Prior to becoming pregnant, I’d always think about how I’d act or be like during pregnancy. Would I worry 24/7? Would all my medical knowledge just go out the window? Would I be super chill and not worried? Would I be scared/anxious? My baseline in life and with work is to not panic or worry. I like to think of myself as being cool, calm, and collected—now this doesn’t apply to EVERYTHING in life of course, but for the most part.
I remember after a very chaotic shift during residency, one of my attending told me: “You keep your cool under pressure, you don’t panic and you’re able to still communicate effectively”. To me, this was the ultimate compliment, because I remember that particular day, and let me just say… inside I was PANICKED. But after receiving that compliment I realized the importance of keeping my calm—even in stressful situations.
So what have I been like throughout this pregnancy? Keep reading to find out!
As soon as I took my positive pregnancy test I did have a moment of “Oh CRAP. What do I do now?!” I remember calling my friend (who’s also an OBGYN) and being like “Omg, omg, omg. What am I supposed to do?!” She just laughed at me and obviously congratulated me. She told me to enjoy this moment with Cory and to continue taking my prenatal vitamins. She also reminded me to avoid alcohol and certain foods lol.
I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty worried about a miscarriage initially. I know how common they are and I wanted to ensure that the baby was in the correct location and growing appropriately, so I COULD NOT WAIT for my ultrasound. Around 5 weeks I scanned myself and would see the tiniest little baby… Then I would continue to scan myself whenever I could, but at 7 weeks I had my first official scan, and thank God everything looked GREAT!
I still worried so I did 2 things:
Cory and I decided not to tell anyone about the pregnancy until after the first trimester (personal choice). The chance of miscarriage is significantly lower after the first trimester. AND I prayed to Jesus and asked him to give me a sign that the pregnancy was healthy until I could feel constant movement…. and I believe my prayers were answered because I had CONSTANT nausea/vomiting until 22 weeks of pregnancy hahaha. I played myself with that one—but I’m so thankful for an answered prayer!
Then it was time to find a provider! I’m lucky in the sense that I know a lot of OBGYNs in my area (since, duh I work with a lot of them!), but I immediately thought of my residency friend who lives really close to me. I texted her and immediately got scheduled for an appointment! She trained with me so I KNOW she’s good 🙂
After having my first appointment, having all blood work drawn, and doing the genetic screening for my baby—all of which were negative and normal! It’s like I could take a sigh of relief! I was so excited that everything was going so well that from that point on I’ve been extremely chill. I’m honestly not worried, I take things as they come and I have full faith that everything is in God’s hands. Whatever happens, happens and I trust it’ll be in His perfect timing.
I will admit that I am a little nervous for the actual delivery part—or nervous-excited I should say. How will it feel to be on the patient side? Will it hurt a lot? What centimeters will I get the epidural? Will I tear? Will Cory pass out during the delivery? LOL all very normal feelings and questions—but mainly I’m just so excited to meet this little baby!
