20代勤務医、後期研修中、最近子供が産まれたパパドクターです。
仕事と育児に追われながら日々過ごしています。その中で感じたことを日記に書き留めていきます。
結婚や子供を考えている若手ドクターの参考になれば幸いです。
1年ごとに仕事先が変わるのは当たり前。去年の12月、「赴任して早速で恐縮ですが、1ヶ月育休を取らせて欲しいです。」と今の部長にメールした。顔合わせの挨拶の時に決めましょうとなり、結局1ヶ月の育休をもらえた。
ただでさえ忙しいのに、1人いなくなれば周りはより大変になるのだからとても休みを取りづらい。意外にもOKしてもらえた。日本人はお人好しな人が多いが、言ったもん勝ちのようなところがある。
育休が始まり、時間が余りあるかと思えば全くそんなことはない。「新生児はよく寝る」だの「3時間に1回ミルク」だのよく言われるが、それは人それぞれのようだ。2時間に1回ミルクをやり、寝付くまでに1時間近くかかる。気づけばほとんど寝られないまま夜が明ける。それが昼も夜も絶え間なく続く。仕事のようにオンオフがないのがしんどい。自分の時間などないままあっという間に時間が過ぎていった。
2週間検診の聴診で再検査に引っかかり、車ではるばる2時間かけて病院受診。新生児を連れて2時間は小旅行である。授乳できる施設がないか、おむつを換えられるところはないか、今までそんな目線で街を見たことがなかった。これは新しい視点であった。昼前に受診が終わり、お昼を食べて帰路も2時間。帰るともうクタクタである。16時はもう立派な夕方である。ご飯を食べてお風呂に入れたら、もう夜の寝かしつけの時間だ。赤ちゃんが生まれると時間が2時間早まる。小さなイベントでも赤ちゃんがいると大きなイベントであり、それをこなすとあっという間に1日が終わる。
あっという間に終わる1日を積み重ねると、、、
1ヶ月の育休のはあっという間に終わった。ここから仕事と育児の両方に追われる日が始まるのである。
A Doctor in His 20s, Midway Through Postgraduate Training, and Now a New Dad
I’m a doctor in my late twenties, currently in my advanced residency training, and I recently became a father.
These days, I find myself constantly juggling work and childcare. I’ve decided to write down some of my thoughts and experiences in this diary. I hope it can be of some help to younger doctors who are considering marriage or having children in the future.
In my field, it’s perfectly normal for your workplace to change every year. Last December, I emailed my current department chief just after I had been assigned, saying: “I know it’s sudden, but I’d like to take a month of paternity leave.” He said we’d finalize the details when we met in person, and in the end, I was granted the month off.
It’s already a hectic environment, and having one person gone makes things even harder for everyone else—so taking leave isn’t easy. Surprisingly, though, he agreed to it. Many Japanese people are kind-hearted, but sometimes things really do go to the one who speaks up.
Once my leave began, I thought I’d have a lot of free time—but that turned out to be far from the truth. People often say things like “newborns sleep a lot” or “you just need to feed them every three hours,” but every baby is different. Mine needed to be fed every two hours, and it took nearly an hour to get them back to sleep. Before I knew it, the sun was up, and I’d barely slept. That cycle continued non-stop, day and night. Unlike work, there’s no clear on-and-off with parenting, and that’s exhausting. Time flew by, and I barely had a moment to myself.
At the two-week checkup, a concern was found during the baby’s heart exam, and we were referred for further testing. We had to drive two hours to the hospital, which felt like a mini road trip with a newborn. I found myself thinking about whether there were any facilities where I could breastfeed or change diapers—something I had never considered before. It was a whole new way of seeing the world. The appointment finished before noon, we grabbed lunch, and then had the two-hour drive back. By the time we got home, I was completely wiped out. Four o’clock in the afternoon suddenly felt like proper evening. After feeding the baby and giving them a bath, it was already bedtime. With a newborn, it feels like time shifts two hours earlier. Even small outings become major events, and once you’ve gotten through them, the whole day is gone.
And as those days kept flying by…
The one month of paternity leave ended in a flash. Now begins the real challenge: balancing both work and childcare.
