omg, omg

I had a mini panic attack today when I realized that we are in the single digits for weeks remaining until Baby Zucchini is born! I really need him/her to stay in the womb until I finish my Family Medicine rotation- if the baby is born early, I won't graduate on time! I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world, but it would affect my career quite a bit. So, I don't really need strangers coming up to me anymore saying things like, "Oh, my first was 7 weeks premature," or "Oh, I arrived 4 weeks early." I need everyone to say things like my mom did, when she reminded me that I was born 2 1/2 weeks late. Amen. ;) My rotation ends on Oct 16th and my due date is Nov. 4th... Hopefully that's a big enough window!

While I feel like a gigantic whale, since I can't seem to fit into very many of my clothes comfortably anymore (yeah, I'm talking about the maternity clothes) and I can no longer bend over or get up from the couch without help, strangers keep reassuring me that I'm "SO TINY!!!" I am getting generally more uncomfortable as the days go on, but the wonderful trade-off is that Baby Zucchini is moving like crazy, which is so amazing to watch. I've tried so hard to catch this on video. I'll keep trying.

My Family Medicine rotation is a dream come true. I only very rarely have to work outside the hours of 8-5, and I never have to work on the weekends. Aaaaaahh. This is such a nice alternative to the 6-6pm, 6 days per week schedule that I had while on Internal Medicine. I will have a couple of weird shifts while on Family; for example, I have an ER shift once a week that is 8 hours long but starts at random times of the day. I have a 2-10pm shift, a 4-midnight shift, a 10-6pm shift, etc. But, that's only once per week. I'll also have a 24 (which usually ends up becoming 28-32) hour shift at the hospital once this month. I'll go in one morning around 8ish (depending on my resident... could be earlier) and then come home the next day as soon as we're done with rounds. Don't worry- I'll keep my pockets full of snacks. ;) Plus, I get the entire next day off to sleep and relax.

I'll have Jordan take a picture of me tonight so that you all can see how the belly is growing! We're getting excited to take our maternity photos soon- one of my classmates who does photography on the side volunteered.

Today I went garage sale-ing, just like I used to with my mom when I was little. One sale I went to involved 150 families from this county. It was huge! I ended up finding a lot of great bargains. The best find of the day was the Peter Rabbit bedding set we registered for at Pottery Barn Kids- the bumper and sheet alone are $160, but I ended up walking away with the bumper, the sheet, the bed skirt, the fleece blanket, the receiving blanket and matching bottle, all for $7.50 and in pristine condition!

Here's a couple of stories to leave you with- they're true, and involve real patients (though I promise NOT to violate HIPPA) ;)
1. One of my patients was an 85 year old man who had never been to the hospital or even a doctor's office and was just recently diagnosed with lung cancer. At the end of my encounters with patients, I always ask if he/she has any questions or concerns, and this patient replied, "Are you married? Because you should be, given your present situation."
2. Another one of my patients was a 89 year old man with advanced dementia. When he came to the ER from his nursing home, he was completely nonverbal and we did not exchange a single word between the two of us for the next 5 days. On the 6th day, while I was listening to his heart, he put his hand on my belly and said, "Baby?" When I nodded, he smiled and kept that smile on for the rest of our visit.