39 weeks...and the return of morning sickness

Nothing much new to report at my 39-week appt. Still slowly dialating, but nothing dramatic. The doctor did strip my membranes, but she said she didn't do a whole lot because I'm not effaced very much. I barely felt anything, so who knows if it will make a difference. I've been feeling very nauseated in the mornings, and it's reminding me of labor in a not-so-good way. I think I may try making some ginger age with real ginger for early labor to ease the tummy upset--the worst part of labor for me. A few strong contractions here and there and lots of pressure. I'm still thinking next week--probably no Halloween baby for us.

Bianca got her (mercury-free) flu shot today. I'm always conflicted about whether or not to do it...B has a great immune system, we practice good hygiene, and she takes a probiotic every day, so I question the need for another shot. But with Steve working in a high school (AKA a cesspool of cold and flu bugs) I feel like I need to protect her and our new little one. I have never seen someone so excited to get a shot--since she's been tagging along to my doctor's appointments, I think she was excited to have her own. She told everyone in the waiting room (loudly) "BIANCA'S GETTING A SHOT!" about a dozen times. Little Ms. Independent wanted to go back with the doctor by herself ("No mommy! All by myself! I'll be RIGHT BACK!") and when she shot was over she asked if they were going to do one in her arm, too. Then she kept putting down her pants to see her new Band-Aid. So, it wasn't too traumatic for her.

My doctor offered me the H1N1 shot today, but I declined after agonizing about it all morning. I recently got the regular flu shot, which was a little outside of my comfort level since there's so little testing on pregnant women, and I'd been advised to wait at least a month before doing the H1N1, if I chose to do it at all. I know flu can have be very serious in pregnancy, but I don't think I'm going to catch it in the next week or so. What I'd really like is for Steve to get the shot--but since he's not in the highest-risk group, he can't get one right now. In fact, my preference is to get one right after I deliver so Deuce will get the antibodies from nursing, but by then, I won't be in the highest-priority group anymore, and who knows if the vaccine will even be available. It's so frustrating--if my family members were allowed to get the shot, then I wouldn't need to--Deuce and I would be protected to a high degree. I don't believe the vaccine is unsafe for healthy adults. It's just the regular vaccine with a different (killed) viral strain. But because they can't get it, I'm asked to step way outside of my comfort level and get yet another shot with unknown implications for my baby. Meanwhile the media is totally hyping swine flu all over the place and scaring people who can't even get the vaccine. Gotta love it when things are backwards!

A couple of shots of B...playing puppy with all of her food bowls out. She asked for each of these snacks specifically, for the "puppy". Puppy is wearing Steve's childhood blankie. She's really taken off with her imaginative play and it's so fun to watch. She's also taking after her mom, taking lots of pictures. She likes to store her play camera right next to our real one.