Aaah...sweet sunday comes to an end. My extremely short weekend was filled with sleep, eating lots, studying and taking unnecessary naps in front of the fire place...not working on weekends has been great!
So I am 3/4 of the day done with my obstetrics and gynecology rotation, and as you all can see below...it has been a minute since I've written. Let's just say that I've been dazed over the past few weeks since I was on night shift for OB. I give mad props to people who have chosen night shifts because it takes so much out of you. Not only is your sleep cycle messed up, but your meals take a turn for the worse along with your entire routine. I guess if you're doing it for longer than 2 weeks, its ok; but man all I've done for the past two weeks is sleep through the day, wake up to shower and eat, go to work---and REPEAT.
But all is well since I have really enjoyed my OB rotation thus far--more than I had expected. For those that know me personally, know that as much as I like children...anything related to pregnancy freaks me out. From the growing belly, to the fact that this little alien is basically sucking the life out of you!!! However, my first experience delivering a baby was amazing. I was about 17 minutes into my first night on the service, when the intern flags me down and tells me to go get a surgical cap and booties on. We rush the mother into the OR for a stat Cesarean delivery. I get scrubbed in (nothing different from surgery or even gynecology) and stand next to the attending with the patient draped and ready to go. The intern makes the cut and the procedure begins just like any other surgery-cut through the skin, abdominal fat with short bursts of cautery to stop bleeding, and then through the fascia. We then get to the abdominal muscles and cut and pull those apart. At that point...everything was normal...I honestly didn't feel like any sort of delivery was even going on! I must have blinked for too long, because the next thing I knew, my hands was being taken into the abdomen and being placed on some soft, sort of rounded part of the body. Naturally, I figured it was the uterus, and the attending was trying to get me to pull it up and out of the body. WRONG! They had already made a slice into the uterus and my hands were holding the head of the baby. How did I figure this out?? Well when I was being yelled at to start pulling...haha. I managed to get the head out and slipped my hands under its tiny arms to pull the rest of its tiny body out. Ignoring the blood and fluids leaking out of this lady's body, I felt a lump in my throat and tears welling up in my eyes. I had just brought a new life onto this planet! I am and always will be the first person to touch this little child and bring him into the world. I look back now and think about how sappy yet magical that very moment was and I smile every time :)
As the baby was out, I kind of just looked around the room and people were running around trying to arrange for the next few minutes. I looked down and all I saw was this tiny human being crying, wiggling his hands and feet as we prepared to cut his umbilical cord. Snap..and he was now detached from his mother. The scrub nurse quickly handed him off to the circulating nurse who wiped him down and handed him off to the pediatricians. And like that...it was over. The procedure then ended up being pretty similar to the other surgeries. Close up the uterus, push it back in, allowing it to naturally place under the bowels. Close up muscle, fascia, and then a subcuticular to close up the skin.
So that was it...! My first delivery. The night continued with excitement...just as every night afterwards...with more vaginal and cesarean deliveries.
I was getting used to my schedule...but now starting days tomorrow..err..today! Lets see how that goes. Adios for now :)
So I am 3/4 of the day done with my obstetrics and gynecology rotation, and as you all can see below...it has been a minute since I've written. Let's just say that I've been dazed over the past few weeks since I was on night shift for OB. I give mad props to people who have chosen night shifts because it takes so much out of you. Not only is your sleep cycle messed up, but your meals take a turn for the worse along with your entire routine. I guess if you're doing it for longer than 2 weeks, its ok; but man all I've done for the past two weeks is sleep through the day, wake up to shower and eat, go to work---and REPEAT.
But all is well since I have really enjoyed my OB rotation thus far--more than I had expected. For those that know me personally, know that as much as I like children...anything related to pregnancy freaks me out. From the growing belly, to the fact that this little alien is basically sucking the life out of you!!! However, my first experience delivering a baby was amazing. I was about 17 minutes into my first night on the service, when the intern flags me down and tells me to go get a surgical cap and booties on. We rush the mother into the OR for a stat Cesarean delivery. I get scrubbed in (nothing different from surgery or even gynecology) and stand next to the attending with the patient draped and ready to go. The intern makes the cut and the procedure begins just like any other surgery-cut through the skin, abdominal fat with short bursts of cautery to stop bleeding, and then through the fascia. We then get to the abdominal muscles and cut and pull those apart. At that point...everything was normal...I honestly didn't feel like any sort of delivery was even going on! I must have blinked for too long, because the next thing I knew, my hands was being taken into the abdomen and being placed on some soft, sort of rounded part of the body. Naturally, I figured it was the uterus, and the attending was trying to get me to pull it up and out of the body. WRONG! They had already made a slice into the uterus and my hands were holding the head of the baby. How did I figure this out?? Well when I was being yelled at to start pulling...haha. I managed to get the head out and slipped my hands under its tiny arms to pull the rest of its tiny body out. Ignoring the blood and fluids leaking out of this lady's body, I felt a lump in my throat and tears welling up in my eyes. I had just brought a new life onto this planet! I am and always will be the first person to touch this little child and bring him into the world. I look back now and think about how sappy yet magical that very moment was and I smile every time :)
As the baby was out, I kind of just looked around the room and people were running around trying to arrange for the next few minutes. I looked down and all I saw was this tiny human being crying, wiggling his hands and feet as we prepared to cut his umbilical cord. Snap..and he was now detached from his mother. The scrub nurse quickly handed him off to the circulating nurse who wiped him down and handed him off to the pediatricians. And like that...it was over. The procedure then ended up being pretty similar to the other surgeries. Close up the uterus, push it back in, allowing it to naturally place under the bowels. Close up muscle, fascia, and then a subcuticular to close up the skin.
So that was it...! My first delivery. The night continued with excitement...just as every night afterwards...with more vaginal and cesarean deliveries.
I was getting used to my schedule...but now starting days tomorrow..err..today! Lets see how that goes. Adios for now :)
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