The Reality Check Bounced

This week was busy.  I've been recovering from my first pregnancy cold (I highly recommend avoiding all colds while pregnant).  Not only was I miserable, but to my extreme unhappiness I realized you shouldn't take most of the standard over-the-counter cold remedies while pregnant.  For someone who doesn't like to hear the word 'No' often, I found this bit of information extremely displeasing.

Basically the one drug I wanted was a decongestant, anything containing pseudoephedrine and/or phenylephrine, which came with this warning on the Babycenter.com website (this website has a great chart of recommended over the counter drugs during pregnancy . . . your doctor probably has one too):

Avoid cold remedies that contain alcohol.  Also avoid the decongestants pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine, which can affect blood flow to the placenta.

I must admit I did break down one night and take a half dose of decongestant.  My rationale being the ability to breathe correctly also affects the blood flow/oxygen flow to the placenta (and quite frankly I wanted to sleep).

In other news, I also spent part of the week in Florence keeping my dear friend Sarah company while she was in the hospital.  As an added bonus, I got to get some quality cuddle time with her Baby G (and get another does of reality).  I forgot how exhausting it can be entertaining one baby (holy cow, I've got to do that with two?).  Would it be naive of me to assume letting the twins stare at each other all day be entertainment enough?

Did I mention how heavy the little buggers are the older they get? There's me holding Baby G, after three minutes my arms started getting tired.  What's racing through my mind at this outwardly precious moment are loud sirens, bright flashing lights and the unmistakable feeling of purified panic as I realize I don't have the upper muscle strength to hold one baby (let alone two) for more than 30 seconds.

In addition to all these mental moments, I found myself in constant conversation about said pregnancy with various hospital employees from the nurses to the cafeteria staff.  Here's the typical scenario:

Stranger:  Oh my, you look like you're about to drop!  How far along are you?

Me:  About 5 months.

[Silent pause as Stranger is lost for words.  Various looks forming over Stranger's face from shock to sympathy to judgement.]

Me:  [after relishing the awkward silence] I'm having twins.

Stranger:  Isn't that wonderful!  Hey [insert coworker's name], she's having twins! 

I must admit the attention is bright and shiny, until the reality sets in (yet again) and I realize just how uncommon a twin pregnancy is to most people (myself included).  Maybe it's a good thing I'm having twins the first time around.  Most days I'm clueless and unaware of how big I'm getting and clearly the model poster child for any 'Ignorance Is Bliss' campaign.