Being pregnant and having a cold STINKS!
I have terrible trouble with my sinuses normally, and this is my usual time to catch a cold. My sinuses have really been bothering me for about two weeks. Last week, I started getting sore throats, lots of headaches, and intense sinus pressure. I tried valiantly to fight it off with warm salt water gargles, nasal irrigation, and steam. But, I started with a fever on Friday and have had it intermittently since then. I have been feeling really rotten and have spent a good deal of time sleeping. Which is frustrating, given how close we are to Christmas and the length of my to-do list, but it is really important to me that I take really good care of myself for Peanut's sake.
Things have been going amazingly well despite the cold. Brian and I went to our second prenatal appointment on December 15th. This time was much quicker and far less drama than the last one. They just did some normal checks this time. My blood pressure was great, there was no protein in my urine (there had been a trace at the last appointment), and the baby's heartbeat was regular and strong. The Peanut did play "hide n' seek" for a few minutes, but we tracked the little bugger down and were able to hear the heartbeat and some movement on the Doppler. They weighed me, but did not measure my belly yet as it is still a little too soon. My weight was fine although I lost two more pounds. The only benefit to starting out overweight is they have been far less concerned about how much weight I have lost since September given how healthfully I have been eating. My theory is that I am losing fat faster than I am gaining baby. Then they took a bunch of blood to run the normal screening tests. I asked a few questions and we were on our way.
The only negative is that I really didn't care for the midwife that I had this time, Martha. She was abrupt and sort of frantic. I missed the soothing and kind Patty. But, the nurse that is there for all of the appointments, Judy, is AMAZING and that made me feel OK about the appointment. As a matter of fact, Judy is so sweet that she gave me a Naked Green Machine Juice Smoothie to drink to get some extra vitamins in me quickly because I have been having A LOT of fatigue. It looked gross, but it was delicious and Judy's kindness totally made up for how much I disliked the midwife.
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| See...Judy says it looks like baby poop...LOL! |
I am scheduled for the anatomy ultrasound on January 6th. We are hoping that we will know the gender of The Peanut when we leave that appointment. Then I will have to do the glucose challenge test on January 10th. I have to drink a sugary drink and then have my blood drawn to see if I need further testing for gestational diabetes (GD). They usually wait until the pregnancy has progressed farther, but the PCOS puts me at higher risk for GD, as does my family history of type 2 diabetes. I will get the results at my next midwife appointment, which will be on January 12th.
Brian took me out for Indian food for lunch. We had a really relaxing, delicious lunch. I am trying to remember to savor those moments because they will be few and far between soon.
I am still not "showing" yet. The bump is definitely harder and more pronounced to me, but I still fit in all my pre-pregnancy clothes and am the same size. I will post a photo once I am feeling better.
I did have one exciting thing happen. I have been anxiously awaiting being able to feel the Peanut's movements, and I finally got to feel it. I woke myself up coughing on Friday and felt a really strange sensation in my belly. I tried to go back to sleep and felt it again. The second time I knew for sure that it was Peanut bumping me. I really can't even describe it; it was like something fluttering or rolling around. I was so excited! I sent a text Brian right away and tried concentrating on feeling it again, but nothing. Then Punky and I got startled awake on the couch yesterday and I felt it again. I guess Peanut doesn't like when I cough or I am frightened.
So that's about it for now...I am going back to sleep again. I am hoping I will wake in the morning and feel much better. I have a lot to do if we are going to be ready to head to Maine for Christmas.
To any of my friends and family who have been waiting impatiently to hear from me: my throat is too sore and scratchy to chat on the phone and I haven't been online very much either. I will get to you ASAP. I promise!
