24 weeks and a belly pic

I am at 24 weeks! I have reached the magical stage of pregnancy where if I give birth prematurely, the hospital will actually try to save my baby! In fact, I did some research (morbid, maybe, but it made me feel better) and if a baby is born at 24 weeks, it has a 38 % chance of survival...at 25 weeks it goes to 50% and at 28 weeks it shoots up to about 80-90% (can't remember the exact numbers). So, though I don't expect anything to go wrong at all (I feel great and everything looks great) I think those are pretty good stats!

On to a belly pic. We took these yesterday but they aren't wonderfully clear. I'll probably end up taking another next week to get a clearer shot. I did finally get asked by a relative stranger (an instructor at the Y) when I was due! That was exciting...of course, I was also in my speedo at the time so letting it all hang out, but I was still excited to look pregnant and not just pudgy! I look bigger all around but I think that is actually a lot from the fertility meds before pregnancy because I've only put on about 10-12 lbs, depending on what time of day I weigh myself at (and whether or not I've pooped, lol, something that is getting rarer and rarer these days....my one pregnancy complaint!). So, here are some pics...

It was a beautiful day...and we finally did some cute decorating for Halloween...

A close up (eeek)

So, I'm getting there! I will be honest...I didn't think I'd be someone who really loved being pregnant just because I am very active usually and am used to being relatively thin. However, and I know I am writing this in the "honeymoon period" (aka the second trimester) but I LOVE it. I can't say that enough. I think my belly is so cute. I have no complaints at all...my back feels fine, I only have had acid reflux issues once or twice, and I'm sleeping pretty okay. Then again, maybe I expected it to be much worse and therefore think it is amazing (my own personal brand of optimism, I think). I expected my back to be killing me because of that arthrtitis but it has felt great, except for those bad days with no pooping then the back aches a little, I expected to not be sleeping at all and I do get up maybe 6 times a night- 5 times to pee and at least once to get a snack,but then I fall right back asleep, and I expected to be super emotional and cranky and I've had a little crankiness and teariness but nothing compared to the stim cycle of an IVF...so I'm probably feeling the best I have in years...because those years were years of ongoing infertility treatments! In any event, I seriously love it and am looking forward to her birth and then doing a few retrieval cycles so we can have some siblings!!! Granted, I thought I'd be pregnant younger but "if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans"!

~

Besides that I am freaking out about the H.1N1 virus. It seems that everyone has it. A good friend's son just got diagnosed, another friend's daughter is home from school today with flu-like symptoms and I hear from the teachers that they have an average of 8 kids out a day with some kind of illness. I do know I have to get the vaccine but surprisingly my county hasn't got any doses in since those early doses for medical workers. I have an appointment at the OB's office on Friday for a supposed shot for this virus since they think they are getting a shipment in "by the end of the week" and I hope they are. I am in the high high risk group because not only am I almost in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy but I also have asthma. So, my chances of the flu turning into something major and very life threatening are very high up there....though I still think my immune system is working great and I could fight off the infection, I am scared for my little one. She is so active and we worked so hard to get her that it really does scare me. Oh well, I'm hoping the vaccines get here...