Caesarean viewing

N’s seen his first caesarean.  A couple of weekends ago we went out early after breakfast for a wander down to the yard and to feed the pigs, only to find his dad and uncle having called the vet (handily living next door) as there was a heifer struggling in labour.  So we decided that as the cow was in the ‘crush’ to keep it from thrashing out, that we may as well watch.  I quite enjoy watching them as years ago I wanted to be a vet (before I realised that my scientific capabilities were probably a tad lacking…all down to poor teaching I think as I was ok at chemistry), but hadn’t seen one since having one myself.

I think N got a bit bored as we had to go for a wander during the prep (it takes ages for them to get all the equipment set out, and get washed up).  But we were back to see the actual op.

All very messy and blimey no wonder the calf wasn’t coming out – it was huge and took 2 of them to pull it out plus the vet to hold the cow’s insides in (obviously not like humans where you’re lying down and there’d have to be something really wrong if you ended up with your innards flailing around outside).

I think I was more interested than N.  Thankfully having had one myself, it didn’t make me squeamish, but it’s quite weird imagining what went on with my own.  N didn’t seem phased to see a calf appear from a cow, but I suppose to toddlers everything new is just taken as seen, at the moment he doesn’t ask why.  And he’s not got any squeamish tendencies yet – will be interesting to see how that changes as he grows older.

So another first for a farmer’s son compared with a lot of people who would never see a calf being born, let alone watch an animal operation.