Wednesday, July 27, 2011
40 Weeks
Normally I'm a very patient person, but for whatever reason, that has not been me this week. Maybe because I was tricked into thinking I was going to have her yesterday. We took a long walk in the evening and by the time I went to bed at 10pm I was starting feel some cramping. It was light and I wasn't too hopeful, thinking it was probably just being out in the heat. I woke up around midnight and was still having cramps but they were light enough that I fell back asleep. But when I woke up at 3am, the pain was sharp enough to keep me up. So I got up and played around on the computer and did some laundry. I was continuing to have contractions by the time Michael got up at 5am and so I really thought this was the real thing. I never timed them because they seemed to be very irregular. Some were closer than others and then there would be a gap in time before the next one came. The contractions were sharp and getting stronger and then around 10am they stopped. Just stopped. I kept hoping they would come back--who hopes for pain, right? but they never did. I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon. I am now 3cm dilated and 60% effaced. Progress. The doctor said it was encouraging. I should be happy with that, which I am in a way. It would have been devastating to go in and still be 1.5cm, but all I could think is I had contractions for 7 hours and not only am I not holding my baby in my arms today but I am only at 3cm. Having contractions on and off for the last 2 months and then 7 hours of it yesterday, I feel like this is the longest labor ever. I know, I'm dramatic. This is nothing. But again, this is my impatience speaking. So I guess I just need to sit back and relax and wait. If I don't have her by Friday and I have to get induced then that's what will happen and it will be okay. I know this. But it doesn't hurt to keep walking and trying, right?
Friday, July 22, 2011
39 Weeks
I'm really hoping this is the last pregnancy update. Really hoping. There were no changes at my last doctor's appointment; I'm still 1.5cm and 50%. I'm just very ready for many reasons but this heat and being as big as a whale is not a good combination. That, and I think we're both ready to meet this little girl and hold her in our arms. We have the induction scheduled for next Friday, which will be 2 days past my due date. They were willing to induce me this week, but I want to at least give her time to come out on her own, just not too much time. :) I'm still in high hopes that I won't make it one more week, but we shall see.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Nate's New Diet
For the first week after the appointment with the allergist, we tried just going with the new prescription creams and not making any changes to his diet. It was going well, very well in fact. His skin was clearing up dramatically and we thought all he needed was something to stop the whole itchy cycle (red-itch-raw-worse-more itchy). And it was doing well for about four days and then his skin had a little flare up. Nothing too bad (considering what it had been) but enough that we thought 1) the creams aren't the cure all and 2) even if they were, we don't want him on creams everyday forever. So we started the elimination diet on Sunday. This way we can rule out or find the foods that might be affecting his skin. So no milk, eggs, soy, or peanuts for a week. It has been a struggle to cook and find things he will eat. So far there have been days where I have cooked/prepared several different things without any luck. You would think he'd be starving! Which, sometimes he is hungry and will go to the pantry and request things and I have to tell him no (which breaks my heart!). So while it may not be the most nutritious of weeks, he is surviving. Starting on Sunday, we will introduce milk back into his diet for 3 days and then continue to do so with all the other foods.
So far, there doesn't seem to be much change. His skin was already clearing up pretty well by the weekend, so there isn't a noticeable decrease in eczema patches. There have been a couple of days where he doesn't itch at all and then there have been a couple that he itches like crazy (certain spots--hands, knees). So it's hard to say what's going on. Part of me still thinks those foods cannot be the cause if he's still itching and his skin hasn't cleared up completely, but I am willing to wait and see what happens by the time we are all done with this process. If I had to guess one of the foods, I might say eggs. We fed him a toddler meal one evening last week and that night he was itching pretty bad and his skin was pretty pink. There are a lot of eggs in the toddler meals so we thought it might be that. My other hypothesis is that the heat is having a large impact on his skin. It seems like ever since it started warming up it has become more of a problem, yet his diet is the same as it has been since this winter. So we will see how it goes and what happens.
So far, there doesn't seem to be much change. His skin was already clearing up pretty well by the weekend, so there isn't a noticeable decrease in eczema patches. There have been a couple of days where he doesn't itch at all and then there have been a couple that he itches like crazy (certain spots--hands, knees). So it's hard to say what's going on. Part of me still thinks those foods cannot be the cause if he's still itching and his skin hasn't cleared up completely, but I am willing to wait and see what happens by the time we are all done with this process. If I had to guess one of the foods, I might say eggs. We fed him a toddler meal one evening last week and that night he was itching pretty bad and his skin was pretty pink. There are a lot of eggs in the toddler meals so we thought it might be that. My other hypothesis is that the heat is having a large impact on his skin. It seems like ever since it started warming up it has become more of a problem, yet his diet is the same as it has been since this winter. So we will see how it goes and what happens.
38 Weeks
As it gets closer and closer I will try and keep you all updated as best I can on here. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I am still 1.5 cm dilated but am now 50% effaced. He did strip my membranes, but there's no guarantee that will do anything. He said if they do it each time I come in, it has the chance of moving up the date by 6 days. I'll take it! My preference would be anytime after this Sunday, since Michael and I have a date night planned. I am still feeling pretty good and she (surprisingly) is still pretty active. We have reached some pretty high temps this week with heat advisories, yet another reason I am ready to have her!
Friday, July 8, 2011
37 Weeks
Super quick update: baby is still doing well, heartbeat sounds good and still measuring on time. Dilated to 1.5 cm, so a half of a centimeter in a week, not much. I was having pretty good contractions on Monday (thought I might have a 4th of July baby!) but just the pains without producing much! And as the doctor puts it, I'm still pretty thick (hope he's talking about my cervix!). I am now at the point where I am officially ready to have her. Up until now, I thought the longer she stayed in the better. Much easier to take of Nate while she is in my womb, but now I feel like she is going to be here and I will have a toddler and newborn and so we might as well get this adventure started! Although I would like her to wait until at least 38 1/2 weeks. I will be done with everything by then. ;)
Friday, July 1, 2011
Nate's Allergies
We had Nate's appointment with the allergist yesterday afternoon. I was not looking forward to it at all and it's all I could think about all morning. But, we kept saying once it was done then we'd have some answers and could hopefully fix his skin issues. His skin has gotten so bad and he itches so much that it's raw in several places.
The doctor looked him over and he doesn't have any hives anymore, just his eczema patches. However, this doesn't mean that he's not allergic to anything. (I learned a lot yesterday) Eczema can be an indicator of food allergies so he went ahead with the skin test for milk, eggs, soybean, wheat, and peanuts. The top two that I did not want him to have were milk and eggs. All of the foods except wheat came back positive. I was devastated. Although it may not necessarily mean he is allergic to all of them, or any of them. He could just have sensitivities to those foods. As the doctor described it, it is like getting a line up of criminals and figuring out which one(s) did it. We now have our line up and we need to play some detective work to figure out which of the foods are causing his eczema. So we have to stop all the foods that tested positive for one week. Then we can introduce back in one of the foods at a time for three days and see if he has a reaction to that food. It could be all and it could be none. It will be a difficult week and already it seems impossible to come up with meals that don't contain those ingredients, but we can handle it for a week. If this turns into a permanent thing then I guess I will really have to research recipes and become a master at reading labels.
The second approach with his skin is new ointments. He should soak in the tub of plain water for 20 minutes each night. If we need to wash him then we do so at the very end and rinse him off. Within 3 minutes of getting out we have 3 different creams to put on him. We have Bactroban (antibacterial ointment) for all of the areas that are raw and he has broken skin from scratching. We have a prescription hydrocortisone cream for the other red areas. And then we will use Cetaphil lotion on the rest of the skin. None of the areas can overlap so if we put an ointment on his knee then the lotion needs to be applied around his knee. He also recommended giving him a bleach bath, but until I look into that one further, I'm not going near it. And, he gave us some medicine to basically knock him out at night so he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night scratching. I told him he sleeps fine, but I don't think he believes me. I don't like the idea of drugging my kid up every night so I don't think I'll be doing that one either. I'll just check his skin in the morning and if it looks like there was new/more scratching then I'll go from there.
So our plan of action is to start with the ointments and see what kind of effect that has on his skin before making any changes in his diet. After a few days we will start the food investigation to see which one is the real culprit. I think secretly we're hoping that the new Rx ointments are going to do the trick, but I know that probably won't be the case.
Because of Nate's runny nose and cough, the doctor did some additional environmental tests and the ones for dogs and dust mites came back positive. I guess it's not the pet hair but the dander and saliva that people are allergic to. So if we keep Nate off Sammy's chair and wash his hands after he plays with her, if he is allergic to her, that should help. We will also get him some allergen bedding covers, because that can't hurt either way. I'm a little skeptical and not as concerned with these tests coming back positive because he doesn't have a chronic runny nose. I think his runny nose might be more from teething and the cough is just from the excess drainage.
I was absolutely devastated yesterday, much more than I thought I would be. I guess I was just thinking about the actual skin test he was going to go through and not the results. But after it had sunk in some, and I had some time to process it all, it doesn't seem as horrible or impossible as I thought. Also, he could outgrow any allergies by the age of four, so it might not be something he will have to live with forever. It was just difficult for me to hear the results. Who wants this for their child? I hate the thought of him going through life with any restrictions and just want him to have a carefree childhood, but the more it all sinks in, the more I think it is doable and we can figure it out.
The doctor looked him over and he doesn't have any hives anymore, just his eczema patches. However, this doesn't mean that he's not allergic to anything. (I learned a lot yesterday) Eczema can be an indicator of food allergies so he went ahead with the skin test for milk, eggs, soybean, wheat, and peanuts. The top two that I did not want him to have were milk and eggs. All of the foods except wheat came back positive. I was devastated. Although it may not necessarily mean he is allergic to all of them, or any of them. He could just have sensitivities to those foods. As the doctor described it, it is like getting a line up of criminals and figuring out which one(s) did it. We now have our line up and we need to play some detective work to figure out which of the foods are causing his eczema. So we have to stop all the foods that tested positive for one week. Then we can introduce back in one of the foods at a time for three days and see if he has a reaction to that food. It could be all and it could be none. It will be a difficult week and already it seems impossible to come up with meals that don't contain those ingredients, but we can handle it for a week. If this turns into a permanent thing then I guess I will really have to research recipes and become a master at reading labels.
The second approach with his skin is new ointments. He should soak in the tub of plain water for 20 minutes each night. If we need to wash him then we do so at the very end and rinse him off. Within 3 minutes of getting out we have 3 different creams to put on him. We have Bactroban (antibacterial ointment) for all of the areas that are raw and he has broken skin from scratching. We have a prescription hydrocortisone cream for the other red areas. And then we will use Cetaphil lotion on the rest of the skin. None of the areas can overlap so if we put an ointment on his knee then the lotion needs to be applied around his knee. He also recommended giving him a bleach bath, but until I look into that one further, I'm not going near it. And, he gave us some medicine to basically knock him out at night so he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night scratching. I told him he sleeps fine, but I don't think he believes me. I don't like the idea of drugging my kid up every night so I don't think I'll be doing that one either. I'll just check his skin in the morning and if it looks like there was new/more scratching then I'll go from there.
So our plan of action is to start with the ointments and see what kind of effect that has on his skin before making any changes in his diet. After a few days we will start the food investigation to see which one is the real culprit. I think secretly we're hoping that the new Rx ointments are going to do the trick, but I know that probably won't be the case.
Because of Nate's runny nose and cough, the doctor did some additional environmental tests and the ones for dogs and dust mites came back positive. I guess it's not the pet hair but the dander and saliva that people are allergic to. So if we keep Nate off Sammy's chair and wash his hands after he plays with her, if he is allergic to her, that should help. We will also get him some allergen bedding covers, because that can't hurt either way. I'm a little skeptical and not as concerned with these tests coming back positive because he doesn't have a chronic runny nose. I think his runny nose might be more from teething and the cough is just from the excess drainage.
I was absolutely devastated yesterday, much more than I thought I would be. I guess I was just thinking about the actual skin test he was going to go through and not the results. But after it had sunk in some, and I had some time to process it all, it doesn't seem as horrible or impossible as I thought. Also, he could outgrow any allergies by the age of four, so it might not be something he will have to live with forever. It was just difficult for me to hear the results. Who wants this for their child? I hate the thought of him going through life with any restrictions and just want him to have a carefree childhood, but the more it all sinks in, the more I think it is doable and we can figure it out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)