Bunnery Bustle

“Oh, thank you for coming!” Mercy clasps their hands together gratefully as Jae-eun arrives. Immediately, they thrust a nun’s habit at her. “We’re a bit run off our feet, here. You know how it is! You must’ve looked after plenty of pregnant buns over the past couple of weeks.”

Nodding, Jae-eun knows all too much about it. She changes into the nun’s attire, adjusting the habit to suit her.

“Well, if my reports are anything to go by, the hospital has been doing a record number of prenatal tests this year!”

“I can only imagine.” Mercy is almost breathless as they run around, gathering baskets and bottles. Reaching out, Jae-eun takes a couple of things off of them and they smile gratefully again. “Well, now we must deal with the buns!”

Mercy scuttles along the marble floors, feet barely touching the ground as they rush along. Jae-eun follows their steps, bottles almost flying out of baskets. They enter the bunnery, where other volunteers hold wrapped up bundles of blankets. The baskets of bottles are descended upon, and the sweet scent of milk and powder can be smelled in the air. It’s an intriguing scent, not one that is familiar to most of the others. 

It really is quite an intriguing room. A stained glass window casts light around the room, filling the walls with colour. Bundles are huddled together in baskets, and volunteers go around checking on them. Mercy looks around, smiling with relief as the baby bundles seem to be in good form.

The carpet is plush underfoot, the room decorated tastefully with infant bun toys, and soft furnishings like cushions and curtains for the stained glass window. Each basket is marked with a date, indicating age. Jae-eun is familiar with that sort of setup. A sterile and clean labour and delivery unit for buns who want a hospital birth for their litters rather than a nest. This is much softer and cosier in comparison. What a lovely nesting ground.

It’s been a long time since becoming hospital director that Jae-eun has actually properly dealt with a baby bun one on one. She prefers to treat adults, and leaves the infants to the experienced nurses if she can help it. But here she is. It’s part of her duty of care to the rest to understand how best to support a baby bun if necessary. 

She’s out of practice. Tentatively, she holds out her arms as Mercy beckons her over, holding out a bundle to her. They carefully place it in her arms, a hand behind the baby bun’s head. This little thing smells like powder and milk. Its eyes blink back at Jae-eun, big and dark. Oh dear. Jae-eun is definitely out of practice. 

“Hold them in the crook of your arm, like so,” Mercy instructs. They readjust Jae-eun’s arm, and reposition the baby bun. “Yes, there you go! Oh, they’re just so tiny, aren’t they?” 

Jae-eun smiles nervously. There’s not much that can affect her (being a hospital director, she’s seen it all) but a baby bun? They’re just so fragile and small that they feel like they will break at any second. She carries it carefully, touching the blanket tentatively so she can take a look at its face. A sweet little brown bun, fur as warm as mocha. She cradles it as it starts to squirm around, holding it securely. Mercy smiles.

“There you go, you have it!” They hold a baby bun in their own arms. Two, actually, expertly managing them both. Cradling both, they move their arms in a gentle back and forth rocking movement. “These ones don’t quite need a feed just yet. Why don’t you try rocking this one? Soothe it to sleep, it’s about time these little ones get on a routine. The most important thing for a little baby is consistency until we can get them off to their caretakers.”

“Who are these ones going off to?” Jae-eun asks out of curiosity. She watches the way Mercy rocks the buns in their arms, and tries to find the motion. Not too hard, not too soft. She starts off tentatively, just barely moving. 

“Our Murmur,” Mercy replies with a smile. “He’ll know just what to do. Oh, go on. You can rock the little one a little harder than that! It’s alright, just get into the rhythm of things.”

Jae-eun is still hesitant but looking at Mercy’s encouraging smile makes her think she can do it. She rocks the baby bun with a gentle motion, and it rewards her with a sweet snuffling noise, its nose twitching as it yawns. 

“Aahh,” she coos, smiling softly. 

“They’re just so cute, aren’t they?” Mercy agrees. 

Jae-eun nods. As this little one nods off, she places it carefully back into its basket. Indicating with their head, Mercy looks towards another basket. 

“This little one needs to be fed. My hands are full, as you can see! Would you mind feeding this one for me?”

Plucking another little one out of its basket, Jae-eun watches the other volunteers as they pick up bottles filled with formula. A volunteer taps her on the shoulder and proffers up a warmed bottle. Taking it, she smiles back gratefully. She watches as those feeding the baby buns sit in plush chairs, holding the bottle towards them. Following their step, Jae-eun sits down. Taking a look at this little bun, she watches as it looks back at her expectantly with big dark eyes. She remembers what to do, holding them carefully and offers the bottle. It manages to find the bottle on its own, drinking from the bottle heartily like the rest of the baby buns.

How very sweet! Jae-eun isn’t quite sure if she can do this all the time. It’s valuable knowledge to have, especially for her role as hospital director. It’s not so bad. It’s a bit of downtime for her too as well as a learning experience. Perhaps she might come back and volunteer next year to learn more.