Thursday, April 21, 2011

40 Weeks, EDD, Full Term, Fully Baked or, AFTER TODAY CHILD YOU ARE LATE

Today is it...your due date little tater.  April 21st, the day we've been charging towards for months.  Will you be one of the 3-5% of babies born on your EDD?  I'm guessing probably not based on today's exam, but there are still 12 hours left in this day! Holly checked things out again, and not surprisingly there is not much "progress" since last week in terms of dilation or effacement...however still looking good that this could happen on its own soon.  She did do a second membrane stripping, so maybe it will work this time.  We talked more about induction options and she answered some of my questions and explained their protocols a little better. I feel like if we end up needing induction for medical reasons or for reaching 42 weeks, I will be less anxious about it and more able to make that decision than I was last weekend.  She also did a second Group B Strep test because my "old" one expires next week, so if I still haven't delivered by 4/28 it would be outdated and we'd have to look at it like I had never been tested...here's hoping it's still negative! 

Since I have Gestational Diabetes, I have to start having "non-stress tests" twice weekly now that I'm at 40 weeks until she's born to check her vital signs and reactivity.  Basically, I go to the perinatal assessment center and get hooked up to monitors for 20-30 minutes and they watch her movement, monitor any contraction activity, and her heart rate to make sure she's responding to movement and "stress" adequately to endure the labor process.  They also will do an ultrasound to check amniotic fluid levels and I'm guessing they'll take a look at her position, and then most likely send us home to wait some more :) So we have that at 3:00 today.  

The PUPPs rash is still raging, but there are spots that it seems to be improving.  It's pretty much gone from my belly (thank goodness) but my legs are a terrible mess still.

Not the best pic, off my phone, but this is the back of one of my legs - the hives have all just run together now and form one giant "plaque" - I have patches like this everywhere.

My palms and fingers get pretty crazy itchy at times, but other times they are OK.  I blessedly don't seem to have it on my upper torso, back, face, or really on my arms other than a few renegade spots, so I'm hoping like hell it stays that way.  Last night was the first night in many that I didn't wake up in a full blown "Itch Crisis" that tore me from a sound sleep, although I still only got about 4 hours of sleep total.  After reading just about everything online available about treating PUPPs (at least the symptoms) I have developed quite the arsenal, and I think maybe some part of it is working.  Here's my daily plan of attack (family and friends, feel free to skip this part if it's not interesting to you! I thought I'd include it in case someone reading this found my blog online, and hopefully it's helpful to someone else):

  • 3 Dandelion Root capsules 3X/daily - to "cleanse" the liver of bile salt build up...I'm on day 6 and I think it might be helping
  • 1 T. flaxseed oil - started yesterday, also to "cleanse" the liver
  • Triamcinolone prescription steroid ointment up to 3X/daily 
  • Washing my skin with "Selsun Blue" dandruff shampoo (1% Selenium Sulfide) - just came up with this one on my own, but it seems to help some with the itching
  • Tea Tree Oil and Arnica Oil applied topically after bathing/showering - I honestly think this is helping the most to dry out the rash. The TTO has a pretty strong smell, just beware!  
  • Soaking in a warm (not hot!) bath with either Aveeno Oatmeal packets or Epsom Salts at least once/daily
  • Alternating prescription Atarax or Benadryl 50 mg at night before bed to knock me the hell out so I can sleep - not sure it helps much with the itching but at least I can close my eyes for a while
Then there is the array of other topical applications that I rotate to help with mini "Itch Crises" during the day time (they seem to be more manageable than the middle of the night ones).  I've found using one thing repeatedly seems to lose its effectiveness, so I mix it up between: Sarna Lotion (smells like a Grandpa, but does cool and take the itch away for a while), Aloe with Lidocaine, Band Aid brand Itch Relief Gel (camphor is the main ingredient, and this works really well but my tube is almost empty and our Rite Aid doesn't carry it, so I'm sparingly using it for emergencies), California Baby brand Diaper Rash Cream (the zinc oxide apparently helps, and the lotion rubs in better than other mainstream brands like Desitin, so I'm not a white pasty mess).  I have an array of other things I've tried that have been cast aside (Ivy Dry, Calendula Gel, Aveeno Baby lotion, Gold Bond Medicated powder) but some find those to be helpful, too.  I found this website to be a really comprehensive list of things to try so if you're out there dealing with PUPPs and haven't found it yet, take a look: http://www.naomikritzer.com/motherhood/PUPPP.shtml

Whew...so PUPPs drama aside, we're just waiting for you little one! Here's what mama looks like today after 4 hours of sleep: 


The belly is RIDIC! It's like this whole other part of me at this point - it doesn't even feel like an extension of me anymore...it feels like this whole separate entity strapped on to the front...it looks unreal without clothes on!!  I'm up 5 lbs in 2 weeks according the doctor's scale...which is a little frightening but whatever. I think at least one of those lbs has to be water because I'm so swollen from this rash everywhere.  That has my total weight gain at 22 lbs.  More than I would have liked, but still within recommended guidelines, so I guess I can't complain.  Maybe managing the GD with a tightly controlled diet helped keep my weight gain in check, and that's certainly not a bad thing! 

We will keep you all up to date as usual if anything changes (IF! Ha...WHEN...I mean there are only a maximum of 14 days left from today, so it's a matter of when, right?).  Hoping to have news very soon :) C'mon Tater Tot...the world is waiting for you! 



2 comments:

  1. okay, just re-stalking your old posts, and I have to say - that belly looks freakin' FAKE. unbelievable!! it seriously looks like the old cliche of having a basketball up your shirt!

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  2. Cathy, I know! Just when you think you cannot possibly get any more baby in there...bam, there it is.

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