Ugh, I Feel Awful
As I write this, the baby is hiccuping madly in my lower abdomen. These strong, regular thumps last for 10-20 minutes, three to four times a day. They're cute when I'm walking around, but when I'm trying to sleep, sit quietly, read, write, or otherwise concentrate, they're kinda annoying.
The belly is now officially huge (as are my thighs and butt, to my horror), and I am now officially sick. Al was home sick for one full day and two partial days last week, and I either caught what he had, or I picked something up from the local Department of Recreation swimming pool. (Gotta remember to put alcohol in my ears before and after swimming!) Wherever I got it, it seems to be something in the standard cold family, so hopefully it's not too serious—and hopefully it'll clear up soon, so I can start begging for a flu shot. (I figure I'm a high priority, given that I'm pregnant and asthmatic, and that my asthma and allergy doctors will have been given a supply of vaccine.)
I know I haven't turned the corner yet, illness-wise, given that I woke up feeling worse today than yesterday. I hope I'm not making things worse still by refusing to shower and spending the day in my jammies. (I tried the optimistic route yesterday, getting showered, made up, dressed, and out of the house, but I just ended up exhausted and miserable by the end of the day.)
I don't know whether my head and sinuses are aching in sympathy with the belly or vice versa, but the belly is definitely aching these days. It actually woke me up a couple times last night, and it was particularly painful trying to heave myself out of bed to pee. My belly button still hasn't popped out, and I've yet to discover any stretch marks, so I'm guessing that it still has a little growing to do—which seems inconceivable, given its already-enormous dimensions.
Meanwhile, everywhere I look there's news about the dangers of delivering prematurely. Not just in pregnancy magazines, either—TIME even has an article about it this week. With all the cramps and Braxton-Hicks contractions I've been having, not to mention the belly pains of last night, I'm now slightly paranoid about going into labor early. Never have I been so eager to rush through October, which is usually my favorite month on account of the crisper weather, the changing leaves, my birthday, and Halloween. I figure if we can just get to November, we'll be in the birthing ballpark; the baby will be more equipped to deal with the outside world, and with a couple weeks of childbirth education classes under our belts, we'll be more equipped to deal with the baby.