The Never-ending Cold and a Pregnancy Update

So I've had a cold for two weeks now.  Pretty much ever since I got back from Hawaii, I've been sick.  I had these coughing fits that almost caused me to throw up I was coughing so hard, but now it's mainly just congestion and a bad cough.  I wake up each morning feeling like I must have smoked for 20 years, the coughing is so bad (of course I really have no reference point except those episodes of Mad Men when Don and Betty Draper wake up and can't stop coughing).

I had my 23 week appointment on Thursday. I guess I was supposed to go in at 24 weeks, but the medical assistant must have miscalculated when she set up the appointment.  Anyway, everything is going great on the baby-front. I've gained 17 pounds so far, which is at least 5 to 7 pounds fewer than I had at a comparable time last pregnancy, so I think that's a good thing! It must be that I don't have as much time to just sit around, waiting for this baby.  Instead, I've got a very active 2.5 year old to chase around.

Baby girl's heartbeat is strong.  I'm definitely feeling her much more these days, but I think she's still breech (which is totally normal), because I think mostly she's just tap-dancing on my bladder. It's a really strange feeling, especially when I'm driving home from work.  I asked the doctor about the cold. She checked my lungs, my ears, and throat and everything's clear except for the congestion.  She told me to start taking some allergy medicine combined with an expectorant to try and get the congestion to go away.  Otherwise, I'm just stuck coughing until this cold goes away.

I was looking through my blog to compare my pregnancy with Charlotte.  Last time, I had bad back problems, my feet were already swelling from time to time, and I needed a pillow between my legs.  This time? None of those!  I really feel great, apart from some occasional heartburn.  The only time I haven't physically felt great was after I played tennis when we were in Hawaii.  I think I was moving around too much to chase after the tennis ball because the next day I could barely walk!  I guess I forgot about how much lateral movement there is in tennis and how much loosening of joints occurs during pregnancy.  If I play any more tennis before Baby Girl comes it will have to be me just standing there while someone else hits balls directly at me. 

Chris also just set up my bike to make it stationary. I tried it yesterday, but I think the resistance was way too strong because I felt completely winded and exhausted after only about seven minutes.  I also wasn't wearing my padded bike shorts, so it definitely wasn't a comfortable experience! I will have to try again over the weekend.

No belly shots right now, but suffice it to say, I think I've popped. At least that's what everyone else says!