Creepy Aunty J

Snuggly Baby E

Lately I've been really into babies.  Not in a "my biological clock is ticking and I'm freaking out" kind of way (though it is, and I am... just a little), but in a "babies are pretty cute" kind of way (um, good thing I'm going into pediatrics!).

What doesn't help the situation is that a bunch of my friends are popping out babies (On purpose! Are we really that old?).  Now, every time I log onto facebook, I'm reminded of this fact due to a news feed filled with constant updates about how "Johnny keeps wetting his pants," and "Anyone know how to help colic?" and "OMG, look at all of these diaper covers, how cute!"  I mostly hate these updates (I don't care about Johnny's potty training progress).  But they do keep babies on my mind at all times (or at least whenever I check fb). 

Regardless of my feelings about babies and their fb presence, there is one kind of update I love: pictures.  I love it when my friends post pics of there cute (or even just so-so looking) babies.  Weirdly, I can't get enough of it.

Baby E being his usual cute self.

There's one baby in particular that I'm straight-up obsessed with: Baby E.  Baby E is possibly the cutest baby I have ever met (he's a little ginger, which may explain my affinity for him). His mother, H, posts pictures of him every day on instagram.  You guys, I LIVE for these pictures.  I literally check instagram several times throughout the day in hopes that she has posted another picture.  And when she finally posts one, I get so excited that I show it to everyone around me.  As if he were my own child.

The other day, I texted H to let her know that I'm creepily obsessed with her kid.  Her response was, "It's okay, so am I!" To which I responded, "Um, you're supposed to be - you made him! I'm just a creeper."  I must confess, I might have a little bit of a reason to be obsessed with Baby E; I helped him come out (I was there for his delivery and was lucky enough to help).  But there's a big difference between helping deliver a baby and actually making one and I think H should be a little more weirded out than she is (I'm quickly turning into "Creepy Aunty J"). 

When I have a little ginger baby of my own, I won't let creepy "aunties" ogle pictures of my adorable child.* 

*Who am I kidding?  Yes I will.  I already force people to look at pictures of my sweet, sweet cats (aaand, I've now sealed the deal on being "Creepy Aunty J").

Dirty Dancing: Country Nights

The best thing ever happened the other night.  Okay, "best thing ever" might be an exaggeration. Well, no... This could actually be the best thing ever. Definitely life changing.  Anyway, here's what happened: on my last night in Miami, I went to a country music dance club (obviously, are there any other types of club in Miami?!).

This 70+ year-old woman killed it all night

I think it all started as a joke. L's coworker had been talking up a "hick" bar and so we had all decided to put on out boots and plaid and go.  The first awesome thing about this bar is that it is about a half hour outside of Miami (of course). The next awesome thing is that the bar/club is called Round Up and it is painted as a barn complete with stables and horses painted on the side of it.  As we walked up, some drunk guys in cowboy boots stumbled out (it was 9pm). THEN, we saw the sign that is was Ladies Night and we would be drinking free all night.

OMG, you guys! This was going to be amazing!!! And so hilarious, right?!

We walked in to find a huge dance floor in the middle of the club with "fence"/seating around it in the style of a corral.  The country music was bumping and people were dancing.  Line dancing.  Line dancing, you guys!!!! And then the music changed and people paired off and did the cha-cha around the "corral!" That's right, I just said "cha-cha around the corral." Then, more line dancing! I didn't even know so many different line dances existed. 

This was a scene, you guys.  Like a huge country western dancing scene. The best part of the scene (if I had to choose just one thing), was the people. There were all types of people - young, old, fat skinny, black, white, Asian, Latino (okay, mostly white) - and they all had one thing in common: they effing killed at country western dancing. 

I honestly did not see this coming, but I think I've found my calling, and I'm pretty sure it's not medicine. I'm going to be a country western dancer, bitches! But seriously, I loved this scene so much. I honestly had no idea this world existed (or, more accurately, how effing awesome it is); I felt like Baby in Dirty Dancing when she stumbles upon the staff dance party (you know, because she "carried a watermelon") and discovers there is an entire world of super rad dancing out there. 

Baby carried a watermelon into the staff lounge and discovered some dirty dancing

The only problem with my new calling is that everyone was really good and somehow knew all the songs/dances. This actually blew my mind (continuously through the course of the night, since there are so many songs/dances out there). This makes joining in kinda hard because it's pretty obvious if you don't know the steps during a line dance. Especially if you're surrounded by professional country western dancers (okay, maybe they weren't all that good, but it definitely felt like it).

Don't worry guys, I still jumped right in and joined the dance.

Best. Night. Ever.

USMLE Step 1: It's OVER

Hey guys! Guess what?! I survived Step 1! Okay, I guess I should say I took Step 1. And hopefully I passed? We'll see.

First Aid had warned me, "Expect to experience some 'reentry' phenomena as you try to regain a real life." (Yeah, that's right, I just quoted First Aid. What?!). When I first read that, I remember thinking, "Silly med students. My life hasn't been that different. It won't be that difficult to get back to normal life."

Okay, First Aid. Lesson learned. I'm almost two weeks out and I'm still pretty socially awkward (also, I know... I'm pretty socially awkward in general. I mean increased awkwardness above baseline). I guess that's what hanging out alone in my apartment studying all day every day for a few weeks will do to me.

After my exam, I turned on my TV (and changed the channel from the solid HGTV channel, which provided the perfect length shows for mealtime breaks throughout my study period) and realized that while I was sitting alone at my desk, big things were happening in the world around me.

Here are the top 5 things (that I know of) that happened while I was studying for Step 1 - and that I only had a vague idea were taking place even though I guess some of them were a "big deal."

1. The Royal Wedding. I guess this was kind of a big deal and the media was obsessed with it. My Royal Wedding experience consisted of me checking my favorite time-wasting blog, Go Fug Yourself, and noticing some pictures of the happy couple. "Oh, I guess that wedding was today," I thought to myself. And then I got back to studying.

2. President Obama was super productive. First, he produced his birth certificate (to which my response was, "Oh thank God." Oh wait, I didn't really care). THEN, he single handedly hunted down and killed Osama bin Laden. At least, I'm pretty sure this is what happened, based on the drunken cheers of some of my classy Seal Beach neighbors (btw, the big news broke on like a Sunday or Monday night, so obviously my neighbors were drunk).

3. My friends all decided to get pregnant. Okay, possible exaggeration. But still; the week before my exam), two of my close friends told me that they are preggers. WTF?! This is only the beginning of the "all of my friends are married and/or mothers" epidemic. Shit. (But seriously, I'm super excited for them... and also happy that at least they personally broke the news to me and I didn't find out months later on fb).

4. The Lakers decided to quit playing basketball. Seriously though. I was SUPER excited to watch the Lakers in the playoffs this year (you know, in the glorious days after my exam). And then, within days of taking my exam, they were swept in Round 2. Super lame. Lakeshow, I am very disappointed in you. I hope you think long and hard about what you have done and come back next year ready to actually play basketball.

5. I can't actually think of more things that happened. One of my classmates suggested "Libya" and "Fast 5," but honestly, I don't even know what those things are.

Did I miss anything? (ha)

Baby!!

Yesterday, something amazing happened: I had a baby! Wait. No. My UTEACH Mom had her baby!! Since February, I've been participating in a program called UTEACH, where I was paired with a pregnant woman and followed her to all of her doctor's appointments leading up to her delivery. Yesterday morning, I got the big call (okay, text) saying that she was in labor. Here are some highlights from the big day:

• When I got to L&D, the first thing my UTEACH Mom said to me was, "I got an epidural! I can't feel my legs!" At this point, she was only dilated 1cm and was having slightly irregular contractions (she had come into the hospital because her water broke at about 4am. They didn't call me until 9:30am... I'm glad they let me sleep in a bit).

• I spent about 4 hours just chilling in the laboring room with my UTEACH Mom, her mom, her step-mom, and her husband. Just the 5 of us... chilling.... for 4 hours. I had met her mom and husband and a few times at various doctor's visits, so at that point, I felt like part of the family! While we waited, the moms talked about their experiences with childbirth. It was probably one of the most feminine conversations I've ever been a part of.

• My UTEACH Mom and her husband had made various mixes of music to play for the big event. The mixes ranged from pop music, which played during parts of the labor, to soothing relaxation/spa music, for the delivery. They played it from their ipad (so cutting edge!).

• I love how being in labor is pretty much the only time you can order people around to help you and it is entirely acceptable. There were plenty of demands of "more ice!" (she could only eat ice chips), "rub my hand/back/belly!" "be quiet!" "change the music!" "Get this baby out!" from my UTEACH Mom. Overall, she was doing great, though.

• After hanging out for like 4 hours, I talked to the Residents (who were pretty much awesome) and they told me it was going to be a while until she went into active labor (the "pushing" part), since she's a first-time mom. "What's a while?" I asked. "Like tomorrow," they said, "We'll call you when she goes into active labor." So I went home. Like 20 minutes after getting home, I get a call from the hospital: "We're so sorry! We just checked and she's fully dilated! We were totally surprised! You should probably come back soon." So I drove back to the hospital.

• By the time I got back to the hospital, my UTEACH Mom was already pushing during her contractions. I'm pretty sure we were all pushing and breathing with her the whole time. The phrase: "Cleansing breath in and push 2, 3, 4... 10" became very familiar. To help her push, we would hold her legs or push against them. Watching a labor/delivery is difficult because you feel so helpless. For the most part, all we could do was help her breathe and cheer her on (at this point, we're almost beyond the "making her comfortable" phase). Many words of encouragement were given throughout: "Great pushing!" "Amazing job!" "You're so close!" "You're doing fantastic!"

• From my position (I was a leg holder), I had a perfect view of the baby making his way out. The last few contractions before the big moment were agonizing; we could all see the baby's head and so badly wanted to help get him out. When the time finally came, it was truly amazing. Suddenly, there was a baby! Relief and excitement filled the room. Honestly, I was entirely overcome with emotion (luckily, I held it together and though my eyes teared up a bit, no tears were actually shed). I can't even fully describe why. Seeing a new life emerge from his mother and begin was overwhelming and amazing.

• My UTEACH Mom's husband (my UTEACH Husband?) was such a trooper. But I think the final push sent him over the edge. As soon as the baby was out, he was like, "I've gotta get some fresh air" and left the room. I think he almost fainted! No wonder guys don't have babies; I don't think they can hang.

• One of the residents was beaming at me throughout the entire delivery. It's probably exciting and fun to share such "first-time" experiences with medical students. To be able to share, first-hand, why they love their jobs. Very inspiring.

• After the baby has come out, while they're still delivering the placenta, there was an odd, quiet moment. The baby had been swept away by NICU (he ended up totally healthy), the husband was catching his breath, the mom's were playing paparazzi with the baby, and my UTEACH Mom was kind of left alone on her bed. It went from everyone around her to nobody (except for the doctors delivering her placenta and getting everything in order) almost instantly. I was glad I was there to comfort her so that she didn't have to be alone, waiting for her baby (she hadn't even seen the little guy yet).

• Another great moment (I almost lost it again) was when mother and son met face-to-face for the first time. She let out a combination of a squeal of excitement mixed with a cry of relief as she held her baby for the first time. And then, "OMG, I can't believe this came out of me!!!" Classic. (I was thinking the same thing).

Overall, this was an amazing experience. To be able to follow a pregnancy all the way to the end was very special and rewarding. I also learned that 1) it would be pretty rad to deliver babies as your job and 2) I could probably have a baby, too (childbirth has been a major fear of mine for a really long time... but after seeing my UTEACH Mom get through it, I know I could too... not that this is happening anytime soon).

*Also, for the record, the pic above is of a random baby and not my UTEACH baby.