Thursday, September 22, 2011

What's Up, Doc?

Oh, the times are a-changing.

We've got some pretty big changes happening in our lives right now,  and I just thought I would let ya'll in on what exactly is going on (and why we've been a bit behind in our projects lately).


First off - I'm officially 32 weeks along, folks! Hows that for exciting news, huh? Yep, I'll be starting my 9th month of being pregnant in less than a week, and we couldn't be more thrilled. What with all the drama that's been going on in this pregnancy, there were many weeks in which we doubted that we'd make it this far. But I guess all the hoping and praying that friends, family, and us, have been doing has been working - because here we are! This is a big milestone because if Baby M. ended up coming now, he'd most likely be perfectly fine. And THAT, my friends, is a huge relief!

So, yes, being in the "safe zone" has me walking around being my usual happy self again, humming random songs with a smile on my face. And even with all the aches and pains and annoyances of pregnancy - I'm just thrilled that I'm still pregnant and this baby's still cookin'. It's funny how one near-disastrous experience can really put everything into perspective, isn't it?


Moving onto other news, my partner-in-crime and the dad-to-be, Tom, is in his last year of medical school! (which is why his contributions to this blog are pretty slim - he's a busy guy!). Yep, he's been working hard for the past few years and he's finally almost a real doctor. Or a resident, anyways. This summer, after 4 years of medical school, he'll graduate and get his official white coat, and then he'll go into a residency program where he'll finally be practicing medicine as a resident. Residents are sorta like interns - they're actually doctors, but they're still learning some things. After a few years as resident, he'll graduate and finally, FINALLY be a real 100% bona-fide doctor! Craziness, huh? I can't believe he's almost done with medical school - time's just been flying by!

And other exciting news? Tom's picked what sort of doctor he wants to be, which is a big deal! You see, the first 2 years of medical school are spent mostly learning in the classroom, and the last 2 years of medical school are spent out in the field (aka, hospitals, offices and clinics) working alongside doctors and treating real patients, thus gaining real-world experience. During those 2 years, students rotate through tons of different types of practices - family medicine, surgery, pediatrics, OBGYN, to name just a few. But the big decision during medical school is that each student picks what sort of doctor they want to be, which is huge, people! (let's not forget all the money, and years, they've already spent just to get to this point - it's definitely not a decision to be taken lightly!).

After lots of thought and time spent in his rotations trying to figure out where his niche was, Tom found it in anesthesiology. Yep, he's gonna be "that guy" that puts people to sleep when they head off for surgery! Or at least that's what I used to think. After hearing him talk about what really goes on in anesthesiology, I know now that it's a lot more complicated than that - anesthesiologists are more like the doctors who work behind the scenes (aka, the "spotlight" of the surgeons and nurses) to keep the patient alive during surgery. Patients are always hovering on the line between life and death during surgery, and it's their job to keep those patients more on the "life" side of that line while serious surgery is being performed. It's a very serious job, and many patients don't always appreciate their anesthesiologist as much as they probably should, because most people don't really know what's going on in the operating room once they've been knocked out! Since hearing Tom's stories of what life is like in the operating room and what anesthesiologists actually do, though, I know I've definitely got much more appreciation for the tough and intense job they tackle everyday.


Tom absolutely loves anesthesiology, and I couldn't be more thrilled that he's finally found his "calling"!

The next step is applying to residency programs, which also requires that Tom (and sometimes me and Baby M), travel to all sorts of places around the country for interviews and to see what the residency program and city/town is like. While we'd love to stay here in Nebraska, we'll go wherever we think is best. It would be sad to leave our little home that we've worked so hard on for the past few years, but I can't deny that I love a good adventure and experiencing new places! So you can expect to see some posts about our travels in the next few months.

And lastly, an update on the Barley-meister.


In short, he has no earthly idea of what is in store for him, lurking just around the corner. He's gonna be a big brother to new little person soon - and he doesn't even know it yet! We've heard of some pets who can "sense" what is happening and know that their owner is pregnant somehow, but we're pretty sure that Barley is absolutely clueless.

To help prepare him for the shock of a new family member, we've been using a baby doll as a stand-in "baby". We'll wrap it up in a blanket and coo at it, and carry it around the house, and even push it around in the stroller, to help get him used to the idea that there's going to be another little guy soon that we'll be paying lots of attention to, too. We probably look like a couple of crazies doing it, haha! But it seems to be working pretty well. We're using lots of positive reinforcement to ensure that he doesn't get jealous of the new baby, while also trying to limit some of Barley's more dangerous tendencies, like jumping. We're pretty hopeful that Barley will make a great big brother, though!

So that's our lives in a wrap, and what changes are gonna be coming our way (and on the blog) shortly. Gotta love this crazy life!

That leaves me wondering - what's up with you lately? Any big changes you're going through, or are there any looming on the horizon?

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6 comments:

  1. Ooh big news! Congrats to Tom and congrats on week 32! :)

    Our big news lately is that we're closing on our house tomorrow! So excited!

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  2. How exciting! And you look gorgeous!

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  3. I'm so excited for you two! You have so many great things coming your way! You look great, Chelsea!!!

    And congrats to Tom for choosing what he wants to do and moving forward. That has to be extremely exciting! I'm using too many exclamation points but this was a very happy post! hahaha

    I absolutely love what you are doing to get Barley used to a baby in the house. I can just picture it - too funny - but if it seems to be working then that's all that matters! I'm so glad you can feel at peace now with your pregnancy and can happily wait for the little one to make an appearance.

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  4. Congratulations to you! You're looking fabulous. So many exciting changes on the horizon for your family!

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  5. you look great! i hope the last weeks go by fast for you :)

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  6. Having been an OR nurse for 30 years, I can give a big ABSOLUTELY to the importance of the anesthesiologist. When I had my surgery, I would have been ok with many of the surgeons but wanted to pick the nurses who would be assuring the sterility and the person putting me to sleep and waking me up. They are indeed one of the most important factors. Good luck to him in both his career and in parenthood. You will both be great.

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