It would be impossible for me to separate a scary food poisoning incident of this past weekend from any sort of update about the baby, so this will be a long one. On our beautiful, perfect-until-it-wasn’t babymoon, our whole group came down with terrible food poisoning. We can pinpoint it to one meal that we all shared because our friends’ daughter only ate the same thing as us once. It was a very upscale breakfast buffet at our resort hotel, and it was likely either something happening with the bacon, the fruit or the eggs – the three things all five of us ate in some form that morning.

Thanks to a suppressed immune system, I ended up heading to the hospital the following morning because I couldn’t keep any water down and could tell that I was severely dehydrated. We found a great labor and delivery center at the closest hospital who administered three bags of fluids and kept an ear on the baby’s heartbeat for a few hours. Once we were sure he was okay and that I was on the right track, J and I made the drive to Miami, rebooked our flights for the next morning, and slept in an airport hotel for about 18 hours until we had to leave in the morning.

I’m still feeling the mental and physical effects of the whole thing, and I have to admit that much of my travel bravado has slipped away since returning home. I was in Florida, not a foreign country, so navigating the steps of finding a hospital and where to go were not fun but totally manageable even in my brain’s addled state. Still, I need to give some serious thought about the final two trips I have planned pre-baby and whether or not they’re a good move for me and the little guy.

Whew. On to my 28 week update!

Baby

My little guy is the size of a large eggplant! He weighs 2.25 lbs now and because I can never not peek ahead in my app – looks to be gaining at least a quarter of a pound for the next few weeks until he shoots up to gaining half or even a full pound a week! He’s still kicking and moving around like crazy, and in particular likes to push or kick a spot just under my ribs on the right side. More often than not, my belly is often lop-sided with the right side protruding farther than the left, so I know he favors that side in general, though I have no idea what that bump is. His head? His little butt? I like to pat it, whatever it is.

Physical

Well, this week has definitely been a physical low for me but that’s due to the food poisoning more than anything brought on by pregnancy itself! That said, though, my abdomen and back were extremely sore for days following the whole incident – as in, I felt like I got hit by a truck. My doctor yesterday said that was to be expected thanks to how stressed and stretched they already are supporting the weight of the uterus and everything else happening in there.

My legs and lower back actually feel better this week, which is probably attributed to almost zero physical activity. I really can’t believe this is the case, but there seems to be a very obvious link between me exercising and increased back and leg pain. I’ve come to think of physical activity as a sort of golden elixir and really, really miss the mental benefits of a good adrenaline boost. I may try to do a few short over the next few days to do a little something – though even a short walk is a challenge of it’s own thanks to my itty bitty bladder these days.

The other physical change this week is a huge change in appetite, obviously thanks to the food poisoning. Really, nothing sounds great, but fruits and vegetables in particular are just not happening and I’m inclined to think my subconscious knows something I don’t about the source of the food poisoning. I obviously don’t want to lose weight right now but I’m not minding my crazy pregnancy appetite getting under control. And I’m probably never eating fruit again.

Emotional

Feeling my mama bear instinct kick in over the weekend when I was sick and worried about how it was all impacting my little guy’s health was really crazy. I felt beyond awful, of course, but I’m pretty sure I would have literally walked to a doctor, puking the whole way if necessary, to make sure the baby was okay.

Other than a fantastically crappy start to the week, I’m feeling excited. Time suddenly is flying by and I’m hitting the end of every week wondering where it went. I’m so, so impatient to get his room done and while I know it’ll all come together in time, I just cannot believe how long I have to WAIT for everything! His rocker, the room to be painted, etc. I’m very motivated to get everything ordered so hoping to get a rug and side table on the way by this weekend.

I am baby stalking hard when I see little ones out and about while I go about my day and with every baby I see, find myself in total disbelief that I’ll have one of my own in just 11 weeks now. I’m also starting to wonder how on earth any woman has ever survived delivery, but they have, of course, and I’m all about embracing the medical comforts of 2016. (Read: an epidural.) While we were in the hospital over the weekend we heard an ear-piercing, horror movie scream. Jason’s eyes went cartoon wide and I asked the nurses if it was a drug-free birth – yep! Seeing J’s reaction was one moment of humor in a very otherwise humor-less day, and the whole thing definitely solidified that an epidural is the way to go for me. I think that removes a lot of the fear (not all! But a lot.) and even though I know the day will be challenging no matter what, I’m confident that I’ll be in good hands at Prentice.