San Francisco and other milestones!

I know it has been forever since I have blogged- please forgive a busy gal! So updates- I have finished my first year of residency- I am no longer and intern!! The experience was great- and although my usual criticism of my rotations on eval is the lack of sleep, I thoroughly enjoyed it (overall). Even late nights can be good- good learning, but now more than ever, I like my sleep! I completed one month of call without a supervising upper level resident, and now I am a supervising resident! Starting next week I have an intern to teach while on call- scary! Glad to be done with one year though. Our third year residents graduate on Sat. and it will be hard to see them leave :(. 5/6 are staying in Denver for practice so that helps, but still sad. So B and I decided we had plenty to celebrate (new upcoming baby boy, 5 years of marriage, finishing first year of residency, one year in CO, etc.) and we haven't had a very official vacation for a while (or 5 years) so we flew to San Francisco last weekend. It was fabulous. B found us a great deal on an awesome hotel and pretty much planned the whole thing. We slept in a lot (fabulous), saw the golden gate bridge, Muir woods (the redwoods- not giant seqouias if you need clarification, ask me later), Alcatraz, Union square, Chinatown (and Japantown), Little Italy, Fisherman's Wharf, Baker Beach-the works! Brandon learned some new things about pregnancy- namely that his previously very fit wife now sucks wind and occasionally has stabbing pain when walking up hills or on a 12 mile bike ride. (He's sweet though and would ask- the little guy kicking your butt?) But I still beat him speed walking in the airport- he says I'm disqualified for knocking over a small child, but I say he's making it up! So I'll post a few pics below.

Also, I finished Step 3 of the USMLE boards today- very good feeling. It's a 2 day (up to 16 hour) test that if I pass allows me to get my license. I still need to finish residency, but it's another milestone! After this I'll have Family medicine boards after 3rd year that will be retaken every 7 years, but step 3 is pretty big anyway. You can all pray I passed!

The bump compared to a redwood.

Brandon in jail at Alcatraz

Drum roll please. . . It's a

BOY! Today we had our 20 week ultrasound- the official one at my doctor and the baby is definitely all boy. No way to mistake that. The ultrasonographer was amazing- very quick and efficient. And the ultrasound- the latest and greatest (at least compared to ours at the clinic which seems ancient!)- they had a TV screen up in the corner, but B said her machine had an even better picture. So I'll post some pics- she sent us home with 11 so I'll post the highlights- including what she calls the potty chair pic- "IDing" our little guy! The 3-D pics are not as good- too much placenta in the way- but I'll post a few anyway. The great news- everything looks healthy and in the right spot. Also, he's a big guy- measuring 2 weeks ahead and weighing a whopping 1 lb 3 oz instead of the 10.5 oz my books say he should. No change in the due date though- he'll come when he wants. I'm blaming the big size on my hubby who himself was nearly 9 lbs when he was born- just not looking forward to delivering a big baby- I'm not that big myself! Anyway, enjoy the pics!

Think before you speak!

As my stomach grows, I have been more acutely aware of people's comments and how hurtful they can be. Now granted, I know I'm more sensitive and emotional due to this little one growing inside me but seriously, some people need some PC training. I have said a few times that all husbands of pregnant women should go to a class about what to say and what not to say to their pregnant wives, but I have run into some people that are clearly not thinking lately! My two favorites from the last two days came from students (different ones) working at my program. The first "wow, you look really pregnant today"- nice, really helpful. The other was worse, "the hospital is really cold today, but I suppose you don't notice it since you have all that baby fat to keep you warm"- really I have lots of baby fat? I'll have you know despite my growing belly I still work out 3-5 days a week (sometimes being on call doesn't help- dang those 30 hour shifts) and can flex my abs to make my stomach rock hard despite it's size. Not that I'm defensive! I can't imagine these people would say anything to people who are merely fat, so why say such interesting comments to me. Evidently I'm supposed to be thrilled I'm so large and immune to such comments. For the record- I am thrilled about this baby, not so thrilled about the weight gain (if you haven't realized it yet). I could have kissed the nurse at my OB appointment yesterday when she got me on the scale, got my weight and said "still tiny." She may say that to everyone in the clinic, but it so helps!! Anyway, I'm on call tomorrow night (have a lady laboring on the deck tonight so it may be a really long call) and then postcall have the ultrasound Thursday- so we'll update you all on gender then! In the meantime- here's the latest pic, and think before you speak!! (Note: I know this pic is further away, speak with my photographer if you want exact pics!)

News from Babyland

Sorry I've had some difficulties keeping up with blogging- life gets so busy some times. News from babyland. Not much different for now. We've tried to get a quick peek at work the other day to see if we're having a girl or a boy, but the little munchkin decided not to cooperate. :(. Luckily however, the ultrasonographer in our office comes back this week from vacation and may have better luck- we'll see. I suppose the other news is my growing belly. Although I can still squeeze into a few of my old clothes- the operative word here is squeeze, I've started switching over to some maternity clothes. I'm not a huge fan yet of what I lovingly call the "tent" shirts- which I'm sure will be nice at the end- but really would just like some shirts that are normal appearing but longer. But I'm finding some options- they're just limited!

Other news is I'm back on a call month- my schedule from now until the baby comes is pretty demanding so I better get used to it quick. I had my first call without upper levels which was filled with uncommon things- a gal that delivered and then hours later went back for a hysterectomy because she was bleeding (luckily was done having kids), a call from the ER to get a patient out who refused to leave without talking to her doctor, a Somoli woman who didn't speak any English in labor, and a manic pregnant nurse who demanded everything for her care- including a c-section. I was pretty exhausted after all that! But I survived. I've learned that the constant bathroom need really slows down rounding and to sit whenever possible (since it is possible to spend 30 hours on call and sit maybe 2). I'm sure it will be even more difficult when I'm on call at 35 weeks!

Brandon and I celebrated our 5th anniversary yesterday. It was a gorgeous day here in Colorado (we have a lot of those for those who don't live here), so we worked around the house, helped a couple move, and then had a wonderful evening of church, grilling out, and watching a movie- so simple but one of our favorite things to do together. We're planning a trip to San Francisico at the end of June so that will be our official celebration-so pumped. I'm so lucky to have married my best friend- even after 5 years I still love being married to him!

Better run- we're working on the basement, but I'll add this week's bump pic.