Pregnant and Sick- by Betsy

I woke up in the night last Friday with a sore throat, small fever (99.5) and sinus pain. I slept basically around the clock through Sunday night, when the fever went away. I thought I had a sinus infection and things progressed like they have in the past with sinus infections (feeling bad, sinus pain, spitting out lots of mucus, etc). The only difference was that it lasted longer than usual. I did what I normally do- drink tons of water, eat lots of fruit, sleep as much as possible, breathe steam, gargle, use a humidifier.
I slept on through Wednesday. On Wednesday night I woke up several times due to slight coughing, like clearing my throat, and that still seemed normal. On Thursday I tried to work for four hours. As long as I wasn’t talking I was okay, but during the day my cough got worse. My throat felt very dry regardless of how often I sipped hot or cold water.
My cough got harder to control on Thursday night. Also, the cough itself was harder and more painful. I couldn’t sleep, so I sat up sipping water with a hot water bottle on my chest. I fell asleep once but woke up coughing really hard, and it frightened me a little. I read in the VU baby handbook that I can take guaifenesin cough syrup, but that keeps me awake, so I just decided to keep sipping water and sitting up. I sat up mostly all night in my blue chair waiting to go to the doctor. My throat was completely dry regardless of how much I drank, breathed steam, or gargled warm water. It felt like hot paper. If I talked or went very long without water I coughed, and the severity of my cough concerned me. Everything about the sickness up to this point had seemed like a “normal” sinus infection, except for the coughing and my dry throat.
So today I went to the doctor because I was afraid I had pneumonia or something respiratory that needed checking. She listened to my lungs and said they sounded clear. I feel MUCH better knowing that she doesn’t think I have pneumonia. She said you have to do a chest xray to be sure (and we don’t want that) but that I sounded really clear when she listened to my chest. Mostly my cough is dry.
The doctor was really nice to me. We listened to the baby’s heart beat, which, of course, was fine. She said I should call her if my fever goes over 100, and I should continue to feel better, not worse, although it will just take time to get over it completely. The not talking part really helps my throat feel better. The only thing is that if I go to sleep I wake up coughing really really hard and it takes time to calm down from that. My chest and stomach are sore from the coughing.
It is just SO ANNOYING not to be able to talk (or sleep). Right now I’m sitting in my blue chair again with my hot water bottle on my chest. I can’t even remember the last time I was sick for a whole week. It just blows my mind.
After coming home, I slept again from about noon to two. I have to sleep propped up in the recliner with the hot water bottle on me. It feels weird but it works. The coughing after waking up almost makes the sleeping not worth it, but I think it is already better than last night. Just knowing that I don’t have something worrisome makes me able to deal with the coughing better.
Joseph is so cute. I carry around a tablet and write down what I need and the answers to his questions. He said it would be fun, like charades, if I wasn’t coughing so much. “You know, like sick charades” he said. He is just great, I can’t get over it.
Anyway, so I’m hanging out, still not panicking about the work I’m missing. I’m really praying on that one, and I’m doing well so far. I know I will do this; I just have to be patient.

I’m pretty sure the baby doesn’t even know I’m sick; he is still just kicking away. Maybe he will love swimming! :)

If anybody knows of any “tips” or home remedies of what I should do to get better, let me know. I’m open to all advice! The moral of this story is- DO NOT get sick while you are pregnant. It is a total waste of time!