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!