Yes, we are insane!

So, I am up at school, throwing stitches in a pig's foot (yes you read that correctly . . . we are practicing for the ED) when my classmate turns to me and asks, "Heather, why are you wearing motion sickness bracelets when the ground isn't moving?"
The same question could be asked about "Why are you eating snacks all through church . . . on fast Sunday, no less?" "Why are you drinking ginger ale constantly during your ED shift?" Or "Why are you allowing yourself to suck on peppermint gum while sleeping?"

There can only be one answer:

I'm pregnant.

And now I remember why it took me almost four years to gear up the courage to do this again . . . and I've decided this is the LAST TIME!

There is great power in the words "LAST TIME." For example, every time I bend over the toilet hurling, I can say with confidence that this is the LAST TIME I will have the 'stomach flu' for 2 months. Or when I begin crying because I finally get to see my kids for the day only to realize that I can't keep my eyes open but to run to the bathroom, I can take comfort in the fact that this is the LAST TIME I will do this.

Two nights ago I kept waking every hour dry heaving. All I could think about was how I was going to make my 7:00 AM shift in the trauma bay if I couldn't try to get some sleep. I kept imaging myself puking into some gaping wound. Finally, I looked at the clock and felt elated that it was 5:30 and I could justify getting up. Suddenly I woke up dry heaving, looked at the clock, and hung my head when I realized it was only 3:30 and I had to try sleeping for another 2 hours.
It's a mad world we live in.

That said, the trauma shift turned out fine. One thing about our ED is that people are generally laid back and personable. And you cannot overestimate the power of distraction!

In seriousness though, we are excited about this pregnancy. The due date is October 23, which is about 4 months into intern year.

We finally told the boys, who took a good 24 hours to start believing us. Ashton has decided that the baby must be a girl because, for the first time in a year, I painted my toe nails . . . a brilliant cherry red . . . and "only girls paint their nails."