Gestate Another Day...

Well, all of my blood work came back normal.  YAY that I don’t have a condition that could seriously harm my unborn child.  I’m ‘bout sick and tired of being pregnant, but as long as she’s doing well, I’ll make sure I do everything I can to keep her that way…even if it means holding her in a while longer.

She’s gonna be stubborn just like me…I can already tell.  I’m gonna love her just the same though.  Everything looks good.  She fell asleep during the NST this morning, so they had to buzz her (and piss her off) and I gave her a juice box.  We like juice boxes.  After all of that she moved the way she needed to and we were sent on our way.  I’ll have another ultrasound on Monday.  I like seeing my Thumper every week, but I don’t like shelling out the $20 to do it!  We’re all extremely excited to meet her, but as long as she’s okay, I guess she can chill a bit longer.  I’ll just stock  up on more Cortizone…

3 Weeks, 4 Days Left until the official due date!

Week 36: The Final Countdown?

Well...36 weeks is here! I'm tired, I'm more in pain than not and I'm ready for this epic journey to be over. Brie was born at 36 weeks...Alex was born at 37. As of a week ago, my wee one was 5lbs 3oz, her fluid was on the "low side of normal" (that's all too familiar), but everything else was looking great. Of course I will do whatever I need to do to make sure this baby is safe and healthy and keep her in as long as possible, but it may not be up to me.

Over the past few nights, I've been severely itchy all over my body. It started with my feet and I assumed it was because they were swollen at night. I'd be okay in the morning, so I'd pretty much forget about it until the next night when it started all over again. Well it spread to the rest of my body and last night was UNBEARABLE. I got absolutely no sleep. I was scratching with a hair brush! I tried a bath, baby oil and lotion and nothing helped. I finally took a Benadryl and that didn't really help either.

Today I had my weekly ultrasound. Everything looked great, fluid was back up to higher levels and she did everything she was supposed to do in a matter of minutes (practice breathing, movement and muscle tone). The itching really bothered me, so I was able to get in and see the doc afterwards. It turns out it could be just a symptom of pregnancy, or it could be Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP). It's a liver condition that is no bueno. It causes you to itch all over with no rash and gets worse at night. My blood was drawn today so the test can be run to check for it. If it comes back normal, then it's just a "normal" symptom of my pregnancy. If my levels are high, that means I have it and we will need to go and have this baby. Early induction is what I'm used to...it's "going into labor on my own" that freaks me out because I have no idea what to expect.

The test is specialized, so I won't know the results until my doctor's appointment on Thursday. The itching is picking up as I type. My doc said I can take 2 Benadryl and 1 Zantac (of all things) to help. I can also use Cortizone cream. Hopefully these will provide some VERY NECESSARY relief. Who knows? Maybe this time next week I could be a mother of three!

On a side note, the medical profession is a RACKET. I'm of AMA (Advanced Maternal Age) so I'm being monitored twice a week...one ultrasound and one Non Stress Test (NST)/OB checkup. I have to pay a $20 copay weekly for the ultrasound. Ok, fine whatever. The OB checks are included in my prenatal care. Know what I found out today? The NST is not. Even though it's a part of the SAME OB appointment. So I have to pay $20 a week for that as well. That's $40 a week, for something the doctor says I have to do. If I have to do it, I feel it should be a part of my included prenatal care!