quickie

keepin’ it brief
today — because i need to spend a few minutes cramming the steroid synthesis pathway into my head:

maybe if i blog it, it will stick in my brain!
today is our annual SITE exam — sort of a prep for the official pediatric endocrine boards that i’ll take in the fall of 2013. i’m generally a good test taker, but i have a long way to go before i’ll feel prepared for the real thing! today’s experience will likely serve as inspiration to take on a more structured and thoughtful study program next year [likely at the start or end of my lab workdays, while still at work — based on discussions i’ve had with other fellows/residents with children, i don’t have delusions that i’ll have much time to spend studying at home].

highlights from yesterday
♥ look what the amazing and sweet lindsay managed to track down for me!!

when i posted about the orla kiely for uniqlo collection [and mourned my inability to get anywhere a uniqlo — there’s no way to order their stuff], lindsay mentioned that her brother’s girlfriend worked for the company and could easily track it down!

i LOVE it and can’t wait until i can wear it!!

just need the bump to shrink a little first!
lindsay, you made my day for the second time yesterday!!!

♥ the initial highlight [which could have been a low-light]:

ahhhhhhh she looks so DONE now!!
i ended up with an ultrasound at my OB appointment yesterday — totally unexpected. i expressed some concerns i was having to the OB about her growth — my fundal height had been measuring ahead for quite some time, but over the last month or so had stalled at 35 cm. i didn’t feel like my bump was growing like some of the other at-term moms i saw walking around, and my weight gain had stalled despite feeling like i have been eating to capacity every day. i also thought she seemed like she was moving less than previously — definitely not STILL, but i wasn’t feeling the pokes and prods all day that i was used to.

she said she wanted to get an ultrasound [and non-stress test] to assess her growth and evaluate amniotic fluid levels [since low fluid could explain some of this] but if there had been a diagnosis code for “maternal anxiety” i think that would probably have been used.

in the end, everything was totally fine — fluid looked great, size normal although on the smaller side [estimated weight currently at 6 lbs, 3 oz — 19th percentile for 38 weeks]. of course, ultrasound measurements are notoriously inaccurate so i’m not putting much stock into this, but i’m just happy the fluid levels looked good and that she didn’t look TOO small.

just for fun, the ultrasound tech confirmed that yes – she is still a she, and bonus: she has HAIR!

now if they could only tell me the color . . .
more tomorrow in the official 38 week post — because i’m sure you all want to know whether my umbilicus has finally given out! [please note i’m being totally sarcastic. but i’m still cataloguing the details every other week — so that at least i can look back on them someday! plus, i have to admit i love going back to other previously pregnant ladies’ blogs to compare their experiences to my own!]

dinner
turkey burgers. cheddar. salad. DONE.

the hardest part was cleaning the grill pan afterwards
[and that fun task went to josh!]