The quickening....and the swine flu problem

Well, I think I'm fairly certain I can feel E3 moving around now. I still feel the 'bubbles' sensation, which just feels like gas. But I can also feel what is like a little finger just poking me gently inside the bump.

I reckon this must be E3, but its still very fleeting and I can never be sure I haven't just imagined it. I will probably look back in hindsight and realise this was baby movement, I just didn't know it. I haven't really felt the butterfly wings sensation that some people talk about.

Today and yesterday, I've had no brown spotting. That hasn't happened for weeks and its really nice. I'm not confident enough to think that it won't come back again before too long, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

Meanwhile, hysteria is mounting in the media again about swine flu. I've been working on a swine flu story myself the last two days, but hopefully it wasn't hysterical.

The latest target for concern is pregnant women. On the front of the Sydney Morning Herald today there's a story about the 6 or so pregnant women 'fighting for their lives' in intensive care units in Sydney with swine flu. It is very worrying and we up the duff ladies do seem to be in the high risk category. I'm told the reason is because you are immunosuppressed when pregnant so you can't fight off bugs as easily.

The recommendation is to avoid going out in public unnecessarily, wear a face mask in public and work at home where possible - yeah right. Sure my employers are going to agree to that (not). The quote is from the president of the Royal Obs and Gyn college so its pretty reputable.

I've been thinking that I might start driving to work for a while until this passes, which will probably be at the end of August once the weather starts to warm up. My biggest source of infection is probably on the train twice a day so it would be an easy way to cut out a lot of public contact. I'll have a trek into the office from wherever I can manage to park the car, but some more exercise is no bad thing.

I was sitting on the train this morning near a very loud english girl who was talking into her mobile phone about how she had to go away for the weekend and she was feeling really unwell. She was panting and puffing away and sounding very flu-like and it just really worried me so I got up and moved. Why can't people just stay at home if they feel sick, and spare the rest of us from their bugs?

Anyway, I am generally feeling quite calm this week and the vasa previa issue has faded a bit from my mind for the time being. That's a good thing because its going to get quite stressful and scary later on so I may as well enjoy the calm state of mind while I can.