Love at First Sight

I believe in love at first sight. We all fell in love with her, instantly. My twin sister reminded me that she and our other sister hounded the delivery area while they were waiting for Mini Me to be born. They had been up all night—insisting on sleeping in my car in the rain just outside the hospital—and they felt like my c-section was taking too long. Literally, they were outside the ‘Do Not Enter’ doors, just about to walk in like they owned the place….and that’s when they saw him. Mr. Bookworm turned the corner, wheeling our bundle of everything down the corridor to her Ninangs (godmother or special aunt in Tagalog). I don’t remember her telling me about this bit before, but my twin recently described it like a scene out of a movie. Mr. Bookworm was floating on air as he brought Mini Me down the hall to meet them.

Admittedly the day is a bit blurry for me due to a mixture of lack of sleep, many hours of labor, and anesthesia.

I recall seeing her laying down on the warmer, arms and legs stretched out, erythromycin ointment goo in her eyes, and all peach delicious chub. And I recall confusedly asking Mr. Bookworm if she really was 8 pounds and 7 ounces.

My first moments with Macy and Little Lion are vastly different as I can recall everything with more clarity. At the same time, I also fell in love at first sight with each of them. How could I not? They were (are) a part of me for so long.

So, yes, I believe in love at first sight.

The Doctor-Patient Bond

For me, it’s happened multiple times, but I’ll be honest and say that there are many babies that I have loved. There are many kids who brighten my day, not just my own. One of the things that I love about being a part of a private practice is that I FINALLY have continuity. (I worked at several different clinics before and my schedule was not predictable. It was also associated with a large children’s hospital and a large population so it was very rare that I got to see the same patients over and over again.)

I love watching ‘my’ newborns gain their chub, and seeing them learn to smile, then laugh, and eventually joke around with me.

I love having the privilege of getting to know my families and being a tiny part of their lives. Even on the hard days. Mostly.

To say I am grateful would be an understatement. But I’ll say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU anyway to our community of families and also to the amazing people I work with. xo