I see lots of interesting things happen in my office, but today was quite unusual.

Parents of newborns often ask me how to cut their baby's fingernails. My usual answer is "I don't know, my wife always did that." She wouldn't let me NEAR the baby with any sharp instruments.

There's a good reason for this, as I found out today. You have to be REALLY careful. Now I've had a number of moms admit that they nicked baby's little finger slightly while trying to cut the nails, and maybe it bleeds a little, and mom feels a bit guilty. But they all get over it pretty quick. Cheryl's done this once or twice.

But I think the mom I saw today is gonna feel guilty for months or years to come. She REALLY took a good slice out of her baby's finger. I mean, I was ready to get out the suture kit. It was practically squirting blood all over the room (like on ER). Well, not really. But it was bleeding when she came into the office, and it was still bleeding when she left. I'm assuming it probably stopped sometime later that day, or we'd have heard from her. Or maybe not. Maybe it bled for days, but mom was too embarrassed to call us.

I'm poking fun at this mom, and I hope she doesn't read these diaries, and if she does, I hope she sees the humorous side of this. The reality is, virtually EVERY mom nicks baby's finger at least once and draws blood. There's no reason to feel guilty for too long (unless it bleeds for a week!).

Dr. Bob