The Mrs. The Mommy. The M.D.: February 2016
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Monday, February 29, 2016

Monday Motivation Mash-up

Happy Monday!

Can you believe tomorrow is March?!?! We have 9 months left to knock out those 2016 goals.

I have four more 24 hour call shifts left and then we start a new block - I'll be on Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility with a much better schedule and a vacation week :fist pump:

In the meantime, lots to accomplish in these last couple of weeks, so I'm trying to stay focused and keep the positivity and productivity at a maximum.

Here are some of my favorite motivation-inspiring quotes from Pinterest:


Now that I've got you pumped, let's make this week a great one!

xo

Friday, February 26, 2016

Cheers to Weekend & My Most Recent Splurges...

TGIF Friends!

It's been a busy week and I am exhausted. One of the highlights was that got to do an abdominal hysterectomy with one of my classmates, which was so fun! I'm on call tonight and when I get off Saturday morning, no work until Monday :happy dance:
Hysterectomy c/o 2018 style. Oh, and yes, we have team scrub caps. 


My residency program is trying to help combat burnout and on-the-job fatigue by asking residents and faculty to share ways that they unwind.

Family time and blogging are my reprieve. 

And if I am totally honest, because I spend my days pouring into everyone except for myself - including barely giving myself time for bathroom breaks and lunch - my turn down includes things like "riding in the car in silence", solo missions to the nail shop, online shopping, and baths with lots and lots of bubbles. 

Here are some of my splurges this week: 

I have been waiting to buy one of these since forever, because what respectable surgeon doesn't need a nameplate like an "Around the Way Girl"? 

Monogram Online Groupon

I may or may not have also bought a separate necklace so I can appropriately rep mah kids...In my defense, this was also a Groupon find...I'll let you know how these work out when they arrive. 

Mini Name Necklace Groupon

And why I bought this sweatshirt needs no explanation. 
MASTERMINDZMRKT on Etsy
I wanted this one too, but I couldn't justify both...

Love it. 

What are you doing to take care of yourself? Please share, because I need some ideas that don't involve spending money...

Happy Weekend!



Monday, February 22, 2016

*SPONSORED* New Specs from Firmoo

This month, I was given the opportunity to try a pair of glasses from the global online optical store Firmoo.

I have always been skeptical of online glasses stores since they are marketed at discount prices and you aren't able to try them on. It sounded too good to be true, and I never wanted to take the risk of making the purchase. 

I was so wrong, because I love my new glasses! This "brow" frame has been my obsession recently and I have been wanting to take the plunge. I chose style #PM1013 in tortoise.





My new glasses arrived 10 days after I placed my order, and the frames feel and look way more expensive than what they were priced. 
  • The website is easy to navigate - allowing you to filter your search by style, and will suggest styles you may like based on glasses you have previously looked at
  • Not only are the frames crazy-low priced, but getting a strong prescription like mine in a thinner lens was only $30 extra - I've been burned by big box retail glasses stores by this if I don't want magnifying glass-thick lenses
  • A "try on" feature allows you to upload a photo to see what the glasses may look like on your face
  • The glasses came in a stylish case with a lens cloth, an extra set of glasses screws and nose cushions
Right now you can get 15% off your first pair of glasses just by signing up on their website. 

Happy shopping!



Sunday, February 21, 2016

24 Hour Call Essentials

Post call texts with the Hubs
Since the end of January, I've been back on the rotation where I have q3 (every three days) 24 hour in-house call. It is one of the most physically draining rotations of residency. A huge part of that is because of how crazy your sleep-wake cycle becomes - not to mention how terrible your eating habits are when you are awake for Fourth Meal.

I have to admit this rotation has gotten easier, and more fun, because I am a lot better at taking care of myself both inside and outside of the hospital. Including always having essentials for the expected craziness or even unexpected downtime (i.e. catnaps or showers, catnaps always > showers).





Here's a peek inside my on-call bag...




My theme is "Don't be ashy and don't smell".  I'm sure my co-workers all appreciate this ;-)

Hope you are all having a good weekend! The weather is gorgeous in NC. I was on call Friday into Saturday and don't go back until Monday. It almost feels like a weekend off!

xo

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Dear Natey...

Hey Natey!

I can still see this little baby face when you sleep ;-) 
Can you believe that you're seven?! Seven years ago, before medical school, before obstetrics and gynecology, Mommy was just a college senior having a baby. It is fun to reflect back on your birth story with my OBGYN knowledge now. So, in honor of your birthday, here is more than you probably care to know about the day you were born...

Your birth story starts a few weeks before January 29th, when Mommy got a medical school interview invitation to Indiana University. The date of the interview was a week after your due date. After freaking out about this, my sweet OBGYN doctor advised that it was totally safe to have an elective induction at 39 weeks. So it was settled. Mommy would have you a week earlier so I had two weeks post-partum before I had to do anything for which my future hinged on. 

On January 28th, a Thursday night, Mommy and Daddy went to Sinai Grace Hospital with movies, snacks, and more baby clothes than anyone would need. Lita and Grammy were there too!

Detroooooit!
When we got to the labor room, we got settled in, and Daddy took tons of pictures.

Then it was time to get my induction started! Of course, as a nullip (first time mom) at 39 weeks, I was not dilated at all. So this means that they had to give me medicine to help start my labor. 

There are many ways to induce labor - at my program (UNC) we use a lot of foley balloons. For my labor with you, a medicine called Cervidil was used. To spare you the details, it is a "local" ripening agent. Most of the time *cough* Isabelle *cough* it doesn't put you into labor, but it helps to get things more receptive to the medicine used later called Pitocin. 

So, that night, as the Cervidil worked it's magic, Daddy and I watched a ton of movies, and I remember texting all the people patiently awaiting your arrival - your uncles, Mommy and Daddy's besties, and Mommy's line sisters (who lovingly called you "Ja'Nathan" LOL). Even before you were born, you were so loved! As time went on, Lita and Grammy went back home with the plan to come back in the morning. 

Then it hit me...the contractions. And man, they were intense. So intense that it was time for some medicine. I don't remember what the name of the medicine was, but it was just what I needed to get some sleep. Mommy was feeling niiiiice...Daddy may or may not have blackmail pictures of Mommy in her analgesic euphoria ;-) 

In the morning the Cervidil was removed. Lita, Grammy, Maimeo, and Auntie Jenny all camped out for Baby Watch '09. I was about 1-2 centimeters after the night - definitely disappointed because I expected more given how uncomfortable I was, but we powered on. The pitocin was started and then things got real o_O.  I have no idea how long it took, but it felt forever, and by 4 centimeters I was tapping out and ready for my epidural. This was around 8:30AM. 

Mommy's nurse asked if I wanted to try and hold out a little longer so that I had a great story to tell you about how much pain labor was. I quickly said, "no" and Anesthesia was called. She came quickly and even today, after having seen many patients get epidurals, I feel like she was one of the fastest. 

The epidural was sweet relief. Mommy hadn't been that comfortable since the night before, so it was time to take a nap. 

After what seemed like a few hours of sleep, I was awoken by my doctor who had a concerned look on her face. She told me that your heart rate was down and she needed to place a monitor on your head so that we could know your heart rate at all times. It sounded scary, but she broke my water and placed the monitor quickly - that monitor what I now know is a Fetal Scalp Electrode. Then the nurse put an oxygen mask on me.  Now, I know that putting an oxygen mask on the Mommy helps to increase oxygen flow to the baby. We do this when we see decelerations - or drops - in the baby's heart rate with contractions. 

It was almost noon, and I was still four centimeters dilated. So we were back to waiting... 

Since not much was going on, Mom and Grammy ran downstairs to get lunch. 

Soon after everyone had cleared the room, my doctor rushed in again. She checked me and said it was time to push. 4cm-10cm in thirty minutes. Your dad was in shock. He hurriedly called Lita to get back upstairs, because it was go time.  Then the room was PACKED - there were nurses, nursing students, medical students...and they told me to put the oxygen back on. 

I pushed three times and at 12:28PM all 6 pounds, 10 ounces of you were here! 

It. Was. Awesome. 




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