On maternity jeans, snow boots, and cardiothoracic surgery...

Joining Jen for some Friday Quick Takes.

1. We live way up north and I needed boots that were a little more heavy duty after almost slipping on the ice a few times. I found these last month and stalked them online until I found them on sale in my size (the style is Sorel Joan of Arctic). I love them. They couldn't come fast enough with the crazy cold we've been dealing with...happily they are rated to -25 (and it came dangerously close to that this past week).

2. I finally found maternity jeans!! The credit goes to Grace and Britt because I never would have found them if Grace hadn't worn them on her blog (and Britt hadn't sent them to Grace). Anyways, they are this style and I found them for more than 50% off at Pea in a Pod...they only had one size left (mine). They were more then I wanted to spend on maternity jeans, but they fit better than any others I've tried (and I probably tried and returned 12 different pairs). I think what made the difference is the side panels instead of one huge over-the-belly panel. They still slip down a little but not as much as the others I've tried (if anyone has found maternity jeans that don't slip down at all, I'm shocked). My sister was super surprised to see me in jeans: first time not wearing leggings in three months people. I was so ready.

3. Hello almost-6 month baby bump!! I got asked yesterday for the first time when I'm due which, frankly, was a relief (I kept worrying that people just thought I got fatter). It seemed to take forever for a for-sure bump to appear and I was worried that the babe wasn't growing enough...well, Stephen informed me yesterday while looking at my stomach that "I definitely don't think you have to be worried that the baby isn't growing enough now." Ha.

 

4. I underestimated how hard cardiothoracic surgery would be while pregnant. I was originally supposed to have this rotation in April (when I'll be 9 months preggo) and I'm so glad that I switched it. I've hardly had any aches or pains during the pregnancy so far...but standing for 4+ hours holding retractors and organs and scopes has brought out new back/leg pains and exhaustion. I do think that I'm still getting over being in the hospital a couple weeks ago (they told me it would probably take 6-8 weeks) which might be the reason for the fatigue. Cardiothoracic surgery is amazing though; I've gotten to scrub in for a couple open heart surgeries, and hold a live heart! So it's been worth it overall.

5. I'm feeling the baby kick and move around so much!! He especially seems to kick while I'm standing in surgery (I don't think he likes when I stand in one spot for too long) and he went crazy when I didn't get to eat lunch yesterday (or maybe it was just my imagination, haha). I finally felt him kick from the outside too, but Stephen has yet to feel it. I can't wait until he does...

6. My last two residency interviews are this week. I'm definitely ready to be done interviewing, but it also means that I have to make a decision on what to rank programs. Unfortunately, the ones closest to family haven't been the ones that I've liked the most (so far) so it's not going to be an easy decision. One of the residency program coordinators at a place I interviewed said that one of the most important parts of the decision is to sit down with your significant other, look them in the eye, and ask where they think the two of you would be happiest. Residency is especially tough on spouses...

7. I finally got to go through thousands of wedding pictures over my break (our photographer edited around 300 but gave us all of the pictures). I found some really amazing shots in the unedited files, including this one:

I just love him :)

Happy Friday!

21 weeks + what I wore Sunday

Bridget did these letters to baby/bump pictures and I thought it was so sweet, so I'm going to *try* to write one from now until week 40...actually, hopefully until week 37 or 38 since I am praying this little guy comes a tad early so that I can have more time with him before I start residency...

I kept worrying that I wasn't showing enough, since until week 19 or so there wasn't much of a bump to speak of. But now there's no doubt and I'm quite happy with my little-ish bump since I know it won't be long before it's much bigger...

We got the full results of our 20 week ultrasound last week and the baby looked good (despite all the meds I was given in the hospital, poor little guy). They did see a marginal placenta previa, which will mostly likely resolve with time as my uterus grows. I'll need to have extra ultrasounds to follow it which is just fine with me :) He is measuring just a couple days smaller than he should be (and I know that it is not because of dating since because of NFP I'm 100% confident in our due date)...I'm telling myself that this is probably a good thing since I've assisted with enough births of 9 pound plus babies to be afraid of them.

Tomorrow is day one of a month of advanced surgery. I haven't had a rotation since October because I've been off taking boards and interviewing for residencies, and I'm starting this one off with a bang consisting of two weeks of cardiothoracic surgery. I feel kind of rusty, and honestly not really ready to go back. I've been fighting a sort of overwhelming exhaustion lately, which I'm pretty sure is residual from my influenza A/severe asthma hospital stint. Maybe it's pregnancy too, but before I got sick I was feeling mostly great (they do say that the second trimester is the best).

In other (not really) exciting news, Juan-uary starts tonight (I've been waiting months for this). Best of all, my sisters are all still on college break so we will hopefully be partaking in the Bachelor premiere festivities tomorrow together.

And what I wore Sunday (linking up with FL&P):

Cowl: Nordstrom (old)

Dress: H&M maternity clearance rack (I scored some major finds there on my trip to Baltimore)

Belt: Ann Taylor outlet

Boots: Frye

New Year's Round-Up

We had a quiet New Year's Eve last night with my family. Even if I hadn't just gotten out of the hospital a few days ago, the sub-zero temps outside would have been enough to discourage us from going out anywhere. I did pretend like we were going on a New Year's date: curled my hair and wore a new-ish shirt that I found on clearance at Anthropologie (it has a nice, forgiving fit for a 21 week baby bump). I barely made it until midnight, falling asleep for an hour on the couch while my family was watching Monster's University and then waking up just before the countdown (I'm pretty sure that Stephen took a little snooze too, we're definitely a lively couple in our [late] 20s ha).

2013 was mostly good to me and definitely a year that I won't forget. It wasn't always easy, with almost 5 months of med school rotations away (I appreciate Stephen now more than ever), 2 board exams, and a slew of residency interviews at the end. It was a year of big decisions (OB/GYN or emergency medicine) and monumental life changes (I still am trying to wrap my finger around the fact that we are going to be parents...so unbelievably exciting). I learned more about marriage, mostly just that it's better than I ever thought it would be (although of course not always easy).

Some noteworthy happenings:

Our Chicago trips....

Niagara Falls getaway...

A newfound love for running (although I never got to do my 10K, I'm sure that it will happen in the future...and then hopefully a half-marathon?)...

A wonderful month rotating in St. Louis, helping bring beautiful babies into the world...

A life-changing announcement...

This little guy...

And my entire family together for Christmas...

On a more superficial note, some of my favorite outfits of 2013:

(Notice how I'm wearing these shoes with almost every outfit?)

Four more favorite outfits: one, two, three, and four

And some outfits that I'd rather forget here, here, and here

I really enjoyed working with Dansko here and here...

My most viewed posts of 2013:

1. How to Date (or Marry) a Med Student (although granted a lot of the hits came from searches titled something to the effect of "I want to date a med student").

2. What to Wear for Residency Interviews (I still need to follow this up with a post on what I actually wore to residency interviews).

And my own favorite posts of 2013:

1. An Announcement (kind of goes without saying)

2. 7 Things I Learned on Family Medicine

3. Remembering Haiti

So there it is, 2013. 2014 is sure to be an exciting year, with May bringing both med school graduation and a new baby! We are most definitely blessed. Happy New Year!

20 weeks and It's a....

No actual Christmas pics this year since I spent this Christmas in the hospital, but we did snap one in front of my parent's tree last night (our tree, sadly, was long dead when we got home from the hospital). My 20 week baby bump is starting to round out nicely (Stephen: "no offense, but your belly's getting way bigger"). And what I wore Sunday (linking up with Fine Linen and Purple): this sweater (don't judge me that it's from Vicky's) and some black leggings, my 5 month preggo uniform.

We did a little gender reveal with my family after my ultrasound and my sister Ingrid made this lovely cake...

It's a BOY!!! So in the very beginning, I was convinced the baby was a girl (Gianna Marie, to be exact). But as the pregnancy progressed, Stephen was more than convinced it was a boy...he even started referring to the baby as his son. He had a dream a few days before our ultrasound that he was rocking our baby boy to sleep...and after all of that, I was pretty much convinced too that it was a boy. Funny thing was that the ultrasound tech initially told us that it was a girl and neither one of us believed him...a few seconds later he informed us it was definitely a boy (we have the picture to prove it).

I just love his profile. I have to be honest that pregnancy has induced a new level of anxiety in me that I didn't know was possible. And getting sick enough to land myself in the hospital hasn't helped. But he was wiggling around on the ultrasound, and his heartbeat has been strong, and I'm pretty sure that I'm feeling little movements now...

My entire family was together this Christmas for the first time since Stephen and I got married: all 8 kids, one sister-in-law, one almost-sister-in-law, one brother-in-law, and one nephew.

Happy Monday!

Playing catch up...and happy Christmas.

I can't believe that I almost went the entire month of December without posting. I actually didn't even realize it until my sister said "I keep checking your blog and you haven't posted one time this month!!" It's kind of hard to summarize an entire month into one post but here are some of the reasons to explain my lack of posting..

1. Interview season continued...I got to visit Hopkins, which was every bit as amazing as I imagined it, and managed to squeeze in a day to explore Baltimore with one of my best friends.

Hopkins

"Christus Consulator" in the dome at Hopkins

Baltimore

2. I got stuck in the East Coast blizzard on the way back from my interviews which meant postponing my Step 2 boards to mid-December (I was so sick of studying by the end). I finally got them over with, and let's just say that a 9 hour computer exam and an almost-5-months-pregnant bladder are not very compatible. But yay it's over!

3. My belly finally started to grow. It's still not that big (my little sister keeps saying "ok I can finally see it but when's it really going to explode?") but Stephen and I can definitely tell a difference. And thank God it's finally rounder-enough to look a little less like I've been eating too many carbs. I've been wearing leggings every day since I'm not quite big enough for maternity pants but my old pants definitely don't fit, and this sweater has been my savior.

16 weeks

17 weeks

18 weeks

19 weeks

4. Christmas snuck up on me faster than any year before. Stephen was working...and I ended up in the hospital. It started with a little cold, and then progressed to a bad asthma flare, and then ended in an ER visit Christmas day after hours of struggling to breathe. After IVs and monitors and respiratory meds, a swab revealed influenza A. Influenza A is not kind to pregnant women or asthmatics, so with both against me I earned a hospital stay. I'm home now, and we've been staying with my parents a few days while I recover. Today was my first attempt to venture out of the house. I'm still feeling pretty bad if I'm honest...it's hard to walk up the stairs, and I have to sleep sitting up so I can breathe. But I'm happy that I'm home and that the baby seems to be holding up ok (which has been my greatest fear through all of this).

We did get our first real Christmas tree this year despite all the craziness

5. So we exchanged gifts on Christmas night in the hospital (Stephen stayed overnight with me...hospital policy normally wouldn't have let him, but it was Christmas...). I didn't ask for anything this year, and Stephen completely blew me away with an amazing black leather Coach bag. I was shocked when I opened it; it's the sort of thing that I would never buy myself (or ask for) and he came up with it all on his own (partly inspired by his observation of the $30 pleather bag I've been bringing to my residency interviews). He is just the most thoughtful, sweet husband.

6. And for our best Christmas present by far: the one bright thing that ensued from my hospital stay is that our ultrasound got moved up and we got to see the beautiful babe again...kicking and somersaulting and looking just fine despite it's sick momma and the myriad of medications making their way through my body for my unhappy lungs.

7. So we now know what we're having! And am I terrible to leave you with this? More details to come...

Lovely gender reveal cake courtesy of my sister

Linking up with Jen and hoping that everyone had a beautiful and blessed Christmas (and maybe less eventful than ours).

Thankful...

Tunic: Anthropologie

Leggings: J. Crew 

Scarf: H&M (old)

Headband: Francesca's

Boots: Frye

You know that outfit that makes you feel good every time you wear it? This is mine. Lately it's been on repeat as many times as I can get away with it. Leggings + a loose tunic = the perfect Thanksgiving dinner attire, and I added a sparkly headband to make it a little more holiday-appropriate.

This year I really feel like my heart is full: there is so much to be thankful for, and putting aside some of my recent worries and stressors in the spirit of Thanksgiving helped me to see it even more clearly. 

A few of the things I'm most thankful for:

1. My kind, hard-working, multi-talented husband who loves me unconditionally, takes care of me, and (almost) never complains about my poor house-keeping/cooking skills.

2. This little guy/gal who's heartbeat sounds stronger every day.



3. My fun, crazy, wonderful family complete with my 7 siblings...

 

4. ...and our amazing Thanksgiving dinner, which Stephen and I were lucky to be a part of (I really can't imagine us cooking our own Thanksgiving dinner although I'm [almost] sure it will happen someday). 

5. My wonderful mother who is the best example I know of a mom, gives the best advice, and spontaneously hopped on two planes last week so that she could be there for my med school induction into AOA.

6. For the opportunity to become a physician: even though I still don't know exactly where I'm called in medicine, it is such a privilege to be entrusted with people's health and lives.

7. For my Catholic faith, that continually guides and inspires me.

Linking up with Jen and Fine Linen and Purple. Happy Thanksgiving!

Santa Fe!

No, I've never been there. Although I'd love to be there right now while the snow is piling up and the temp is barely hitting the teens (not counting wind chill). Potential baby-moon perhaps? Anyways, Santa Fe is the name of the new collection by Dansko which they so graciously sent me and my sister to try.

Vest: Gap

Top: Lulu Lemon

Leggings: J. Crew

Scarf: Gift from my brother from Afghanistan

Shoes: Dansko

 Jacket: AK Burton via T.J. Maxx

Hoodie: American Eagle

Leggings: Calvin Klein activewear

Scarf: Street vendor in Vienna

Shoes: Dansko

This is my little (but much taller) sister Ingrid. She's a dietician and we both currently work at the same hospital and (very) occasionally are mistaken for each other (although I don't think we look alike). She was my maid of honor and gave the most beautiful toast that I have ever heard at a wedding. She also always finds the cutest workout clothes at T. J. Maxx. And she loves her new Santa Fe's and based on the picture above is clearly much more expressive about it than me.

So here they are, the Shaylas. Perfect shoes for running errands, going walking, wearing with scrubs, exercise class...and they come in lots of fun colors. I tested them out last weekend at Zumba and I couldn't believe how great the arch support is (both Ingrid and I have flat feet). Disclaimer that they are probably not meant for the snow but we have to improvise up north, ha (and they held up just fine).

Check out the collection here; I love the blue and silver because it's so versatile (and it's the brightest, prettiest shade of blue) but I almost wish that I would have gotten the fun blue/teal/lime green ones. You can enter to win your own pair here!

Linking up with the Pleated Poppy.