I'm still pregnant

For several days, I have had a fear in the back of my mind that maybe I was carrying a dead baby.  I don't FEEL pregnant.  I'm still wearing my own clothes, and I've lost half a pound since my last appointment.  No baby movement yet. And my body and mood are no weirder than normal.  But there is still a heartbeat in my abdomen, so everything's OK.

I was able to combine the next appointment with my ultrasound, but it will have to be after Thanksgiving.  I was hoping to know the sex of my child by Thanksgiving, but oh well.  In many ways it doesn't matter.  The furnishings and gear we like are gender-neutral.  I've already bought a couple of dinosaur onesies and a space-themed pair of pajamas for him/her.  The child may eventually prefer tiaras and boas, but at first s/he will wear dinosaurs and planets.  The heart rate was 156, so I still hold out some hope that the child is female.  Otherwise, he would be a boy putting on the affect of femininity.  Tiaras and boas, here he comes!  :)

My blood pressure was still high.  The first two tries were alarmingly high: 149/95.  The last one was what it has been the last few visits: 135/85.  My blood work confirmed I'm still A-, so I've got injections in my future.  They gave me a seasonal and an H1N1 flu shot, too.

Matt was able to come with me this time.  It wasn't a terribly exciting appointment.  The next one should be better.  At least he brought a book. :)

We did have fun after the appointment.  We bought groceries and went to Walgreen's.  Then we ate KFC!  (There's not a KFC in Campbellsville.)

My day started early because I had true bad dreams about church camp.  My first experience was pretty horrible, and yet I went back.

Since I was up early, I cleaned the kitchen a little.  And as soon as Matt got out of bed, I made the bed, something I haven't bothered to do in years.  I think I was proving that I was still the tidy girl I was my first week of camp.  My husband probably wishes I was that tidy everyday.

My cold is finally better.  I tried singing this morning with my mp3 player as I was cleaning.  My voice is still raspy and cuts out on the higher notes.  I typically have trouble with the lower notes of Leona Lewis' "Better in Time," but I hit those just fine.  My mind and body acted like I could hit the higher notes I usually hit, but no sound came out.  I was like a skipping record/cd.  I haven't tried screaming since I saw the mutant cricket who died trying to get into the washing machine, but I kind of doubt my screamer is working.  If I lived in a scary town, I'd need to buy a whistle to alert people to my need for help.  My "woo-hoos" are a little puny still, but they're making progress.

Overall, it was a good day: singing, dancing, cleaning, peeing in a cup (urine tests give me test anxiety), getting shots, buying groceries, eating yummy chicken strips with mashed potatoes and coleslaw and a biscuit with honey.  No wonder I'm tired!

The Cold that Just Wouldn't Quit

This is not an inspirational story about the little virus that could.  About 2 weeks ago I came down with a cold.  It went through it's normal progression of runny nose to stuffy nose to chest congestion to productive cough.  But the cough and the runny nose just won't give it up and completely let go.  I'm much, much better but still occasionally see thick, clear mucous in my Kleenex after I blow my nose or cough something up.  And I just don't feel "well" yet.  I keep hoping that consistent antidepressants, fluids and rest will take care of it.  If I'm not better by my OB appointment next week, I'll ask what I can do to finally defeat the evil little thing inside me that has taken over my body. ...  To clarify, that would be the virus, not the baby, I'm hoping to defeat.  I am assuming that the baby, despite original sin, is good. Though there's nothing like reading books about the Enlightenment, especially the French Revolution, to bolster your belief in original sin over Rousseau's ideas about innate human goodness, but that's another post for another time. :)

I have a follower!

I feel like a real blogger now that I have a follower.  Thanks, Olga!  Perhaps this is incentive to post more often.

Well, I FEEL fine.

I had a doctor's appointment today.  The baby's heart is beating and I haven't gained any weight.  My blood pressure is higher than it normally is 134/83.  I think it's probably not really that high.  I've been in slightly stressful conversations both times they've taken my blood pressure.  The first time they were telling me I forgot to get my debit card back from them after paying my co-pay and that they wouldn't be able to give me a receipt, which I need because I'm using a flexible spending account.  Financial conversations are not good for blood pressure.  This time the nurse was telling me that my medical records had not arrived from Wisconsin yet, which meant they might have to redo my blood work.  Needles are not good for blood pressure.  Honestly, I don't think that conversation is good for blood pressure.  And I already know that I have a "white coat" reaction, especially with new doctors.  But my excuses don't actually erase the potential problems.  Dr. Reynolds told me that blood pressure should go down early in pregnancy before going back up at 28 weeks.  So even a "normal" blood pressure would be problematic.  He says he can nearly guarantee that blood pressure will be an issue later in the pregnancy.  THAT DOES NOT HELP MY BLOOD PRESSURE!  But it's not a problem yet and everything could turn out OK.

My other bit of news is that they found strep in my urine.  I'm not sure where my urine has been socializing that it would have gotten strep without my getting strep.  So I'm taking 500 mg of amoxicillin three times a day for the next week.  The first dose has upset my stomach a little.  Otherwise, I feel fine.  Stupid pee!  I hope it doesn't decide to get swine flu.  The doctor says I'll need antibiotics during labor/delivery, too.  Oh, and I'm Rh negative, so I'll need an injection for that, too.  Stupid blood!  Stupid bodily fluids!  My saliva hasn't offended yet, but I just know it's biding it's time.

But the day did have some bright spots.  I got free ice cream at McDonalds because they had an extra cup.  I dipped my french fries in it. Yum!  I went to Walgreens because I love Walgreens and they were giving flu shots.  I wasn't allowed to get a flu shot because I have to wait until at least 16 weeks.  But while I was waiting to learn that I couldn't have a flu shot, the lady checking me in asked how far along I am.  When I told her 12 weeks, she told me that I look really good, that I don't even look pregnant. That made me smile.  I'm wearing my regular clothes, and I do look pretty awesome.  Then I went to the Walmart Supercenter in Lebanon to see if they had some things ours doesn't carry, and discovered they had three aisles of clearance.  I love clearance!  And they had several of the things I've been looking for.

So I feel good, look awesome, and shop smart.  My blood and urine will just have to straighten up and be as awesome as the rest of me. :)