It’s true. You didn’t read that wrong. Last night I discovered how to dress a plastic baby.
Picture the scene. A warm, sunny spring evening. A group of Red Cross volunteers descend on their local centre for their regular Wednesday meeting. But this isn’t any normal Red Cross meeting – this week they got to clean Annies.
“What’s an Annie?” I hear you say. Well, they’re every first aid trainer’s plastic friends, resuscitation manikins designed to help people learn how to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, or CPR for short.
After every course – and we had one I was training on last Sunday – we have to clean their lungs, ready for the next willing course participants. This week was a special cleaning occasion as we decided to strip and clean all the Annie’s inside-out.
I was faced with dressing a baby – albeit a plastic one – for the first time. I won’t lie. It was a daunting prospect. However, I’m happy to report I completed my mission successfully.
This did get me thinking. While I’m not that confident at how to dress a baby, I am confident on how to resuscitate them. This gave me an interesting perspective, that of a newborn parent faced with doing the unknown for the first time.
So, I’m now prepared for any future newborn. Would you know how to resuscitate a child? If not, come and find out on one of our first aid courses.
And if there’s anything else your unsure of (first-aid wise), do ask – that’s what I’m here for.
I know the baby albeit a plastic one was in the safest of caring hands.
I know the baby albeit a plastic one was in the safest of caring hands.
in my experience once you get a real baby you’ll find that the minute you put on clean clothes they’re programmed to be sick on them and need changed again and again and again … !
in my experience once you get a real baby you’ll find that the minute you put on clean clothes they’re programmed to be sick on them and need changed again and again and again … !
Chris: thanks for the tip. I guess practice will make perfect, when the time comes!
Chris: thanks for the tip. I guess practice will make perfect, when the time comes!
Well the Baby Anne is easier in my experience, lies still and only the velcro bits. Harder if you’ve washed the outfit (too tend to get grubby from all those fingers and being put down).
Well the Baby Anne is easier in my experience, lies still and only the velcro bits. Harder if you’ve washed the outfit (too tend to get grubby from all those fingers and being put down).
A very funny and witty article! But I still think that it's totally different dressing a real baby and a real mannequin.