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1. Sort of shocked to pass my 6 month wedding anniversary 6 months pregnant. But I guess not really, because the main reason I wanted to get married was to have kiddos... And let's face it, I come from one fertile familia... 2. Randomly, I miss my pre-pregnant abs… a lot.  3. It's difficult to decide what someone else's name should be.. i.e. my child... Which makes me think how difficult it will be to make so many other decisions that will shape another person's life.. 4. It's so cool to grow a baby, but it's so uncool to expand in this manner.. 5. Virgin piña coladas taste almost exactly like alcoholic piña coladas.. Like diabetes. And tropical humidity. 6. Going through a second residency sucks bad. Hope it'll be worth it in the end. 7. Sad, but not surprised, that almost all of my best friends ended up on the far West Coast. Miss them. It's just too far. 8. Speaking of, how the hell and why did so many people I know end up...

I think it might be safe to say that my early pregnancy may have been some of the most confusing days of my life…  There have been many times in my life when some ethical question has been raised that was “fun” to ponder over. Or maybe I’d even get defensive, or step onto some moral high ground about what is clearly the “right” thing to do in this scenario. Most of the time, I enjoy arguing both sides and trying to persuade myself that they have equal validity ethically, which is what makes them an ethical puzzle in the first place.  My first exposure to genetic screening for prenatal care was actually as a family medicine physician. I learned some basic things, listened to some of my teachers and attendings explaining the testing to patients, and then started counseling patients myself. Like many things that I repeat often (informed consent, etc), I developed a sort of script that I would repeat to each patient. It went something like this: “There is genetic screenin...

1. According to my calendar, I'm getting married in 2 weeks. Whoa. 2. I haven't lost 10lb. Or quit biting my nails. Or gotten my hair cut in 8 months. Or dyed out the new white strands of hair. Or had some expensive face skin peel to make me look younger. I still have never had a manicure or pedicure. Which means, I suppose, that I will be appearing at my wedding as "Em." 3. I think I'm old enough to say now that I understand something my mom told me as a young adult. Life milestones always feel strange. You look forward when you're younger and wonder who you'll be and what you'll think when you finally ______.. (move away from home, get married, become a doctor, lose a loved one, become an Aunt). And then it happens and you really are that same kid who wondered about it so long ago. It feels like a strange disconnect to me. Almost like it's not happening to you but instead there is a Narrator and and Actor of your life. And your brain is...