The Labrynth in Cloth Diapering

Yesterday marked the 30 year anniversary of the Labrynth release. I can't even begin to count the number of times I have watched that movie over the years. There was so much awesomeness about it, that it really is no secret it has such a cult following, even now.

David Bowie, of course, was a huge part of the awesome that the Labrynth became.

I had been searching for a Labrynth themed cloth diaper for quite some time with no luck. Then a while back I stumbled across this beauty in a diaper bst group:

Bubble Bunz OS Fitted

Super excited, I had to snag it! When I received it, I was so tickled by the print in person and how well made it is. I can't wait to put this on Little Fox as soon as he is big enough!

One thing I am truly grateful for is that we are cloth diapering and I got my stash completed a couple of months ago. Not having to worry about diaper expenses in the future is such a relief and a blessing!

#clothforthewin

#clothallthebabies

Unexplained Itching? The Horror!!!

I had hives with my daughter but they were short lived, manageable, and tolerable.

While I've had no hives with Little Fox, I've had itching from time to time pretty much all over. It was short lived, though but my OB had me tested for cholestasis of pregnancy and at that time, the results indicated a negative result.

Little Fox looking healthy this past appointment

Fast forward to a few days ago: the itching returned with a vengeance, especially on my tummy and leg areas. It's absolutely horrible at night, and I had tried benadryl, vinegar bath, coconut oil, lotion, and calamine lotion....there was no relief!

I called the on call OB at about 1 am and she put in a prescription for Hydroxyzine and triamcinolone acetonide ointment (steroidal ointment).  I took the hydroxyzine tablet and used the ointment where the most severe itching was and had......no relief!! For several nights I wanted to literally get out of my skin!

Luckily I had an early morning appointment with my MFM OB and made him aware that the itching was unbearable. He drew blood to recheck for cholestasis and prescribed me prednisone.

I took my first dose last night and the itching was gone! An entire night of peace!

I'm still waiting for my blood results but for those of you wondering, cholestasis is a liver condition that usually shows up in the third trimester. It can cause intense itching that is especially bad at night, which is why I'm getting retested. (Update: Cholestasis testing, bile value, showed no indication of cholestasis. So...itching unexplained still!)

It really is wild and amazing, what can occur to your body when pregnant. Some things are amazingly awesome, like feeling those baby movements, while others are quite hard to deal with or explain.

*My MFM Dr let me know that the use of prednisone during pregnancy can result in premature rupture of the bag of waters. Unfortunately, the intensity of the itching was so severe, this was a necessary medication and would be used if my testing for cholestasis comes out positive. 

3D Ultrasound!

It has been a whirlwind of activity here. So much so, I'm almost not even sure where to begin!

For starters, I've been having tons of contractions for quite some time. Luckily, I'm only a finger tip dilated still, despite having very noticeable contractions every 5 minutes for the past few days. Even better news? My MFM Dr has put me on a weekly monitoring schedule to be sure we have no issues with either Little Fox or myself.

The weekly monitoring includes the non stress test (NST) which looks at Little Fox's heart rate and my contractions. Today I was having contractions 5 minutes apart, as I have been for a couple of days. His heart rate is perfect!

The second test we get every week is the biophysical profile, or BPP.  This test utilizes an ultrasound in which 5 different areas are observed and scored. Each area is assigned up to two points, for a possible total score of 10.

The five areas to be scored are:

1. Fetal heart rate

2. Fetal breathing movements

3. Fetal body movements

4. Fetal mustodayone

5. Amount of amniotic fluid

Today Logan scored a perfect 10 which is absolutely reassuring and the added bonus is that I was able to get a 3d picture of my Little Fox that you see posted today!

My ob explained this monitoring is usually done on expectant mothers who are at higher risk of delivering stillborn due to certain medical conditions. While I do not fall into those medical cacategories so my risk of having him born still birth are not high, I'm high risk for preterm labor. However the reason I am now on this program is that after feeling him move since I was thirteen weeks along, I suddenly stopped feeling most movements a few days ago. 

The loss of feeling is not due to lack of movement on his part but a change in the ability to feel the sensations of his movement on my part.  Since I can't feel his movements most of the time now, I have no way of knowing if his movements decrease or cease hence the need for weekly monitoring.

I feel very fortunate to have such an attentive, caring, and proactive doctor!