22 Weeks!

Clearly I need to work on updating my blog on time... my week changes on Sundays, my size updates on Mondays, and my last post was on a Thursday.  Oops.

Baby is the size of a?  papapya!

Belly button in or out?  In, but getting flat

Wedding rings on or off?  On

Symptoms?  Lower back aches and difficulty getting comfortable at night.

Movement?  All the time.  Yesterday during church I could see my belly move cause of all the big kicks.  No escaping just yet, little one.

Pregnancy PSA- If you've been following the news recently, you may have seen articles about increased incidences nationwide of pertussis (also known as "whooping cough").  Pertussis can lead to severe complications in infants, including pneumonia, apnea, encephalopathy, convulsions, and even death.  In infants who contract pertussis, over half will require hospitalization for pertussis-related complications.  For this reason, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has many recommendations regarding pertussis vaccination for pregnant woman and persons who will be in close contact with infants.  A quick summary of the CDC's recommendations-

• "The best way to prevent pertussis in a young infant is by vaccinating the mother during pregnancy."  It is recommended that pregnant women receive the pertussis vaccine (commercially combined with the tetanus vaccine- the Tdap) at 20 weeks gestation or later.  (My vaccine was up to date prior to pregnancy, so I'm good :) ).
• "The immune response to the vaccine peaks two weeks after administration...you should encourage others, including dads, grandparents and other caregivers to get vaccinated with Tdap at least two weeks before coming into contact with their infants."

Infants receive pertussis immunizations as part of their standard childhood immunizations, but these vaccines do not start until the child is 2 months old.  Adult immunization while the infant is less than two months old help prevent the spread of pertussis to a newborn.

If you're curious as to why this disease is also known as "whooping cough," listen to the sound byte of the cough HERE.  That's certainly not a sound I want to hear from Gideon!

Reference
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tdap for Pregnant Women: Information for Providers.  Updated 2012 June 15 [cited 23 July 2012].  Available from http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/pertussis/tdap-pregnancy-hcp.htm.