New Orleans, Pneumonia, and Moving, Oh My!

Oh, my dear, dear friends,

Things have been a bit difficult here in MaybeBaby land. This is part of the reason I haven't updated in ages, and the other part of the reason is that I'm lazy. Or pregnant, which equals tired and cranky at night (not the best mood for blogging?).

We'll just cut to the chase so as to be as concise as possible:

* We spent the month of January moving from our apartment to a small house downtown. It was a huge hassle, of course, because we would pack the cars up, then unload them, then unpack some boxes at the new place, then take the empty boxes back, and do the whole cycle again. It was less stressful (I think) than moving all in one day and then having to unpack (plus, we didn't have enough boxes to do that), but it was still difficult. We, luckily, had a good number of great friends who came and helped us move furniture in their cars/trucks, so that was a huge help. The day after was the worst, though, because we had to clean the apartment we were leaving. I hadn't thought to leave a chair behind to sit in, so there I was, six months along, trying to clean out cabinets, dust, vacuum, and swiffer... and I had to take breaks by sitting in the car! My feet and legs were so swollen by the end of the day that I think they have yet to recover! Don't worry, I didn't clean the bathroom or use any of the harsh chemicals they say not to use while you're pregnant; Ian got to do all of that (lucky him). The whole process took way more time than I anticipated, so of course that made me extra cranky. (We like the new place, so I guess it was all worthwhile?)

* Speaking of swelling: I knew that my stomach would get huge. I knew my hips would "spread" (though I didn't really know what that meant). I knew my feet would swell. I did NOT know, however, that my thighs, knees, calves, and ankles would become UNRECOGNIZABLE as my own! I also did not know that one could get stretch marks on one's rear end. Oh, horrors! I feel like this is supremely unfair, though I should be feeling lucky that I've gotten to 31 weeks now and the baby is doing fine (they tell me). That's easy to forget, though, when I'm getting ready to shower and suddenly catch sight of my body-that-no-longer-seems-like-my-body. I mean, people, it's horrifying! No one could have prepared me for this. My sister-in-law did reassure me a little that the swelling will go down after the baby's born, though I know that stretch marks don't just go away. No, no, they "fade with time." A friend said to me the other day, "Why, when women are more sensitive about their bodies than men, do they have to go through this experience?" Punishment! I do declare, though, that I will take those walks before and after the baby comes, I will breastfeed to the best of my ability, and I will LOSE this weight and return close to my previous self. Or, at least, I declare that I will try.

* I haven't been taking any walks recently, because as soon as I got back from New Orleans (for a conference), I became seriously sick with some kind of cold. I think I got it actually while I was there -- it started as only a slightly irritating cough. Then it progressed into a more annoying cold with congestion. Then the cough got WAY worse and I felt like I was pulling all the muscles in my stomach -- then, later on, in my back -- and I started to worry that I was hurting the baby with all my coughing. Now, no scoffing, people: I know that there are crazy things that can happen to pregnant ladies (I researched them online, which I hope I'll never do again, because it was way more scary than it was helpful). So, yes, the baby is surrounded by fluid, but I was concerned about the placenta. That's all I'll say. Then I couldn't feel MaybeBaby moving anymore and I really freaked. I drank some cold water and waited and waited... and when we were on the verge of going to the emergency room (I know, right?!), I felt her move faintly. Then I thought, "Oh, no, it's just a little flutter -- she might be losing her strength!" (Reminder: I've never been pregnant before and I've never been so responsible for keeping someone alive by myself before!) Well, naturally, she moved more and more and I was eventually reassured. Poor Ian. I knew he was super worried, too, but he was very good and stable. This, I would like to believe, may transfer into the delivery room?

Okay, so, disaster averted (or recognized to not be a disaster after all); however, I'm still coughing and it hurts and I'm pissed off. This is the second time I've been sick during my pregnancy and I feel really annoyed about it. So, after going to the OB where they hook me up and give me a non-stress test (to reassure me that MaybeBaby is just fine, which she is), they say just to sleep a lot and wait out the cold. I try that for a week, but end up having to take two and a half days off. This "sleeping-off" business is not working. I call them on Friday and ask for a referral to a family doctor (still haven't gotten one of those), and they refer me to someone who can see me that day, which is awesome. He's super nice and has apparently delivered babies and can be relied upon not to give me meds that will hurt the baby. He listens to my lungs and informs me that I have pneumonia. What the f***?! I seriously almost cry right then, because who the f gets pneumonia when she's pregnant? But he seems almost jovial (probably to keep me from breaking down right then and there), says he's got some meds that will be fine for the baby, prescribes me some expensive-ass cough medicine (that has a narcotic in it -- not codeine, because that cough medicine wasn't working for me this time -- I had it left over from my cough back in December), antibiotics, and I also get to have a shot! I try not to sound freaked out about taking all this medicine while I'm pregnant, but he says that if I wasn't pregnant, he'd be prescribing something different altogether, and that everything is fine. I mean, if I can't trust a doctor, who can I trust?

(Note: this is me NOT going online and reading about pregnant ladies who thought they could trust their doctors to prescribe things that wouldn't harm their baby and then finding out that they couldn't.)

So now I'm on mucinex, antibiotics, crazy cough syrup (that still doesn't knock me out at night, though it does help with the coughing), decaf hot tea with honey, and sometimes tylenol if I'm desperate for my back and stomach to stop hurting when I cough. (By the way, the dr. said that the reason my back is hurting is because it's pneumonia and it's in my lungs. I preferred the idea of a pulled muscle, but that's cool, I guess.)

The worst part of being sick is just being afraid that everything will hurt the baby; the second worst thing is that I've stopped being excited about the baby and just have been miserable. I do think I'm on the turnaround now, though -- I can actually sit at the computer and type this all up, which I couldn't do a day or two ago. I also slept through the night last night, which was grand! I woke up feeling like you-know-what, but that happens when you're sick whether you're pregnant or not.

* So, New Orleans! I went there for that conference and got sick, but there's more to know! Are you ready for this? I had my first Stranger Rubs Pregnant Lady's Belly experience! Dude. I didn't really think people did that. I mean, it was WEIRD. She was obviously participating in the conference, so she was dressed professionally. (This wasn't on the street, in other words.) I was talking to a colleague, and all of the sudden, I feel this hand on my belly and I hear this woman say, "I really wanted to do that!" Then she skedaddles off. I mean, she didn't even introduce herself! (I didn't have enough time to read her nametag, either. Ha!) She was middle-aged or older, but not someone so old you could excuse her based on her age. (White-haired grandmas who rub one's belly seem less sinister?) I don't know if she was hoping for luck or a genie to pop out, but I just sort of smiled stupidly and didn't say anything, except for maybe, "Oh!" My colleague looked at me and said, "Did that just happen?" Yes. Yes, it did. It is now added to my list of things that are supposed to happen when you're pregnant, but you don't think they will.

I got to see my friend in New Orleans, which was awesome. The un-awesome part -- the swelling was totally worse there, because just because you spend a lot of time sitting down, it doesn't mean that your circulation is working to its best ability. We also walked a lot in the evening. I would pass by a window and see a reflection and think, "Who's that fat person? Oh, s***, that's me! Dammit!" I really don't feel as big as I look. Surely other people must have experienced that. Sitting here, I almost feel normal (except for the wracking coughs and pile of used tissues next to me), but I know if I see myself in the mirror, I'll see a whale. What's that Juno says in the movie? About being a planet? I only feel like a planet if I see myself. This must be willful misleading body-imaging something-or-other. I'm okay with it. I'll just avoid mirrors from now on.

* Had baby showers -- two of them! Two family ones. One was after Christmas, and one was just about a week ago. Let me say: LOVE people who buy from the registry! Also, love books. I don't mind books not bought from the registry, because people will buy you ones that their kids really loved, and that makes sense. Clothing, even, up to a certain point, is very welcome. People have found some really cute stuff -- Classic Pooh stuff, which I adore, but is really only available at Target. (I think we've got just about everything they make for babies in that line -- with the exception of nursery stuff, which we don't need.) However, we are now at the point where we have all the clothes we need (up to 6 months, probably higher), since some really awesome people have donated (or lent) their baby clothes to us, too. This is SWEET! Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle! But enough is enough. My mom is the buying stuff from our registries whenever she sees it on sale, because she thinks no one will get it for us. I keep saying, "STOP! Wait until after the showers!" but she will insist on buying this stuff anyway. Registries are a great idea, if people follow them. I don't mind a few things that aren't from the registry (especially if the gift giver is someone who has young children and knows what we may really need), but seriously, the registry is there because if no one buys it for us, we have to buy it. (Okay, not everything on the registry is something we need. People have told us, "Put more on than you need, because you can always return it if you don't get something else you want.") In conclusion (to this very all-over-the-place paragraph), to those of you people out there who think, "I HATE buying from registries!", please be sure to give the recipient a gift receipt.

* Last thing -- I know I need to post a belly picture. I'm 31 weeks and, as you've seen from what I've written above, pretty large! I'm also "carrying high," some people have told me. I don't know whether that's so or not. You can tell me. I do have a picture from New Orleans, but it doesn't really show you anything except that I'm large (not a side-view or anything). I will try to get on the belly picture thing.

Love to you all -- again, sorry I haven't updated in so long! I will try to be better, especially as there are only 9 weeks to go!