Peds - not as easy as you'd think

So, I've been working in a private practice Peds office for the past two weeks, and - I've actually enjoyed myself! I was a little worried initially, thinking I would hate dealing with snotty-nosed kids and their parents. On the other hand, I absolutely LOVE working with little kiddos, so I thought maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Well, despite the snotty-noses and coughing all over me, the kids are adorable! Some are screamers, but surprisingly most are extremely well-behaved, especially considering most are sick and feel like poo. And then some are just downright cute :) However, I feel like the medicine is either boring or hard - not much in between. Often its just the run-of-the-mill flu, upper respiratory infection or well-child visits. But there's things you have to remember like congenital abnormalities and other illnesses that are unique to children. I always kind of thought as kids as miniature adults - not so! Luckily I don't give vaccinations to the kids, so at least I don't have to deal with pissed off kids after they get stuck with a couple needles :)

The biggest downside so far - I got sick. After only one week in the office I came down with a cold. Not a terrible one, but when commuting an average of one hour each way and not so short days, I was pretty exhausted all the time. Plus I felt bad sniffling while examining a patient. I did tell my preceptor that I wasn't going to see any of the kids under 2 months old because the risk of giving them my cold was just too high for my comfort. (I'm pretty sure she appreciated that) I finally kicked the cold after almost a week and having to take a day off. Still better than the flu, though! After seeing so many kids with presumed H1N1, I'm very glad I got my vaccine! Plus I've managed to stay away from pink eye so I'm pretty happy about that.

In other news, this week we found out that my sister-in-law (Tess) is most-likely having another girl for her 2nd child. The sono tech told them she was 75% sure it was a girl, but apparently the baby wouldn't spread her legs for the sono, so they are having another at the end of Nov to get confirmation. That means, come spring, I'll have 6 nieces (5 on my side and one from Corey's side)! That's a whole lot of estrogen! Now the question is, will Corey and I buck the trend and have all boys, or will we continue it with having a girl? That question won't be answered any time soon though - still lots for us to do before having babies!