I won the lottery!

We found out our third year schedule today (decided by lottery). I locked into my first four weeks outside of the lottery system because I am having a baby in June (another student in my class whose wife is due in August was also given the same option), but the rest of my schedule was lottery-based along with everyone else, so I have been significantly worried that I would end up with a terrible schedule.

Instead, it is perfect. I am THRILLED with my schedule! Almost everything is exactly what I had hoped for--even the details that we were not given the option of voting one way or the other on (for instance, the order of Peds and Ob within the Peds/Ob rotation).

My schedule:
8/31-9/25--Ambulatory Care (Private Practice)
9/28-11/6--Pediatrics (Sinai)
11/9-12/18--Ob/Gyn (Elmhurst...I actually requested Elmhurst over Sinai though it is a bit farther away because it is the best site for "catching a lot of babies"...fun, eh?)
1/4-3/26--Medicine (Geriatrics@Sinai&BronxVA, then medicine outpatient @ Englewood, then In-patient @ Sinai)
4/5-5/28--Surgery (I don't know the order within surgery, but half is at Sinai and half is at Elmhurst)
5/28-6/18--Elective
6/21-6/28--Anesthesia
Psych and neuro (deferred to fourth year).

March through May of next year will be tough (Inpatient Medicine at Sinai is notoriously unpredictable and exhausting, as is surgery), and there will be about six weeks of exhaustion in November-midDecember (followed by vacation, though--terrific!), but I am SO, SO happy that none of the rotations with the most demanding schedules are in the very beginning, and that the most stressful two are put off until the new baby will be 9-12 months old. YES, a 9-12 month old is WAY, WAY more interesting and enjoyable to spend time with than an infant (no offense to infants, they are great too....for blobs), but I also feel like a long day at daycare is much less problematic for a 9 month old than for a three month-old. Everyone has different feelings about different ages and when it is most important to be around more, but the bottom line is, for a vast number of reasons this is a situation I am very, very happy about. With a sigh of relief, I can officially look forward now to third year without anxiety. We are all going to be fine. I am excited!!