Welcome to the Third Trimester. F you.

This week I failed. There is no fruit or veggie photo, just a Christmas photo taken just before my life became a living hell. I remember people saying that the first and third trimesters were hard, but I kind of felt like I paid my dues in the first trimester with the all day nausea, so I would skate through the third. I don't know why I thought this. It's kind of like that time when I thought I would get pregnant as soon as we "pulled the goalie". Ha. Ha. Ha. Joke is on me my friends.

I am insanely excited to be in these shoes of mine, and until this week I was a blissful person. Like sickeningly blissfully pregnant. Then I got out of the shower and noticed that my belly was red and kind of itchy. Then the next day my whole body was itchy. Then the next day my whole body was covered in a bright red, horrific rash from chest to ankles that makes me want to literally scratch my skin off. Then my legs swelled up like an elephant and I ended up in OB for a few hours (all was fine, my doctor was just equally horrified and shocked by my rash and insta-swelling and wanted a little baby monitoring and blood pressure check). 

So to say it was a bad week is an understatement. I am incredibly down in the dumps at the prospect of this being the rest of my pregnancy. I am upset to be feeling itchy and puffed up like a balloon, yes, of course I am. But mostly I'm upset because I feel like I'm not going to enjoy the rest of this baby-growing journey to the fullest. And I feel like a bloated, gross red, bumpy blob of yuckiness. Sorry for the whining and self-pity. I think this is part of my "I love being pregnant!" grieving process.

While in OB I got a maybe diagnosis of PUPPP (otherwise known as the worst thing ever that won't go away until baby has exited my vagina). The "maybe" part comes because most women don't get the rash until much later in pregnancy. I am relieved that there is no harm to me or to the little one, but not relieved because there is no good way to get rid of it. I have researched and researched and contacted my old acupuncturist for some recommendations and along with the OB and Dermatology recommendations I am armed with a plan to make this tolerable:

1. Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap: I ordered a couple bars from Amazon and the should be here within a day or so. Not sure how this stuff works, but a lot of people swear by it.

2. Benadryl nightly: The verdict is out on whether or not this helps the actual rash or if it just helps you sleep so you aren't scratching your body off.  Either way, I'm giving it a go.

3. Dandelion Root: 2 capsules 3 times a day. PUPPP is sometimes attributed to a sluggish liver. Dandelion root is supposed to help and is also a natural diuretic. I am going to increase my water intake to counteract the diuretic properties, but hoping this might help the swelling too? Started this already and of everything that is rumored to help, the most people tout this one as a miracle. Bring it.

4. Prescribed Topical Steroids: Obviously the most Western of the treatments, the consulting dermatologist told my OB this should help and is not to be worried about in pregnancy. Hallelujah.

5. Omega 3s: This was a recommendation from the acupuncturist. So flax oil it is. 

Hopefully next week I will have some good news to report! I do NOT know how I will sustain this for more 13 weeks if not!

Prior to all of this sad news, we took photos for our holiday cards. Here's to hoping this isn't the last picture of my unblemished skin!

Going, Going, Going

Brace yourselves for some TMI. 

I have heard pregnancy horror stories of constipation and hemorrhoids and blockages and many poop-related dilemmas. 

I made it 26 weeks without talking about poop, but the time has arrived.

I am pooping. Like all the time. 

Better than constipation, yes. But very strange and slightly inconvenient none the less because when I have to go, I have to go NOW. And several time a day bathroom stops is fine, but...weird.

Anyhoo...

I have failed in the picture realm and did not capture a photo of the bump this week :( I must have been spending too much time in the bathroom.
Baby Girl is the size of a head of lettuce if that helps the visualization?
I totally stole this photo from my friend's facebook page. Slacker.

 

Viability

I am 24 weeks and now to the point where the little one is considered "viable". As a NICU nurse, the idea of delivering anytime in the near future makes me sick to my stomach. The next few weeks are going to be a bit rough for me, mostly because while 24 weeks is in most cases viable, it is not always pretty. It has given me an interesting perspective on these Mommies that deliver RIGHT NOW. I cannot even fathom how it would feel to go into labor right now, so, so early with nothing prepared and be faced with so many hard decisions. Ugh. So, yeah, it's a scary time. 

This week everything started getting a bit real. We ordered our stroller and are so excited to have our first real baby item! I am also in full throws of nursery planning. I'm hoping to keep it pretty neutral, but also get some fun girly stuff mixed in. 

The belly definitely "popped" again this week!

Thankful

Wow am I behind on posts. It is officially the holidays and hence there is no time for anything but eating. We had a pretty darn wonderful Thanksgiving which has been historically a hard holiday for me for obvious reasons. This year I was bursting with thankfulness for everything that has transpired in the last 25 weeks and for the feisty little life that is growing inside of me. 

And feisty one is the size of a bunch of cauliflower!

This week I started feeling full much faster than before, so I had a built-in Thanksgiving over-eating preventive! 

Another Shot, Too Late

So I got the flu.
I had been waiting on the best time to get my flu shot when I didn't have a cold (last week) and when I didn't have anything super fun to attend. You know, just in case it made me sick. I am well aware of the fact that the flu shot cannot make you sick...but sometimes the side effects are pretty rotten too.

Then I got the flu from hell and had my first throw up of the pregnancy. Thankfully it was a quick 24 hour bug that left as suddenly as it came on.
Flu shot officially in me now, so hopefully no more vomit this year :)

Nothing much else has been going on in these parts, just enjoying every moment of this journey!

And we're back to squash...

23 weeks and the size of a butternut.

Feeling the Burn

Week 22 brought heartburn! 

Apparently I have never had heartburn before, because I wasn't even sure what it was when it arrived. I'm still not quite sure that it isn't acid reflux...if that's different from heartburn. Anyway, it's here and I'm eating lots of tums. 

I have to say, despite the heartburn, I am feeling better physically than I have since this little embryo implanted in The Uterus Formerly Known as Empty. I have lots of energy, I am now clearly pregnant and not fat, so I don't feel so gross, and all in all everything is hunky dory around these parts. Another bonus that any infertile who has been pregnant even for a moment might be able to relate to: now that I can feel her moving around, I know almost hourly that she is still there. If only the movement was palpable in the first trimester, it would save so much cray cray.

I totally thought that my pre-prego wardrobe would stretch further into the weeks than it has. Even my long shirts are getting short, and no one wants to see a flesh-colored belly band popping out the bottom of my shirt! So shopping it is.

And! The baby is the size of something other than squash this week :)

 

Yes, I'm totally in pajama pants. Husband was was definitely instructed to leave those out of the picture. Clearly, photography is not his day job...

 

Belated Updates

The post was written. The photos were taken. The photos were not uploaded due to laziness and daylight savings sleepiness, so over a week late...

I'm starting to feel like I have an alien inside me. It was all good and well until I started over analyzing the little being. I have started feeling more than just little pokes in my lower belly. Sometimes I feel rolls, sometimes I feel flip flops, sometimes I feel a limb (one of the four, not sure which!) move from one area to another. It's pretty cool, but also incredibly weird. And if I think about it a lot, it kind of creeps me out! I mean, there is a human in there. In my uterus. Doing whatever little humans do when in a uterus. And it's breathing fluid. It's unbelievable.
As Baby and I rang in 21 weeks of togetherness, Daddy got to feel a big, huge movement on the outside for the first time ever. I don't know that I've ever seen his eyes light up like that; he was in complete and utter awe and so excited. It was just as amazing to watch as it is to feel.

It's also starting to feel a bit crowded in there. After I eat, it feels like I can't take a deep breath and that my ab muscles are streeettttccching. And I have hiccups ALL.THE.TIME. They are not the subtle kind either. Usually a big, loud, awkward hiccup in the middle of a quiet meeting or in the grocery store. So funny for everyone involved!

Baby Girl is the size of sugar pie pumpkin!