Week 34 Bumpdate
August 13, 2019 § Leave a comment
Week 34 Bumpdate
Baby is the size of a butternut squash! I’ve felt her drop this week, meaning her head is slowly descending into my pelvis in preparation for birth in just six weeks (though we think she’s going to be early!). She’s gaining more fat, listening to us talk more intently, and her bones are hardening besides the ones in her skull, which won’t solidify until after birth.
Symptoms and things to remember:
I’m combining both categories for this one. Sometimes I sugarcoat things in my bumpdates but this is something I can’t: this past week has been the hardest week of my pregnancy since the first trimester.
On Monday, I noticed that the inflammation on the front of my stomach was spreading a bit. Weirdly, on Tuesday night, I was finding little bumps all over my arms and legs. By Wednesday morning, I had full fledged hives – that were rapidly turning into massive, red welts – running down my legs, thighs, feet, toes, arms, hands, fingers, lower back, sides, and baby bump. The itching was more intense than anything I’d ever felt before in my life and the welts were literally everywhere besides my face, neck, chest, and upper back.
I went to my doctor and was immediately diagnosed with PUPPP, which stands for pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy. About 1 in 200 women get this horrific rash in their third trimester of pregnancy, and what’s fun about it is that 1) no one knows what causes it; and 2) there is only one cure: giving birth. My doctor took one look at my welts and told me if I were closer to my due date he’d induce me. But with my due date being six weeks away, he sent me to a dermatologist instead.
I’ll spare details of my battle with PUPPP this past week but suffice to say all the prescribed medicines have done nothing while the all-natural ones my mom and I found online have been life saving. One week later, I am starting to get the hives under control, am mostly off my antihistamines, down to 3 showers a day, and am almost sleeping through the night again. It’s even hard to tell in the picture I have a rash on my arms. Things are only looking better, and for that I’m extremely grateful. But man. I wouldn’t wish this hell on anyone.
Some other things to remember from this week:
– On Sunday, my ranch family threw me and baby girl a shower! It took my mind off of PUPPP for several hours and I had an amazing time being with people I love.
– Baby girl is pushing like crazy! I think she pushes rather than kicks because she’s running out of room. 🤣
– It’s getting harder to walk as she gets even bigger. We go to the doctor again Thursday, and our guess is that she’s over five pounds now.
– I ordered some necessities for our hospital bag yesterday. In a few weeks we need to have that thing ready to go!
Have I mentioned that we are just so ready to meet our little girl?? 🥰
Shorts and Snippets 
Leave a Reply