Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Bean Bump: Week 14


{bump covered}


{bump with doggy}



{bump exposed}




Week: On to week 14! Yeah, second trimester!
Bean Size: 3 and a half inches. It's about the size of a large lemon and the bean is weighing in at about 1 and a half ounces.
Gender: I think it may be a boy now. Too many boys in this house! I'll explain why under the "preggers bod" category
Total Weight Gain: If I'm supposed to start gaining a pound a week in my second trimester, then that would put me in at about 7 lbs. gained. I'll find out for sure at my appointment tomorrow.
Maternity Clothes?: I have to say that my Motherhood maternity jeans are the best. Their stretchy top part fits really comfortably and they don't move around like crazy. I think I'm going to buy some of their skinny jeans so I can wear them with my boots. It's been raining like crazy around here.
Sleep: I'm back to tossing and turning. I don't know what's going on!
Stretch Marks: Not around the expanding tummy. But, since I've been observing my body a little bit more lately, I noticed I have some from when I had a major growth spurt at about 11 years of age. They run along the side of my legs. They're really not noticeable unless you're staring, like I've been.
Movement: Not feeling this bean yet. He/she is only an itty bitty thing.
What I Miss: Okay, I'll go into this one some more into the preggo bod section....not itching! Not having red little bumps ALL over my body.
What I'm Looking Forward to: I'm getting a sonogram on Tuesday for the genetic testing, so I'll be receiving some new "real" baby pictures!!! I might even get some tomorrow, if they decide to check on the bean during my appointment for my itching issue.
Best Moment this Week: hhmmm...I'll get back to you on this one. It was and is sorta turning out to be a rough week.
Preggers Bod-New and Exciting!..maybe: Itchiness and red rash ALL over my body. Yeah, I just noticed I also mentioned this last week. Well, it's moved on to another level of horrible this week. I noticed on Wednesday that I was feeling especially itchy on my chest and stomach area, but didn't think that much of it since I'd been itchy for a while. Then, on Thursday, I noticed I had a little bit of a rash on my chest...hmmm...okay. On Friday, I was in the library at school with my students when I looked at my hands and noticed I had the same rash from my chest on my hands and fingers. Yeah, even on my fingers!! At that point I decided I needed to call the advice nurse. She suggested I take some allergy medicine and try some anti-itch lotion and if it didn't get better by tomorrow (Monday), I should go in. She asked if I'd changed anything or eaten something out of the ordinary and the only different thing was that I'd changed my body wash; from Dove to Aveeno. Really, can the Aveeno be making me itchy? How ironic. Anyhoo, I woke up on Saturday and realized it was definitely not better. That same evening I noticed it was much worse. MUCH worse. I called the nurse again and she suggested the same thing and a few other things like keeping cool and taking cool showers. She also made an appointment with the Dr. tomorrow morning. It's Sunday now and it's still pretty bad. The redness is literally all over my body, even a little on my cheeks. I feel sooo gross. The itch is controlled, but the redness is hard not to notice. I did my own research on the internet and found that what I have really resembles something called PUPPPs. It turns out the cure most doctors come up with is to give birth...yeah, I still have a lot of weeks to go. I read up on some boards and found suggestions from women that have suffered through this. I picked up some pine tar soap and I'm crossing my fingers it really works. So far, it's definitely helped with the itch, now I just hope it gets rid of the redness. Oh yeah, and about 70% of women hit with PUPPPs deliver boys. Great. We have no boy name so far. We can't agree on any. I know we've still got time.  No good things this week. poop. 

Bean Milestones: The bean can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his/her facial muscles are getting a workout as his/her tiny features form one expression after another. His/her kidneys are producing urine, which he/she releases into the amniotic fluid around him/her — a process she/he'll keep up until birth. He/she can grasp too!

Food Cravings: Anything tart and tangy is what I like. Here's a list of what the bean has been asking for: cranberry juice, orange juice, lemonade, any kind of berry imaginable, and meat!
How's the Rice?: He is wonderful! I think his patience has been tested this week with my itchy condition. I haven't been comfortable and therefore not the easiest person to deal with. I was also really concerned about whether or not this skin condition could affect the baby, so I was also worried. I've thanked him for his patience and help with my attitude. He even did a great job helping pick out a car seat. He's noticed how much worse my redness has gotten and this morning he went to get me some calamine lotion. He came back with flowers, some lemonade, a donut (I know, bad mommy), and my lotion. I love him!

Tid Bits: We bought our car seat this week. We weren't planning on getting it just yet, but we had to go to Babies R Us and Target to pick up a gift for my brother's baby. Their baby shower is this coming weekend and Corbin is actually going to be here in a little over a month! Anyhoo, I thought I'd take the chance to check out the carriers  I'm interested in based on what we read and learned from the Baby Bargains book. We decided on one and left BRU to go to Target and get the second part of their gift. Well, the hubby happened to scope out the exact seat we decided on at Target in a fancy little print for about $60 off the original price. There is nothing wrong with it, it was just a dented box. Sold. I've also bought some other cute accessories for the nursery this week. 

4 comments:

Stephanie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stephanie said...

So sorry to hear about your rash. Obviously, I'm not a doctor, but from what I've read about PUPPP, it's most common in the third trimester or even after giving birth. It also is common among women carrying twins or triplets (a gal whose blog I read had twins and was diagnosed with PUPPP). It has something to do with a large fundal height which makes sense in women carrying multiples because they're stretching their skin much more than a singleton. Also, I would take the Wikipedia article that 70% of women with PUPPP have boys -- there is no citation associated and it says "no formal research has been conducted." In any case, I hope it can be treated and goes away soon!

estefanick said...

Keep us posted on what the doctor says tomorrow! I'm hoping the itching stops right away and I also hope the redness stops!! Ahh... the things these little ones make us go through!

Exciting about your car seat- I LOVED it when i found a great deal! Which seat did you choose?

Hang in there!!!

Maggie said...

Hi Nancy - I hope that nasty rash goes away soon. Thank goodness Eric is taking such good care of you! What a sweetheart! Keep us posted on what the doctor has to say and I sure hope you get some relief soon.