I want my normal peaceful life back

So again, it's been awhile. I swore I was going to record every moment of this pregnancy but so it happens and I don't make the time. Let's catch up a bit. I had another ultrasound on May 12th. The midwives thought I was measuring a bit big and sent me for one to ease both of our minds. My mom and Amanda came with which was a nice change. Burt couldn't make it because he had work. After a long morning which consisted of chasing around a tiny white feeder mouse and rushing to get in the shower and make it to the appointment on time...we got to see my bay-bah! She's getting so big in there and oh so healthy! They estimate her weight at 33 weeks and 4 days to be 5lbs 6 oz which comes out to be 55th percentile. I'm hoping her weight gain slows down a bit as I don't want to be pushing out a 9lb baby but I'll take what I can get. She's head down and her back was rounding up my left side. The scan was quite quick. We waited in the room for the doctor to come in and go over the results with me and then we were out of there. He said placenta looks great! Fluid level looked great! And baby was measuring perfectly! And that's where all the perfectness ended. Thursday morning I woke up with a few bug bites on my legs. Very itchy bug bites might I add. Then Friday morning I woke up with hives going up my neck and up my face. I called the midwives to be sure it was nothing pregnancy related and they instructed me to call my primary. My primary was already out of the office for the day so I decided to struggle through. I made it all the way until Saturday morning when the intense itchiness was undeniable. I made a call to the on call doctor and she called me in a steroid cream. The cream helped a bit and I went about my daily activities. By Saturday night when I was ready to relax and watch a movie I started rubbing the cream on my itchy legs. I pulled up my pant leg on my right leg and saw that one of the bites was completely red, "angry", and infected looking. Burt insisted we go to the ER. I called my mom and she came right over to sit with the kids. The ER concluded that the bite was infected and prescribed some antibiotics. As for the other rashes they gave me some prednisone and sent me on my way with instructions to follow up with my primary. They all were guessing but said that it was probably an allergic reaction of some sort. General and vague, I know! The prednisone made the itchiness controllable and the antibiotics took away the redness of the bite but I was still left with this weird rash in between my fingers and blisters all over my hands and fingers. It was gross. When I met with the midwives for my next appointment, I was still covered in rashes. Oh yea and I've gained a total of 11 pounds. My blood pressure was normal at 120 something over 80 something. And I measured right on a 34 centimeters. Anyways, Becca was amazed at the rash and could only conclude that it might be some sort of autoimmune reaction. Thanks Becca! She insisted I call her after my appointment with my primary to tell her what they thought it was. She was truly interested! That same day Nathan came home with a rash covering his tummy and back. Before long the rash had crept up the sides of his face and was behind his ears. His pediatrician thought it could be some sort of contact dermatitis or a virus manifesting in a rash. Thanks doc! So this lead to him begin home from school for three days. Did I forget to mention that this is the same week that I volunteered to watch Burt's friend's son Joey? Yea, a two year old. Fun! Fun! It's been a long week. I'm tired, I'm swollen, and I'm starting to get really uncomfortable when I'm sleeping. I drool way to much and I wake up to pee about 5 times a night. I swore I wouldn't complain about all of these things because I was just so grateful to be pregnant again, but waaaaaahhhhh! It's so hard! My ankles are literally the size of my calves. That's not sexy. And to boot I've been covered with itchy rashes, ugly blisters, and I couldn't shave my legs. Talk about a real self esteem booster. I'm just looking forward to Monday when hopefully life goes back to normal. Nathan should be back in school by then, my rash should be almost completely gone and there will be no more Joey. Maybe I'll get in three more weeks of relaxation. You think? I can only hope!!

Another appointment down

I had another midwives appointment on the 5th of May. It went surprisingly well considering how rushed and stressed I was getting there. I hopped in the car with 5 minutes to spare until my appointment only to notice that I was almost entirely out of gas. A quick stop at the gas station and ten dollars poorer I headed off to the appointment. I got there about ten minutes late so I knew I'd be waiting a little while but I didn't mind. Now that I'm actually showing I love to sit in the waiting room with all of the women who are not as far along as I am or who are just finding out they are pregnant. I feel a bit higher up on the pregnancy hierarchy. Weird, I know. I got weighed and am now officially four pounds heavier then my prepregnancy weight. Not bad. My blood pressure was checked and although I don't remember the exact numbers, it was good. I saw Becca for this appointment and she was her bubbly wonderful self as usual. We talked about her trip to Germany and then it was all baby business. I told her about how I was starting to get really nervous and worried as the end of the pregnancy nears. I just know how many things can still go wrong and I'm scared to death about them. She assured me that that was normal for someone who had been through all that I have. And before I knew it I was laying on the table listening to that beautifully beating heart. She measured me too and it seems as if I'm measuring larger then I should me. I know at the last appointment I was 30 weeks measuring 35 weeks so I can only imagine that at 32 weeks I was probably measuring 37 weeks. I don't feel that big. And baby doesn't feel that uncomfortably but I was happy that she offered for me to have an ultrasound done to check on the size of the baby. I left with my referral and made my u/s appointment for May 12th at twelve. I'm excited for the chance to see our baby again. She's going to be so much bigger now. I hope we get a few good pictures. I'm excited to be getting so close to meeting her. My belly is getting rounder by the day and I've noticed that I'm bumping it into counters, and doors, and furniture now. I'm waking up in the middle of the night to pee at least three times. Luckily I can lay back in bed and still fall right back to sleep. I'm having to roll over in bed quite a bit too to stay comfy but that's not too bad either. The worst part seems to be having to grunt and groan as I try to sit up in bed to get to the bathroom. I noticed last night that my left foot and ankle were EXTREMELY swollen. At least twice as swollen as the right one. It wasn't painful so I just tried to prop it up on the beanbag chair as I sat and watched TV. It's probably nothing but I'll definitely mention it to the midwives. I've been working really hard lately to get things crossed off of my to do list before Alexa makes her big arrival. I'd like to be somewhat organized and ready to come home and enjoy her when she decides to meet us. I know that first week is going to be hard and I don't want to have to focus my energy onto any of these silly little things. Her room is almost complete now. We hung the letters on the wall for her name and now all I need to do is adjust the tape and straighten them out. I need to buy the molding for around them and paint it. Then all I need to do is have Burt hang the shelf and the curtain rods and we'll be all set. It's looking so cute in there already. Although I want her to stay in there a bit longer I wouldn't mind meeting her in 3 or 4 weeks. She'll decide when she's ready though. Until then I just have to be patient.

TICK TOCK TICK TOCK!

It's the sound I'm hearing with every minute of the day. I still have so much to do. Do they call this nesting? I think I've got the nesting bug! I made a list yesterday. A to do list. And it has fifty something things to do before Alexa makes her debut. Ack! Eight weeks left but the urgency feels like there's only a week or two. I can't believe I am 32 weeks pregnant. I never thought I'd be here again and I am so grateful. I never thought I'd feel kicks again but I am. And I am enjoying every minute of it. Sometimes I just smile when I feel her. People probably think I'm crazy but I never want to forget those feelings. It's amazing. I'm so torn between wanting to meet her and hold her and start our new life together as a family of five but not wanting this pregnancy to ever end. Only God knows if I'll ever feel this again. It's like my own private secret. Only I know when she's moving. Only I know when she's awake. Only I can hold her now. Soon I'll have to share her and I don't want to. I love having her all to myself. I love preparing for her. I love daydreaming about her. I love you Alexa Lynn McCabe!!