What Can I Expect?

I admit, I haven't read much about being pregnant. I did not run out and get "What to Expect When You're Expecting" the first day I had a positive test. In fact, when I thumbed through the book a few days later, I could only handle a couple minutes of reading it. Apparently, what I can expect is to be paranoid and overanalyze everything for the next six months. Of course, I read some stuff on what foods and medicine I should avoid, and found out what foods I really need in my diet. Being a vegetarian is fine while pregnant, at least my doctor thinks so. So please stop telling me I need to eat meat or my baby will die. I just don't think that's true.

The past couple days, I've been doing some research online about whether or not I should get a flu shot and what medicines I can and can't take for a cold or sinus infection. I only started thinking about this because I have a sinus infection at the moment. It seems like the flu shot question is evenly divided down the middle with people saying you MUST get it and those saying YOUR BABY WILL HAVE BIRTH DEFECTS if you get it. What the heck am I supposed to do then? I can skip the shot and hope I don't get the flu. I haven't gotten the shot in a really long time and I haven't gotten the flu. Is my immune system really that different now that I'm pregnant? Of course, I might end up actually getting the flu and it could get out of control and develop into pneumonia and I will end up in the hospital with a high fever and a steady dose of drugs that while helping me, could give my baby birth defects. Or worse, I could die. At least that's what the Internet tells me. On the other hand, there's a pretty good chance that me getting a flu shot will not hurt my baby at all and he/she will be born as perfect as can be. So why not get it? Because there's a small chance my baby WILL HAVE BIRTH DEFECTS. That's what the Internet is screaming at me. I have no idea what to do. Honestly. I may just forget about it as soon as this sinus infection goes away anyway. I really don't like the idea of taking ANY medicine while pregnant, but I know that really won't be possible. I've already had to take antibiotics once, and if this infections continues, I might be taking some again soon.

This has really been the first thing I've researched, and the reports are so conflicting. I'm assuming it's going to be that way on pretty much any pregnancy issue. I'd really just like to avoid all that hassle and stress. I prefer to just keep going along, and if everything feels fine, then assume that everything IS FINE. And right now, aside from the nasal congestion, everything feels perfectly fine. Do I really need to be a pregnancy expert and read everything I can about it? I have no desire to do that. I just want to enjoy this. It's going well so far. I don't want to worry about anything unless something comes up that needs worrying about. Even then, I know it's better for me and the baby not to worry. I've learned from the Bible that worrying does no good whatsoever.