We're off to see the center...

Well, OK, it doesn't quite work like "We're off to see the wizard," but DH and I are heading out to the hospital tonight to check out the maternity center. I'm not sure what they are going to do for an hour tour but I'm excited to see the set up. Apparently every labor room has a big tub, shower and plenty of space for hanging out. We will also stop by the nursery I'm sure so we can ooh and ahh over how tiny the babies are and how it's it now less than 7 weeks away for us!!!

The brochure also told us that we can only have a max of 4 other people in the room during delivery (including the significant other). Um, that kind of creeps me out. I was watching a Baby Story last night and some girl had her mother and grandmother with her! "Hi, Grandma, check me out giving birth!" Crazy... Relatives can come in after I'm all cleaned up and feeling a little more like myself. Not that we will have anyone with us unless I go 2+ weeks late and my mom is here. No offense, Mom, but if that's the case, I will have to kill someone.

Any particular questions I should come in asking? I'm more than happy to be that annoying person who asks all the questions and gets weird looks from other expectant parents.

I will try to get the American Idol recap up first thing Wednesday but if we get back late I may have to defer for a day. It's the Chair week, people! I love the Chair. And the elevator. And Simon saying, "I totally disagreed but I was outvoted, so you are in." But first up are more auditions to cut us down from 75 contestants to a manageable number for the Chair.

Spring has sprung, I hope

DH and I were blessed with a fantastic weekend weather wise in Charlotte. Temperatures reached 70+ degrees on Sunday and will again today. I realize it is only the second week of February but I can't but feel that our cold winter weather is done for. I'm sure a nice ice storm will come along to prove me wrong. But in the meantime, I have hung up my winter coat in the closet and hope to not pull it out until next winter!

It was so nice outside I felt guilty about the massive cardinal bathing itself in my disgustingly dirty bird bath. So I pulled out the hose for the first time this year and cleaned it out. I also filled the bird feeder. We have so many birds that the bird seed lasts less than 24 hours. But Charlie loves to watch the birds so whenever I remember I fill it up.

Other than that, DH and I had a lazy weekend broken up by some shopping trips and eating dinner out on Friday. I tried to pick up an exercise ball from Target but the medium one (65 cm) seemed way too small. There are a few reasons I want an exercise ball and using it for exercise is just one of them! I have heard it is great for pre-labor and during labor for easing back tension. Plus Mommy, Esq. swears by it for bouncing and calming her twins. Anyone know what size I should get? And should I swing by a sporting goods store instead of a Target?

In other news, I am now T minus 7 weeks until my due date. Apparently the little one is now over 4 pounds (the size of a pineapple) and over 17 inches long. DH is impressed that she somehow fits in my belly. I know she does because now I grunt every time I get out of a chair or roll over in bed. I'm also a lot more short of breath and run to the bathroom at least once an hour. As I said, T minus 7 weeks!

Friday Round Up

Yesterday I stopped by the grocery store on my way home to pick up a few things. I was feeling really run down so I took at advantage of the expectant mothers/parents with children spots. It wasn't my usual grocery store so it took me longer to find the items I needed (why isn't every grocery store set up exactly the same way?) increasing my annoyance level. I waddled (yes by the end of the day now I'm waddling, or at least lurching about a bit more) back to the car. While putting the groceries in the backseat I saw a 17 year old kid getting out of his car in one of the same spots! I gave him a dirty look and he looked directly back at me while fiddling with something in his car. I finally said, "You have a kid hiding somewhere in there?" He said, with a shit eating grin, "Nope," and headed off to do his errand. Grrrr. It made me so mad! Especially because there were open spots just one or two cars away! It's not like he had to walk from blocks away. The only good thing is that he left his headlights on so I can only hope karma sent him a dead battery.

Work has been pretty stressful this week and I've officially hit the third trimester fatigue on top of it. DH has been wonderful doing most of the cooking. All I want to do is collapse on the couch when I get home. I am working from home today and might increase the number of days over the next 7 weeks. My chair at work is becoming my enemy. By the end of the day I feel very uncomfortable and I think the baby is totally smooshed. At least at home I can go from a nice padded chair to a couch if I need to. Now if only I can stop dreaming about work at night. I feel like I'm working 24x7 with that!

DH submitted our taxes last weekend and we should be getting a nice chunk of change back from the federal and state governments. Good thing since BigFinance isn't giving bupkis for bonuses this year (and why exactly does Wall Street get to give out ridiculous amounts of money?). We'll probably save most of it but we are going to have a landscape architect come out this weekend to draw up some plans for our backyard so we might help stimulate the economy too. Last year we used a tax guy and DH ran his own numbers. The guy didn't get us any more money than we could have if we did it ourselves. Not having sold any stock or made any complicated financial moves, DH did our taxes for us this year. The only crappy part is that we couldn't deduct interest from my student loans because of our income bracket. I question the government on that regulation. Isn't student loan interest the same as owning a house? Interest is interest! No wonder some students are fleeing the country rather than paying back their loans. Regardless, taxes are not hard. So why the hell are so many politicians getting nailed for not filing taxes?

My recommendation for those tax filer procrastinators is to file early and file online. It is less than 10 business days to get a refund if you file online well in advance of the 4/15 deadline. DH and I use Turbo Tax and they do everything for you. A piece of cake. I do think it's a bit of a rip off that you can't file online without using one of those software packages but I don't run the world like I should :-)

Happy Friday, everyone! It feels as though it was a long time coming this week. The weather is finally warming back up in Charlotte and I'm looking forward to a productive yet lazy weekend. I plan on dragging DH to lots of stores for baby related purchases. It's time to help get the economy moving again.

AI Season 8: Hollywood Week Round 2

Welcome to the horror show that is group performance auditions. Group performances are my least favorite part of the regular season results show. These folks aren't auditioning to be part of a band, they are solo "art-eests" and don't play nice with others. Let's see how horribly wrong it can all go, shall we?

Ryan recaps that 40 contestants have bid adieu to American Idol and welcomes us to Group Round. The contestants are allowed to team up on their own (love it!) and have until the next day to come up with a routine. Quite a few contestants are left out on the cold including Tatiana (she of the mermaid dress and annoying laugh). Her teammates immediately peg her as a looney. And they are credited with massive amounts of intelligence by me.

Lauren, Jasmine, Rose (hippy girl whose parents died) and Bikini Girl are a group (Team Diva). Needless to say Rose is disgusted with Bikini Girl and she ratchets up in my estimation. Meanwhile Tatiana has her first of what is sure to be many meltdowns. She tries to get another group to accept her and pleads her case (to Team Compromise aka Nathanial, Kristen and Nancy). They are far from won over.

The more successful groups (or dumb ones) wrap it up and head to bed. What is sad is that so many more groups will be up until 3 or 4 AM and probably lose their voices as a result. The Tatiana drama continues and I'm completely bored with it. She needs to be cut, immediately. Team Compromise adds to the drama, noise and annoyance level. Multi-talented, aren't they?

Meanwhile Bikini Girl has a conflict with her group and retires to her room to cry. I feel no pity. Gay guy (Nathanial) from Team Compromise had a major meltdown and DH makes me fast forward the show because he can't take the annoyance any more. Don't worry, it's just more of Nathanial's meltdown and manufactured drama. 12 year old girls act better than these people.

Morning comes and Team Diva tries to track down Bikini Girl who wants nothing to do with them. Apparently sleep is more important than a shot at American Idol. Of course, she really didn't have a shot and Simon was just playing with her so it's probably for the best.

Will this agony of preparation never end? Shit, here comes Bikini Girl. Rose (who decides wearing her AI number in her hair is a good look) talks a good game but you know none of them will really confront her. Bikini Girl announces that the rest of the group needs to teach her what she missed. They get up and leave. About right.

30 minutes in and we finally get the contestants out on stage. Simon lectures the group that forgetting the words is a cardinal sin. He does it because he is right and because it freaks the hell out of the contestants. I like it!

Up first are India, Justin, Kris and Matt (White Chocolate). India does a little rapping. The group sounds good together and have a lot of energy. The judges respond favorably and all are through to Round 3.

Montage of bad group performances including bumbled lyrics. I forgot how they only get to choose from a couple of songs. The only notable updates here is that Jorge and Nick are through.

Alex, Ryan, Ann Marie and Emily are "Action Squad" and don't appear to have their choreography together. Individually they sound OK but as a group they can't harmonize worth shit. Plus there are forgotten words. Lots of forgotten words. Alex and Ann Marie are in and Emily and Ryan are out. Emily is crying as well she should but pretty graceful about the whole thing and recognizes at least that it was her own fault. Too bad she dumped her band and a European tour for this! Ryan claims Paula is the devil.

Montage of Simon's exasperation with the contestants. He should watch the "preparation" phase and really get a headache.

Danny, Jamar, Taylor, and some other girl (Rainbow Coalition) do a great a capella job with "Somebody". Simon tries to screw with their heads by calling Danny out but of course they all make it to Round 3. I am very much enjoying Danny and hope he isn't getting too much exposure in these audition rounds. Sometimes it can be the kiss of death. If you think back to past winners (or even late finalists) they tend to have not been featured extensively early in the season.

Jeremy, Adam, Matt Breitzle, Jesse Langseth are showcased as excellent singers and are all through.

Team Diva has appeared to kissed and made up (get your dirty minds out of the gutter!) but I am not hopeful. Lauren does OK as does Bikini Girl but I am so filled with hate I think everything she does is crap. DH comments, "She isn't even that pretty." Isn't he so sweet? Rose forgets the words and jumps around the stage like an idiot. Jasmine is the best. Simon asks them to point out why they sucked as a group. Lauren, Katrina and Rose are out. Katrina even poses when her name is called! No shame and Kara completely calls her on it. I feel bad for Rose but individual contestants can shine even if their group sucks. She didn't have the words or the confidence to pass through to Round 3.

David Osmond is also out as is Aaron (aka Class President) who is still OK because he's only 17. I remember when I was new and shiny and crap would roll of my back too.

Now Tatiana's team is up and they aren't so good. Anyone shocked? Well, you should be because the judges disagree and let everyone through. Tatiana is annoying in her happiness. Full on hate now. I am mentally bringing that bitch down! Simon better pay attention to my projected thoughts.

Team Compromise is the last group to go. Nathanial moved into my bad graces with his first audition so I am not expecting anything besides crappiness. Of course they pray to God because an almighty being is really invested in their success. They sing Duffy's Mercy. Nathanial is pretty decent, Nancy seems to come up with some kind of weird accent and forgotten lyrics. Kristen makes an effort but she's pretty tired and screeches some notes. Basically they are a mess. During the judging Kristen reaches out to Nancy but Nancy acts like the brat she is and shies away. The judges are a bit disgusted. Nathanial and Kristen are through and Nancy and her bad attitude are dismissed. Nancy blames everyone else but herself. As so many of these contestants do.

Blind guy is still in and I'm starting to wonder why they are hiding him from us. Are they trying to avoid overexposure because he really could go far? Hmmmm. Also still in is the kissing couple. There is a quick flash on Nick/Norman who also makes it through. Interesting that they don't feature him when he's is being "normal" don't you think?

Next week Hollywood Week continues with Round 3. The previews show Nathanial again and I can only hope that all this air time means he will totally crash and burn.

To recap my recap I am bummed that Rose is out and had my prediction of Emily as a Top 36 denied. And that's why Hollywood Week changes everything!

SJ out.

AI Season 8: Hollywood Week Round 1

This is it, kids! The home stretch until the Top 36. Hollywood Week is always kind of a blur. I am trying to remember if the editors do a good job of highlighting the Top 36 or a shitty job. I'm going to guess a shitty job. Why? Because producers love the tears and drama. Much more satisfying to see a "never will be" than the potential American Idol.

Ryan welcomes us to the Kodak Theatre which is a much bigger venue than past Hollywood weeks. 147 singers will take the stage but only 36 will make it through for America to vote on. According to my calculations there should be 149 contestants. I'm going to guess that 2 dropped out or were removed for personal reasons. Perhaps a hidden past involving naked pictures? Or being sent to jail for a DUI? Those were past infractions anyway. For the first time, the potential contestants were put through boot camp: publicists, stylists, vocal coaching, etc. Barry Manilow (American Idol whore) stops by to offer encouragement. Dude, you weren't that good last year as a mentor!

Per usual, the contestants were split up into 2 groups for Round 1. The first half will have a short time to perform a capella and are immediately judged in or out. The other half gets to explore tourists traps. We plunge immediately into the first group to be judged. Lil Rounds is up first and decided Whitney Houston is the way to go. Do these contestants never learn? I didn't think she sounded that good but Kara gave her a standing ovation so she is obviously through. She gets a non-prompted mention by Kara later in the show so I have a feeling that Lil Rounds will be one of the Top 36.

Dennis Bringham was annoying in his Kansas City audition and equally annoying in Hollywood. A dismissive Simon "thank you" was all I needed to know he was not going to make it. Asia, Alexander and Lil are through, everyone else is out. Dennis tries to fight his dismissal but it's a losing battle. I really hate when contestants talk back to the judges. But frankly, it's is the judges' own fault. They have been known to bend during the city auditions if a contest pleads his or her case well enough. So of course they think the same tactics will work in Hollywood.

Ryan interviews Paula and Kara about the talent but they aren't encouraged. We are shown a quick clip of Frankie who was not given encouragement from Simon during Round 1. TMZ gave out a spoiler that she is still on the show so she must be another Top 36 finalist.

The next group includes Nathanial Marshall who was the gay guy with arm tattoos. He sings a ver lovely song I don't recognize. And he's good. Paula and Simon question his song choice and Nathaniel overshares how music "saves him". Then he starts crying. I would laugh but Paula and Randy are encouraging. Kids today. They feel so much. Gah. Suck it up! Perhaps my New England upbringing is getting the best of me here...

Then comes Anoop from UNC. I really liked him in his auditions. Simon said he needed a little more style and he appears to have at least ditched the button down shirt and shorts look. Anoop was good again. He's followed by Jasmine from Jacksonville is up and also quite good. Kara calls her a natural talent. And let's not forget Rose Fleck (aka "my mom and dad died and I don't wear shoes anywhere don't you like my gross dirty feet" girl). The judges remember her immediately. She lost some confidence in rehearsals but picks a great song for her audition. I really like the tone of her voice. She may not have the range of other singers but she is very distinctive.

Perhaps not surprisingly, all singers are through to the next round!

Next group features Steven Fowler who I totally don't remember. He's a good looking black guy with a nice set of pipes. Even though he picked a Stevie Wonder song (even worse than Mariah or Whitney!) he did a great job and Randy really digs him. He is followed by Jorge Nunez (San Juan auditions) who I think over vocalizes but has a great voice. I have a feeling even if he doesn't do well in American Idol he has enough exposure to get a Latin recording deal.

Von Smith is one of the annoying musical theatre contestants that always seem to sneak through. He picks a very weird song and sounds cabaret while mixing it with weird facial expressions. I think the last note was a sour one. Simon called it indulgent nonsense. Right on, man.

All three are through. And Von is very, very lucky.

Montage of song selection criticism. Song selection was emphasized in the boot camp so basically these contestants are dumbasses. Montage of people leaving because of bad song selection.

Nick Mitchell (aka Norman Gentle) was up in the next group. I can't believe he was let through from NYC. He decides to stay in character and sings in a very gay, over the top manner. I'll give him a dash of comedic relief. But a very small dash. Randy and Paula seem to think he has real talent but I'm skeptical. But once again, my opinion means nothing to the judges so Norman/Nick makes it through.

Quick cuts of blind guy and Frankie making it through.

Montage of people who passed this round.

The second group steps up during Day 2. But first, we are treated to a mini car commercial as they are on their way to the Kodak Theatre. Can't wait for more of those (eye roll) during the season!

Jackie Tone (28) babbles annoyingly at the camera. But she still has that cool Janice Joplin voice. I question her longevity. Paula and Randy both express their admiration for her. Needless to say, she's in.

Montage of "life long friends" coming out of American Idol. Ah, the joys of youth where everyone is your BFF unless they are your frenemy.

Montage of rejections. Keep 'em coming! These recaps are tiring.

Danny (28) who's wife died. So sad! And his friend Jarmar. Jarmar was a bit over the top vocally but he has a nice set of pipes. Randy is a big fan. Danny does a great job on a Seal song but doesn't really "own it". But I like his raspy voice. Paula gushes. They are both in.

Montage of praise from the judges.

Bikini Girl greets us back from commercials. She has a name but I refuse to dignify her with it. Especially as she keeps up the attitude in her interview and claims that Kara doesn't like her because she is jealous. All the other contestants seem to recognize the bikini girl. Gah. I hate that shit. She tackles Faith Hill "Breath" and does a pretty poor job. Kara and Paula try to let her down gently but Simon and Randy are no help. And somehow she makes it through. Again. And kisses Ryan again. He would totally tap that shit if she wasn't on the show and they have clauses against it.

Jessica (took care of her grandmother) didn't make it. Sharon with the cute dog was out. And Patrica who brought a million relatives to her San Juan audition is also out.

The next group includes Jeremy who is the guy with the 5th most dangerous job. He works on a oil rig. I really liked him in his original audition and think he did an even better job here. He's not conventionally handsome but he has presence and seems like a nice guy. I predict he will be another Top 36.

He is followed by Jesus (took his cute kid in with him for his audition) who is not nearly as good and shouldn't have made it to Hollywood to begin with. Simon is bored. Jeremy is in, Jesus is out.

Last line is up. First up is Emily Wynn Hughes who gave up a European tour with her band. They must be so pissed! She decides not to sing the song she practiced and picks a No Doubt song instead. Bad move. Kara calls her on it. But if you like her type, no worries, she is through. She will be another Top 36 because the judges seem to love her. I'm not won over and wonder what they are not showing us.

Also through from this group is David Osmond (yes, one of those Osmonds) and Alex who was slightly dorky guy. I totally heart Alex!

Erika does not make it and asks for another chance. The coolest thing about her is that her job is listed as FBI Agent! How cool is that? I'm not really sure I buy it though. Doesn't the FBI have high standards? The short clip we saw of her twangy voice was not good. She isn't too pushy but still annoying to try and get that second chance.

4 other folks were passed through. It's a blur at this point.

104 contestants are through to Round 2. DH is disgusted they couldn't cut it down further. I hear ya! It's going to be a long week.

Montage of happy contestants.

Tomorrow is group day. I hate group day, especially the stupid contestants who don't practice and sink their groups. Or somehow make it through. But it will still be fun!

Moment of silence for the idiots who really thought they had a chance at being an American Idol.

SJ out.

Pregnancy Updates

I had my 32 week appointment yesterday and everything is looking good. Although now I have to go in every week which seems extreme. Good thing DH and I have excellent insurance! I must be a godsend for my doctor. No real problems, 5 minute office visits, and lots of research on my own.

I am measuring between 32 and 33 weeks and my weight is very much on track (thank goodness!) so I don't have to give up the ice cream yet. The little one is currently head down but that won't be locked in until after week 36. At this point the doctor does not think I will go beyond my due date (3/28) because my original due date was 3/21. He pushed it out with the first ultrasound. Apparently if I go to week 41 I will be offered an induction and he recommended I take it. But in his words, "I would be surprised if you make it that far." Yah! Music to my ears and my burgeoning belly.

Many women get a final ultrasound at week 36 but apparently I don't unless the doctor thinks the baby is turned the wrong way. Interesting. The MBA in me wonders about the weekly doctor visits over the next 8 weeks compared to cost of an ultrasound. I might be willing to make a trade off if it was offered to me. But of course in the US health care system we are not offered choices like that.

I have been extremely fortunate with my pregnancy. Now that I'm at T minus 8 weeks, I figure I'm not inviting too much bad karma by talking about it openly in my blog. Of course this could mean that my labor will be hell, but that's a risk I'm taking regardless.

First off, I got pregnant at a great time of year. Sure, I look a little bigger in the more bulky winter clothing but I avoided pregnancy during the brutal hot months of the summer. Charlotte was blessed with a warm winter so aside from our trip to Massachusetts, I never had to deal with really cold, snowy or icy weather. And it will be well into fall once the baby arrives which means outdoor trips are not only doable but potentially pleasant.

For some reason I have been blessed with a lack of pregnancy symptoms. The only thing I've suffered from is a burgeoning waistline, some stretch marks for aforementioned waistline, occasional lower back pain and minor abdomen pains. Very occasional. All basically gone by the third trimester. I did suffer from some annoying carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms that seemed to appear only when I was relaxing in front of the TV or trying to fall asleep. But it was off and on and really only lasted a few weeks. I've had one or two bouts of heartburn but I had two bowls of chili on Sunday with nothing! And I'm carrying very high so I figure it would have kicked in by now if it was going to.

And finally, I have an amazingly supportive husband. He pitches in on everything without me even asking which is so nice! He was out raking the backyard on Sunday and didn't even bat an eyelash at my lazy ass reading the paper and watching TV. Of course I haven't really dragged him out for a big baby shopping trip so that might change. DH hates to shop. On the plus side for him I have been incredibly mellow with pregnancy. No crying outburst, conflicting emotions. Nada.

So what does this all mean? For me, it means I'm open to more kids down the road. Pregnancy hasn't been a big deal. But check in with me in 8 weeks and I might have a very different answer!

Adventures in Childbirth Class

This weekend DH and I had 10 hours of childbirth class. We had the option of 2 hours per night over a 5 week period or this intensive weekend class. I'm glad we chose this one because we "got it over with" in one shot. The class was offered at the hospital where I will be giving birth so we got a chance to see a bit of that as well. Our maternity tour is next week so I'll have a better sense of the facility after that.

Our teacher, Ann, was a very nice woman with 3 grown children of her own. I never got the feeling that she was pushing a particular agenda (natural childbirth only, breastfeeding only, etc.) which was nice and made me trust her a lot more. On Friday night we were joined by 8 other couples but one couple elected not to attend Saturday's session. It was a pretty homogeneous group. One half Taiwanese mother and one Indian father. All married couples and all within the 25-40 age range. It was pretty cool for me because there are no other pregnant women on my floor at work so it was nice to be surrounded by 7 other women who were going through the very same things I was. Unfortunately there was not a lot of time for socializing. Most couples were due in the mid to late March time frame with a couple being induced on 2/14 (she was on best rest and had a lot of blood clots in her legs) and one other due the first week of April (ironically on my birthday, April 6!).

Most of the class was focused on "classroom" style learning with slides and videos. The rest emphasized hands on practice of breathing and massage techniques.

The best part of the class for me was that it made childbirth seem much more real and less of an imagined activity. I have an overactive imagination so watching the videos really helped me to realistically visualize myself in that situation. It actually made me fear childbirth a lot less which I had not anticipated! However, I think it freaked out DH more, but I'll get into that in a minute.

Interestingly I responded best to the women who used a lot of movement in their labor. Of the three videos we saw, one woman went completely natural, one had Pitocin and some narcotics and the last had Pitocin and a full epidural. The woman who had the epidural was restrained in her movement which seemed to make labor longer (mentally). I had always anticipated having an epidural but now I am considering seeing how long I can go without one. When DH and I practiced the different positions for managing contractions I kept thinking to myself, "Sure, I am not actually having a contraction right now but I think I can do this!" We'll see how that stands up once they really start...

Every time the video showed the actual birth of the baby, DH had to look away. I was immensely interested and actually got a little teary eyed (in a good way) with the first one. After the first woman gave birth DH turned to me and said, "Are you sure they won't let you schedule a C section?" He got a little woozy at the first video and I had to tell him to turn away with the subsequent ones. I kept joking that he is going to pass out at some point during my labor. It could really happen folks! Now, in DH's defense, there was quite a bit of blood in each of the births related to the episiotemies that the women had to get. That shit definitely creeps me out too.

Ann told us that our hospital has a 90% epidural rate (!) which is extremely high but it is the main hospital and gets all the high risk pregnancies. The suburb facility has only a 50% rate which is much more in line with my expectations. Jeesh, from all the boards I read it should be more like 10%. People are extremely evangelistic about natural childbirth. I am much more of the mindset of whatever makes it work. My worst fear is that I labor for hours and hours only to be told that I have to have a C-section. All that work for nothing!

DH was pretty impressed that I already knew a lot about what to expect in labor and delivery. Um, since I'm the one that has to suffer through it I had to know as much as possible. But book reading (or Internet reading) is not the same as seeing an actual birth. I may be taping "A Baby Story" on TLC now to get even more educated.

DH and I are attending the maternity tour next week and a breastfeeding class the first week of March. He is also now interested in infant CPR so we'll try to fit that in too.

In other news, I am now 32 weeks and one day pregnant! The little one is 3.75 pounds (apparently the size of a jicama) and 16.7 inches long. Considering I feel her at the same time poking up very high on my ribs and the opposite side way down in my pelvis, I think our daughter is a bit longer. Or a gymnast. I have entered the "fattening up" period for the baby. I just hope that I don't gain too much on my end! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so we'll see. In other fun symptoms I am back up to multiple trips to the bathroom at night. Aside from that, I really can't complain.