Birthin' Babies

So far so good. I'm liking OB. (Loving looking out my window too. See these recent pics.) My schedule is pretty nice, actually. True, when all is said and done, I only have 4 days off in a 6 week period. However, here's how my schedule works:

Day one: CALL
Day two: post-call
Day three: Rover (f/u lab results and do NST's, AFI's - very low key); prepare for a talk (also act as back up for labor and delivery should they need it).
Day four: give a talk in AM and have clinic all day
Lather, rinse and repeat

Call on 4th of July was fine. I delivered 5 babies on my first call and three on the 4th. Big numbers right off the bat. I'm getting the hang of it. I don't get a lot of sleep on call - I got to lie down for about an hour the last time which was nice. But overall I am pretty busy between checking on pregnant women and working up women in triage.

I wish I could report on all my fabulous adventures in my free time but there hasn't been much of it yet. I do get a golden weekend on the 14th. Ahh... what is a golden weekend you ask? Let me clarify:
Golden weekend: when you have both weekend days off. Typically that's being post-call on Friday and then free on the weekend.
Black weekend: when you work both weekends day - typically on call Saturday and post call Sunday, back to work on Monday, etc.

Me? My golden weekend is the 14th. I have the unsual misfortune of having two black weekends in the four weeks - the first and last. Which actually makes for a bit more than a 4-week rotation but them's the breaks.

Interesting deliveries I've had:

There was the lady who employed hypnosis and a doula to help her. Each time we went into he darkened room a recording of a "soothing" voice repeated over and over again how relaxed her cervix was and how happy she was. We weren't allowed to call her contractions contractions. They were called "birthing waves" and we couldn't ask her about her pain, we had to ask her about her comfort level. In addition she, her husband and doula took many minutes to deliberate together, separately, and together again on each decision about medical intervention since her labor was progressing very ,very slowly and baby was looking a little distressed on the monitors. Long story short: Near the end she was crying out that the hypnosis wasn't working and that she was miserable. She seemed just about to ask for an epidural, but then baby came along, ended up healthy, and all was dandy. Definitely an interesting experience.

Then there was the lady who, after having so many babies, delivered her baby so fast that by the time I got into the room the baby's shoulders were out and the nurses just helped the baby slip out and onto the bed. No time to even write her admission orders!

I have to say, adoption is looking very tempting... I come at the end of a call with visions of stretching vaginas in my head.

Hey - and look at the GIANT artichoke I ate for dinner!