I'm really glad I stayed home yesterday. I feel a thousand times better.

Gema and I went to Labor and Delivery today, where you need to wear special scrubs that you obtain at the scrub machine.

I was with a woman today who had a scheduled Cesarean, so I got to be there with her and her husband throughout the entire process from pre-op to post-partum. Watching surgeons cut her open and take out a child was one of the wildest things I have ever seen, especially considering that she was awake for the whole thing. I learned that a c-section is not a gentle procedure. During the post-partum care, my clinical instructor came in, grabbed my shoulder, and said "Quick, there's a vaginal about to go down." She then threw me into a room where another woman was pushing (with their permission of course), and I watched the last 15 minutes of labor. The couple seemed very relaxed and happy, chatting casually between contractions about college football. I was a tad uncomfortable being there at one of the most intimate and amazing times in their lives, but after a well placed comment about Notre Dame and offering to take a picture of the new family, I made myself feel welcome.

Both births yielded beautiful baby girls, and both were equally amazing.