On the mend

Slowly but surely, we're both recovering here at the Iaco house. Paul caught whatever I had, so it's been a rough week or so. I was put on Tamiflu while he was put on an inhaler for bronchitis. We should both be in tip-top shape for Sunday's shower!

Speaking of showers, we had one this past weekend at his sister's (attended by his side of the family and friends). It was such a nice time!! We received so many nice gifts, and now it's time for me to sit down and write thank you notes. That's the hardest part for me--getting the motivation to do that task.

This weekend's shower will be a HUGE crowd! It'll be my family and friends gathering for a brunch at Kate's house. I'll be excited to see Robert acting as waiter for the day. ☺ It hit me at last week's shower that we're really having a baby! I think I got teary-eyed opening the first gift. It really was incredible to realize that!

I have a regular OB appt in one week, then another ultrasound 2 weeks after that (to see what position the little man has put himself in). He's moving a LOT these days, and I'm definitely getting more and more uncomfortable. This is my last week of work at the vet clinic, and while a part of me is sad to be leaving there, it'll be nice to spend some time relaxing and catching up on the sleep I've been lacking lately.

Photos from last week are on my photo site, and I'll get this weekend's up there afterwards. Enjoy!

Uh oh.

Looks like someone may have caught something in da house. Ok, it's me and yes, it appears to be a flu. Or a cold, but yesterday at the doctor's office, they treated me like I had the plague. It started Tuesday with a scratchy throat that got progressively worse all afternoon (I was at work). By that night, I knew it was ugly. Nothing I tried was helping--cough drops, hot tea, gargling with salt water (most of which turned into gagging on salt water)...nothing.

I called my regular doctor's office yesterday to ask about the flu vaccine (to see if I could get it if I wasn't feeling well). Paul and I had planned to go get the H1N1 vaccine on Monday at the local high school, where it's being given. It's damned near impossible to find it anywhere else, but there are places that are offering it in Kane county. So I'm talking to a nurse and it's revealed that I don't feel well and I'm 7.5 months pregnant. She tells me to get into their office NOW. I wasn't sure why--frankly, it's just my throat that hurts, so I didn't think it was a big deal. I'd had no fever, almost no cough, very little runny nose, and didn't see what the big deal was. But I went in and after a quick check, I was sent on my way with a Tamiflu prescription.

I stopped at the pharmacy and filled it, then went home and started on my 5 day course. I hardly slept last night (after purposefully NOT napping yesterday, in the hopes of getting a beautiful night's sleep) and woke up this morning with more of a runny nose and my still-sore throat. I still have no cough, which I think is the main culprit in the H1N1 virus, so I'm banking on this just being a cold. It's not the worst cold I've ever had and frankly, I don't feel the most horrible I've ever felt, but I know with the little man baking inside, I need to be more cautious.

Looks like I'll be skipping out on work today, and I feel bad because I think there was a little baby-related something planned during our scheduled staff meeting this afternoon. I feel bad for missing it, but I don't want to risk infecting everyone else there. It's just not worth it.

So here I sit on this rainy, crappy day. Maybe I'll get something productive done here at home?? We'll see!

Head up

Just got back from another ultrasound, and I'm not quite sure what to think. See, the baby's breech right now, his head high up and bum down (he's even face down, so we got no good pictures of him!). The doctor said there's a chance he may turn before his due date (and we'll have another ultrasound in 4 weeks to check), but if he doesn't, we'll be scheduling a c-section.

I'm torn--on one hand, I'd love to have him naturally so that my mom could see one of her grandchildren enter the world as nature intended. However, there's a certain appeal to being able to schedule the exact day he'll be born, which would likely be about a week before he's due (ideally, Dec 2 or 3 for his arrival would suit me just fine).

So...we wait. Whatever happens, I'll be happy with. I'm seriously 50/50 split on which way I'd like this to happen. I should take into consideration that, at 33 weeks, he's measuring 37 cm and the kid weighs a whopping 6 lbs 7 oz (from their calculations, which could always be a little off). That means, if he gains 1/2 lb each week until he's born, he'll be just over 10 lbs at birth. Do I really want to push 10 lbs of solid mass out my hoo-ha? Probably not.

Now, because we're hosting Thanksgiving, we're hoping the little man doesn't make an appearance 2 weeks earlier than expected. That would put him right around Thanksgiving, and if I'm going to be carved like a turkey myself, I probably wouldn't make it home to the 25 people expected at my house that day.

There you have it, folks. He's still moving like crazy and definitely developing a pattern to the movements (at certain times, etc). Good thing I get no sleep between 2:30am-6am, because I'll be doing some heavy entertaining during those hours, given his current swim schedule. That seems to be when he's at his busiest.

Only 2 more weeks of work (at the vet clinic), and about 4-5 more weeks of tutoring. It'll be strange not to work again, but I'm sure I'll resume tutoring and teaching at some point....provided I have someone to babysit. ☺ I have a feeling my mom and sister will be first in line for that job!

Hot tamale

Not much to report from the Iaco house. Baby's been active, moving around like crazy at different times, sometimes not the most ideal times (3am is a popular time!). He doesn't wake me, but if I get up during the night to pee, he's all over the place while I'm trying to get back to sleep. I'm not complaining--it's really quite cool! Fascinates the hell outta me! The belly's getting bigger, too, but thankfully no sign of stretch marks. ☺

One issue I've had to deal with more and more is acid reflux. Now, I don't really know the difference between this and heartburn so it could be either, but since there's a lot of burping and some residuals, I'm calling it reflux. I've had to deal with this before--I was on Prevacid for a short time and was taking it when needed. I'm not taking anything now but just learning to deal with it and avoid doing things that exacerbate it.

Yesterday, we attended an all-day childbirth class at the hospital where we'll have the baby (Delnor). It was somewhat interesting--I don't know that I learned a lot of anything new, but there were a few things that were informative. Paul definitely got more out of it than I did. I'm still undecided about the flu vaccines (both of them). I hear so many different things about each one that I don't know what to believe anymore. The swine flu vaccine still isn't available for pregnant women, but it sounds like it's close to being ready.

We have a bunch of busy weekends coming up. Next weekend is Homecoming at IC and a birthday party for Paul's niece, Claire. The following weekend is a baby shower for my cousin, Sarah, then one for me the next day (hosted by Paul's sister--it'll be mostly people from "his side"). The weekend after that is Halloween, then another baby shower for us hosted by my sister. November will bring us birthdays galore, then Thanksgiving, which we're hosting. YES, you read that right--we're hosting Thanksgiving. I'll be just about 9 months pregnant and probably not doing much that day, but we'll have 25 or so people here, both sides of the family, ready to pitch in. We promised last year that, if we moved, we'd host it. Well, that's what we're doing. I'm actually looking forward to it though!

I'm still working, both at the vet clinic and tutoring. Not sure how long I'll do these, but I'm hoping to stretch it out as long as possible. The thought of not working is just so weird to me! I know the baby will be equivalent to a couple full-time jobs, but he won't be making me any money. ☺ A lot of changes will be happening after he arrives!

Enjoy the fall weather!

One busy little man

I just got back from seeing the OB and I'm happy to report that everything looks great! Baby is measuring the same as last time, which she said could just be because of his position. Right now, he's assumed to be head down. There has been TONS of movement lately, and in just the past few days, I've felt more body parts--fists, feet, that sort of thing. He pushes out, I push back in. It's fascinating as all hell to me! I know women go through this all the time, but I don't.

I realize I may be giving away the sex of the baby to those who may not have wanted to know (sorry, Cathy!). It's getting harder to avoid referring to him as a HIM. ☺ So there you have it--he's a boy!

His heartrate was great, my blood pressure is great, and the doctor said I look really good for being 7 months along. Admittedly, I'm feeling uncomfortable at times, but not all the time. My biggest issue is finding a pair of pants that fit comfortably--I mostly wear granny-type elastic waist pants.

My work schedule is nice in that I can spend my days off laying around, not letting things swell up like most women have to. Hee hee! I still bowl on occasion (in a league). Being pregnant hasn't helped or hurt my average, which has pretty much always sucked, but I still have a good time.

My next appt is Oct 19 for an ultrasound (to check growth). We are also scheduled to go to an all-day childbirth class on the 10th. Neither one of us is all that excited--we've heard they cater mostly to those who are young and inexperienced with babies, of which we're neither.

I'm also trying to decide about the flu vaccines (both the regular and H1N1). The last one I had was a regular one 10 years ago, and 3 weeks later, I was violently ill. That pretty much turned me off to getting more, but it's been said that getting one can also protect the baby later. That's the only thing that attracts me to it, but in general, I'm TOTALLY freaked out about getting them. I'd appreciate hearing from anyone about this--thoughts, research you've done, etc.

It's getting COLD out there, but most times, I'm still a hotbox. Enjoy!