My Embarrassing Doctor's Visit

Well I am 32 weeks pregnant and COUNTING DOWN the days, naturally. Whenever someone asks me, "Oh how far along are you?" I tend to respond, "Well, I have eight weeks left." I guess I'm the glass half-empty type because it doesn't even seem to matter at this point that I've already been pregnant for 32 weeks. All that matters is that I have about 50-something days left until she's here!!!!

Our baby girl is as active as ever. Two or three nights ago she started sticking out some limb or other, and rolling it across my belly. I cannot say I enjoy that very much as she does it very forcefully. Seriously, who knew a 3 1/2 to 4lb. baby could be so strong! When I'm lying down and she stretches herself out, it feels so weird...I can't really describe it. It probably feels much like you think it would to have a little baby inside you, the only difference for me is that, because my body is small, she is like a little animal trying to get out of a very small, constricting bag. But it brings me a lot of mental comfort when I feel her moving inside me, despite the occasional physical discomfort. 

Dalin hasn't been feeling well since our trip to Boise. He's had a sore throat, bad cough, discomfort in his ears, and tiredness as his main symptoms. He is just now starting to recover. Unfortunately, three days ago I developed a cough which evolved into a very scratchy-feeling throat and other problems. For a few days, I was hoping it was just a return of my allergies, but when Dalin informed me his sister is still sick with the same thing three weeks after it began, I decided I had better see a doctor and get it taken care of just in case. Good thing I did! The lab at the Student Health Center did some tests--one which was a blood test. By now (at this point in my pregnancy) I should be an old pro at getting my blood drawn. I am fully aware that it doesn't hurt but I don't like to think about a needle taking blood out of a tiny vein in my arm. The girl who did the blood drawing was an intern which made me nervous, but she did a terrific job and I couldn't even see where she had taken the blood after. I thought I was fine, and went to sit in the waiting room for the test results. After only a few minutes, I started to feel a little lightheaded and asked the nurses where the water fountain was. I must have looked sick because one of them insisted he would bring me some ice water and I should sit down in the meantime. They put me back in the blood drawing chair and reclined it so my feet were elevated above my head. I felt really stupid and embarrassed that my body had reacted that way to a simple blood drawing but I honestly couldn't help it. I drank the ice water and lay there for a good fifteen minutes, with the nurses coming by every few minutes to talk to me and ask if I was comfortable. When I didn't look so pale and my test results were done, they let me leave. The doctor said I am deficient in a number of things, and that apparently I have a bacterial infection (which has been going around) as a result. She said it isn't viral, which is good. 

She prescribed some medication for me and let me know that I am also anemic (which is common during pregnancy) and I need to make sure I keep up my iron levels because of all the blood I'll lose when the baby is born (just what I needed to hear). So I need to be better at taking my prenatal vitamin and also eat more spinach, broccoli, and kale (which I love!) as well as red meat. Apparently, eating these things with a source of Vitamin C is good because it helps your body absorb the nutrients better. I can't help but wonder if my inexplicable tiredness, shortness of breath, as well as my embarrassing reaction to having my blood drawn all have something to do with my current anemia. I eat a lot of spinach and kale and stuff like it though, so I don't get how I'm iron-deficient but I guess I had better get a move on and eat more greens!

So I've been pretty miserable at home the rest of the day with my gross cough and very sore throat. I wish I could just drink something and make it go away instantly but that's never the case (even though I did try a spoonful of apple cider vinegar yesterday which helped for a little while...). Other than my health problems, life is good and I am hoping that by the end of this week, I will be feeling like a different person.

Did anyone else get anemia while pregnant? Did it affect your delivery at all? 
Also, did anyone else feel like they have an abnormally strong baby while he or she was in the womb?