The Cold that Won't Go Away

Well, the simple head cold of Friday mutated into a horrid chest cold sometime in the very early hours of Sunday morning.  It was completely surprising because all day on Saturday, I thought I was getting better.  I'd even enjoyed a lovely dinner party on Saturday night with Michael and his parents, hosted by some of our friends in honor of our upcoming family addition. So when I woke up around 1:30 A.M. with my throat on fire and with a lot of congestion and coughing, I was dismayed, to say the least. I made sure to get plenty of rest on Sunday, but I still ended up staying home on Monday.  I didn't feel too bad by mid-morning that day, so I thought it would be no problem to return to work on Tuesday. Apparently it was too soon, because I felt pretty awful all day and my coughing became worse.  I really paid for it that night because yet again, in the wee hours of Wednesday morning I was up coughing and hacking and fighting congestion. Thus, no work for me today. 

Lucky for me, I'm up to weekly visits to the doctor now, so I had an OB check-up appointment today (there will be no picture today, because I pretty much look like death warmed over). I was advised on which combination of over-the-counter meds to take and now I should be able to get by for decent chunks of time without hacking up a lung or drowning in my own mucus! My little jar of Vick's Vapor Rub is fast becoming a close friend--we're almost on a first-name basis. The cold is likely viral, and my symptoms do not indicate that it is a sinus infection--just something that has to run its course.

As for the OB portion of my OB check-up, everything is fine. Blood pressure, etc. was all within normal parameters. There was a little swelling in my feet, but nothing to worry about. My uterus is measuring at the appropriate size, and the doctor believes that Elizabeth is positioned with her head down, and feet up just as she should be.  The doctor assured me that if there's some question of her placement, they will check it with an ultrasound when I'm in the hospital. It sounds like a no-brainer, but for some reason I was really worried about that so it was good to have it confirmed.

I spent most of today resting.  I took a nice nap and made sure to stay hydrated and fed.  I am anticipating a good night's sleep, thanks to the help of my friend Vick and his associate, Ms. Robitussin (I think they're dating, but it would be a little rude to ask at this point in our friendship). I just need to get through the next two days of work, and then it will be a nice three-day weekend to finish up my recuperation.

On a fun note, the mobile we ordered for Elizabeth came in today.  It is a Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim-Mobile.  We decided to get one after reading the reviews and watching YouTube videos of babies enjoying them. It's an interesting little mobile, and we hope that Elizabeth will like it. Michael likes it because the little cards look like they belong in a psychological experimental task.

Twenty-six days to go!

A Cold, an Insect Bite, and I'm Pregnant. Man.

So, in the 35th week of my pregnancy, the whining has increased exponentially. Now you, gentle readers, get to hear it too.  I started getting a cold, with the first symptoms being the pressure building in my head because my ears tend to stop up before anything else.  Then came the sore throat yesterday, and the lovely post-nasal drip last night. Needless to say, I have been feeling pretty foul.  On top of that, I have some sort of insect bite on my back that is rather itchy (don't worry--the doctor saw it and cleared it--he thinks it might be a non-venomous spider bite).  My feet are swelling pretty much every day, and I had to take off my wedding ring because my hands started swelling a little too. 

Today was my doctor's visit, so all of these ailments have been checked out and there's nothing to worry about, as uncomfortable as they may be. Blood pressure and pulse are fine, as are all the other wonderful things they measure.  Weekly visits start next week--I'll be hitting my 36th week, so just 4 more weeks to go. Gosh! Oh--since it is a doctor day, you get a bump picture:

Note the swollen feet, the curved back--and the utter lack of the reputed pregnancy glow, gorgeous hair, and clear skin. I did get the nice nails, but those are useless because they get in the way and I'm a nail-biter.  I guess those other things got lost in the mail.

In the midst of all of these aches and pains and my whining about it, we're still so excited. We want to know what she looks like and what she'll be like. Will she be a fussy baby? Will she be cheerful? Whatever she'll be, she'll be here soon.  We are literally counting down the days to her due date (31!), even though we know she'll probably arrive later than that.  Still, we can't wait!

Exhausted.

Something unusual happened this last weekend: I took a nap on Saturday and on Sunday, and I didn't have one bit of trouble getting to sleep later on those nights.  I think I've been hit with the 3rd trimester fatigue, because at any given moment I could happily take a nap.

I'm yawning now (at 7:00 P.M.), and I even had my thimble of coffee and a snack at 5:30 P.M..  It's ridiculous!  Going in to work was pretty hard today, and I crept along very slowly from the parking lot.  I was definitely not feeling 100% this morning. Swelling in my feet happens more often now.  I'm hoping this is just some weird fluke and that it won't be like this every day, but that's probably wishful thinking on my part. After all, I'm at 35 weeks today, and there's only 5 more to go if she arrives on time.  I feel Elizabeth almost every moment--at any given time, some limb of hers is pressing into me in such a way that I can feel it, and often there are several points of contact.  No longer is she like something floating in a balloon that occasionally brushes the side of the walls--it's more like she's bunched up in a sack. My in-laws can see her moving even through my shirts.

Speaking of my in-laws, they are visiting and we're having a really good time with them.  My mother-in-law brought a lot of baby clothes procured from a thrift store she volunteers at, and they're really cute.  I can't believe how small some of them are, and I wonder whether she'll actually be that small. 

Michael and I started getting together the supplies for the hospital bag this last weekend. I think my size has him worried that I'm going to go into labor sooner than predicted, so he wants to be prepared. My next appointment is Friday, and I think it's the last one before I have to start going in once a week.  I'll definitely have another update then and another picture. Now the big thing to watch out for is when my tummy will drop!    

Nursery Tour!

As promised, I conducted a short tour of Elizabeth's nursery and Michael uploaded it to his YouTube account, so you can view it here (or just click on the video below).

Appointment Update and Mother's Day

Yesterday I had a check-up appointment, and all is well--everything is within normal limits.  As is tradition, here's a bump pic for your amusement:

 

 Not much change this time, I think. As a bonus, here's a shot from the front, since I never seem to take pictures that way anymore:

 

It's really hard to believe that in a few short days, it will only be five weeks until my due date.

My mother is already trying to prepare me--she sent me a Mother's Day card in the mail with a very sweet message, and it also contained her 'mother and child' pendant, which she wanted me to have.  I almost cried, because the pregnancy hormones are back in all their glory.  They disappeared for a while and I thought I would be spared, but nope--I'm crying at the drop of a hat and my temper is quicker than usual, too. 

Pelvic pain is definitely more common now when I've been sitting in one spot for a while, or upon waking up. Strangely enough, I haven't had any charlie-horses lately! I'm wondering if it has something to do with my shaved ice habit--if it's helping me meet my daily water quota, then maybe that is keeping my muscles from seizing up? I'd also had trouble in the mornings with feeling a little sick for several weeks now, but I thought it was due to post-nasal drip from allergies or acid reflux or something. I discovered the actual culprit was my high-fiber cereal!  I noticed that on the weekends I didn't feel sick, and after comparing things I realized that the main difference was our breakfasts. I guess the cereal was just too much for my stomach to take that early, so I tried eating a piece of toast for breakfast instead and my little experiment was successful--I didn't feel sick. 

Well, I'd best close this post, because we're watching a movie on Netflix--Junior!