd like to eat or drink. 'Cause it depends on how emergent it is. You may not have time to stop before you come over. So I think you're just going to consider that.
Other things you want to bring is bring like your favorite blankets, favorite books, iPad. When it comes to screen time, I do not have any control when it comes to that, please. I just want this kid to be happy and comfortable in an environment that's really scary. So bring anything you use to console them at home. You can bring it along in an ED just to make sure. they're comfortable.
And of course, some places have like child life, which are those that are professionals that can walk kids through things that we're doing, like the lines, the things that are very uncomfortable for them and anxious, anxiety -provoking just to get them calm enough. So anything you think that can make your child feel at home while they are in the ER that you can carry, please bring it along.
R: Perfect. Yeah, that's a really good idea. And I'm, oh my god, like, screen time, please put them on the iPad and just do your best. No judgment. No judgment.
D: Too stressful and ready for like, mother, no, once I know I do not have any.
R: And for some reason, it's always like, it feels like it's always the middle of the night too. Like the only time I've ever had to do an ER visit with one of my kids, it was like midnight, and we were both just exhausted. And I didn't bring anything because I was just panicked and Yeah, we waited for a very long time and he actually loved it because he got juice boxes, which we don't usually have at home. Yeah, so he was like he was fine just with the juice boxes and just like the people watching but Yeah, it can definitely be scary for younger kids.
D: It definitely can and if I'm just gonna throw one one thing out is Especially now I have a lot of families make like ER visits. One, all kids usually get sick in the middle of the night, like your, it's something about the security and rhythm, something about the stairs, they're going to get sick at night. Make sure you have like all the medications you need at home. Check now to make sure you're not running out of the touch of the acitenpetim, ibuprofen, the nasal suction, because it's going to happen in the middle of the night. And then you open up your bottle. You have not. Yeah. So. So just do your check now because I see that a lot. Make sure you keep it stocked because it will have keep it stocked it will happen at night almost all the time.
R: Yeah. Yeah. And wasn't there last year or maybe two years ago wasn't there like a huge shortage of a bunch of different kids medications like people couldn't get their hands on anything. So yeah, go through your cabinets and make sure you have stuff and I also always recommend keeping extra clothes, maybe extra medicines medicines too, but extra clothes in your car. Because that was another thing when we went to the ER that time. The poor thing was like, you know, it was a stomach issue. So we definitely needed new clothes and I didn't bring any.
So the poor thing had to wear like adult scrubs because that's all they had to give to the hospital. And it was just like adding insult to injury. It was so sad. So yeah, extra clothes would be one more thing I would recommend keeping. In you're like... like first aid, first aid kit. Yeah. So I know you have, I know you have so much more information on your YouTube channel, you have an ebook on first aid is that right? What else can people find over on your page? What are the things that you're really passionate about talking about on Instagram?
I'm going to link in the show notes, I'll link your handle and stuff so people can come find you. But what are the things you love sharing about and love talking about on your page?
D: Yeah. So generally, in addition to like first aid and like health related stuff, kids health stuff for like babies and safety, I mean, I was like, families to know that babies are going to be okay. So a lot of things I show in my story is the fact that I mean,
being a mom and working, I struggle with trying to combine both, right? I don't do a good job as you do. I'm not sure how you do it, Rachel. You're always in the story. I don't not know how you do that. It is awesome
R:. It's impossible. I'm like always on the verge of a mental breakdown. It's not healthy. I don't recommend
D: great. I know it's great. I'm really I'm like, I love what she does. But I know that if I function this way, I'm just gonna break down. So it's like being able to show mom, listen, we are all doing great job, right? It's just what we can do. I showed that in my stories. Actually, I'm working on the new bond book because I have a couple, like new bonds are one of the it's an age group. I don't like to see in the ER because one,
they don't even have immunity yet. So, but I still have families who come in with all the questions that we should know that we should teach families from like pregnancy and delivery room, but there's just a whole lot to teach to like a small book where they can get all that information.
Oh, you're seeing this in your baby, you're gonna flip through, see what it is, see what you should be worried about, how long it should last. And then you can also document things like feeding schedule, diaper schedule, growth, and so many things like that.
R: Oh, I love that idea.
D: Yeah, so that's a book that I'm working on now. I'm hoping maybe beginning of next year should be all done and should it was almost done and then have like something pushed back. But it's like, based on what I'm seeing, it's like, it's just a binder. And then you can also put like pictures and stuff at the end of just like a more comprehensive thing for like, this is for your baby. And it's like, you can be forgets and but it's so like comprehensive and easy to read. I like things that are very visual and easy to read.
R: Well, especially for newborn parents who are like functioning on zero sleep,they don't need like a huge book to read. They need just like quick, easy information.
D: That's what it is. Yes. Yes.
R: That's perfect. Well, thank you so much. The last question that I have for you because you are a mom and you've been a mom for a while now, what is one thing that you wish you had known about before becoming a mom? Or what's something that you feel like nobody really talks about before becoming a parent that you wish you had known? Or you wish someone told you?
D: Yeah, I think one of it is actually two. One is to always ask and ask, especially when it comes to to our doctor. I mean, it took me a while, especially I became a mom before I like became a pediatrician and that it's okay to ask like the million questions to my provider, my doctor, I feel like it's always about us trying to figure out,
or maybe they're going to say that I'm asking a lot. Like now I work in and tell the family, look, I don't want you to come back here again to ask people the questions. Keep asking me. I want you to be comfortable before you go.
Because I want us always to be comfortable. that no question is silly when it comes to our families, we may have heard the question before, let me explain again in ways you can understand, so we took it to ask multiple times.
So I think the second one is, I wish someone told me that it's going to be okay, because I feel like especially when we are seeing our little ones growing, we are worried about everything that's going to happen or everything that happened, which is like normal. One of them has a fever, half the other thing. We're not worried for every single thing that happens as they grow. And sometimes you kind of lose and joy the moment with them, right?
So I want to remember babies, they have a lot more, um, tenacity resilience in them than adults. So even when you're baby, like, especially now that everybody's like, um, over one with like RSV, bronchiolitis and illnesses, I have a lot of babies that admit them. They have need oxygen, they need your support. But I see them in like three days bouncing off the wall, right? They're always a lot of them do okay. So who is want to remember that?
They get sick, they get injured, but most of them do okay. So I wanted to, I wanted someone told me that especially then slow down and enjoy the moments with them.
Enjoy that like craziness, do the most you can when it comes to safety. They're gonna find another one to jump off …let's not hold them down because they need that time to be curious and explore as long as you have the most you can do in terms of like baby proofing safety proofing let's let them be kids just let them be kids and let them be out of every state like I just I just wish I could remember my first who's 16 now let me just leave and be crazy at two or three. Let me enjoy that moment. So let's not lose that time and enjoy the moment with them.
R: I love that. That's such good advice. Yeah, 'cause we can only control so much, right? And they do need to be kids at the end of the day. We can't wrap them up in bubble wrap. Well, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. Where can people find you and all of your amazing resources online?
D: Yeah, so I am on a couple of social media. Yeah, active one, I'm not going crazy out. at work and it's I'm on Instagram I'm on tiktok. I'm also on YouTube and my Instagram and tiktok about the same which is doctor underscore and or a ji aka and then my YouTube is doctor in Kirikawa Rajaka and that's what you can find me I also have a website
R: Okay. Well, thank you so much and have a wonderful rest of your day
D: You too, Rachel.

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