Is It H1N1?

This morning the family got up as normal on a Monday morning. My husband got ready and left for work and I made the boys breakfast and made sure they got ready for school. About 15 minutes before we were going to leave, my oldest son informed me that he didn't feel well. I asked what was wrong and he said his stomach hurt, as he layed on the sofa. I tried to figure out if he was just trying to get out of school, but he did seem like he didn't feel well. I took his temperature - normal.

Since this is the beginning of November, I can't help but wonder - is this the beginning of an H1N1 infection? Or is it just a cold or the seasonal flu. One of the teachers at school has said that a few of the kids have had H1N1, but I haven't heard other teachers or parents talking about it. Also, I haven't noticed a lot of absences. In fact, for our Fall party last Friday, every student in my younger son's 3rd grade class was there.

Now his stomach doesn't hurt anymore but his throat does and he has a headache. I'm wondering if I should take him to the doctor just to be safe but he doesn't seem too sick. I'm also reluctant to go to the doctor's office right now where we could get exposed to even worse germs. For now I'll just keep a close eye on him and see if he gets worse.

This year is different from other years because we've all heard about the dangers of H1N1 and that it seems to hit children especially hard, even children who seemed to be previously healthy. We'll see how this progresses and I'll keep taking his temperature. Has H1N1 hit any of your communities or are kids just getting sick with regular-variety colds and seasonal flu? How worried are you this year?