floods

The only natural disaster that occurs here are floods. We've had several in the past few years (blog 2001), and it seems like they're becoming more frequent.

This morning, I got out of the clinic early for lunch since there were hardly any patients likely because of the heavy rain. When I got onto the access road to get onto the highway, I saw that there was water on the road , but not enough to worry about. Tons of other cars were in front of me driving along. When I approached the intersection, the water all of a sudden got deeper and I started getting concerned. I couldn't turn around because the water was too deep. I spotted a Jack-in-the-Box to the right that I could turn into, but it was after the intersection. AND, what made things worse was that the light was red.

As the rain poured and the water got deeper, it felt like forever before that light turned green. I wanted to "run it," but that would mean risking my life even more since other cars and a VIA bus were crossing at the same time. So I prayed (yep, in tongues too). Finally, the light turned green and I slowly drove my Honda through the flooded intersection. The water went up to my car door. As soon as I got to the Jack-in-the Box, I turned into the parking lot which was slightly elevated above the flood plain.

Safely inside, I basically enjoyed some fries and watched other people risk their lives crossing the even more flooded intersection. One guy was even pushing his stalled red sports car to higher ground despite the water being up to his thighs. After 40 minutes, the rain subsided and the water receded enough for police cars to block the intersection. Since the entrance to the highway was clear, I decided to drive home before the rain started up again.

Whew! What a day. I'll have to visit that Jack-in-the-Box again to thank one of the employees for letting me use her cell phone since I had forgotten mine at home.

ahhh . . .sleep

For the first time since the baby was born, I have slept for 7 hours, pretty much straight. My mom spent the night for the past 2 days because my husband had to go out of town. She glady got up and fed the baby every 2 hours, while I slept and then left for work.

I went back to work this week, but I have a schedule that enables me to gradually get back into the natural pace of things. The Filipina pediatrician I'm shadowing has short clinic hours and then, on other days, I have my own clinic. Since I didn't have a schedule till this week, many of the patients I saw were not my own. That could have slowed me down, but I found i'm back to seeing ~ 12 patients a half day.

I am glad to be back seeing patients, but I do miss the baby during the day. I'm also wondering if I'm becoming a stranger to him. Does he know I'm his mommy?

3 weeks old

The little boy is 3 weeks old now, but I feel like we've had him for much longer. I have only 1 1/2 more weeks till I go back to work, but in reality I never really took vacation. For one, I'm doing a "reading elective" so I'm supposed to be writing outlines on various medical articles, but have I had the time to read them? N-O. Plus, is this really a vacation?

He has changed so much in 3 weeks from the fragile 6 pounder to a boy with fuller cheeks and finally some meat on his bones. This, is of course, after I have become slave to the breast pump and have had anxiety about him being jaundiced, not "latching-on" smoothly, and not having enough bowel movements/urine output per 24 hour period. He eats well now, but he sure likes to cry from 12 midnight till dawn.

I'm concerned about how I will return to work sleep deprived and with looming overnight hospital calls. How do the other residents do it?

he beckons

the baby's cry can sometimes be very cute, but at night when the house is quiet, his cry can be very alarming. At night, I work fast to quell the cry. I change his diaper in the dark, warm milk and pour it in the bottle with one hand as I hold him in the other, and then I rock him pendulum style rotating through this routine for hours. When he's finally down in the crib, I probably peek at him every 10 minutes to see if he's breathing, not spitting up, etc. His well-being has consumed me!

As a new parent, I have more of an appreciation of all the new mothers I have seen as my own patients. All the times I tried to gingerly give them a "medical" answer for all their questions, I can now say things from experience! I actually feel more empowered as a family physician even though I'm presently worn-out.

why do you still have a belly?

The day my friend has her baby I too will ask her this question. Before I delivered, I naively thought I would be one of those women who would have the baby and be back to my svelte self. People kept on saying," You're all baby!" and I believed them.

Somewhere during the 3rd trimester I think I went overboard eating frozen custard and now I'm paying for it! I gained 35lbs and have lost 20 of them, but I can't fit into any pre-pregnancy pants or skirts.

Now I know yet another sacrifice women make by having children--and to think I'm planning to get pregnant again within a few years . . .