"Hive" Got an Itch!!

Okay, nobody prepared me for what I went through last evening.

Out of nowhere, I developed the worst case of hives I have ever had in my entire life! It started out as a random itchiness throughout the my torso, so being the Einstein that I am, I decided to take a lukewarm shower and then moisturize, thinking that my skin was simply dry. Boy was I in for a surprise!

Shortly after my shower, my entire torso turned an angry shade of red (picture the worst sunburn you have ever had...), and then I started getting welts - the worst of them on the sides of my body beside my tummy and my breasts. My back was all blotchy with welts as well, and the rash was quickly making its way up my neck and behind my ears. Needless to say, it was not pretty. I drove over to the local walk-in medicentre, but was frustrated to discover a sign that said "Due to a shortage of physicians, we are closed at 4:00 p.m. today". Ack! I zipped home, then made a phone call to a nurse at Healthlink.

She asked a ton of questions ("Is the baby still moving? Have you had any abdominal pains? Have you vomited? Is there any bleeding?"), but by the end of it, even she was stumped about what had brought this on! She made a referral for me to go to the "after hours clinic" for the next morning, and gave me some coping strategies to ease the itch in the meantime. I ended up lying in a lukewarm baking soda bath, with my dearest husband bathing me tenderly with a washcloth. I'm sure that I looked a fright!! By after the bath, the welts began to go away...and by morning, they were all gone. Weird.

My research on Dr. Google tells me that I either a) had an allergic reaction to something I had eaten, or b) had "PUPPP - Pruritic Uticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy". Apparently, PUPPP is a common rash amongst pregnant women, and whilst its cause is unknown, it is most common in the third trimester of first pregnancies (average onset, 35 weeks!) and interestingly is more common amongst women who go on to deliver baby boys! Quite honestly, though, I don't think that I had PUPPP, because it's supposed to last on average up to 6 weeks - and my rash went away overnight. But boy, was it ever freaky!

In other news...

DH and I went to our first pre-natal class last week, led by what could be the cheeriest woman I have ever met! It was interesting to watch DH's reaction to things that were being shared...he has so much less experience with infants than I do that I think this course will benefit him the most. We didn't see "the video" - which, according to the instructor, was NOT edited for television (that will be this week's class). I am bracing myself for the horror. Can I tell you a secret? I am scared to have my husband see me in the labouring stage...the moaning and grunting and shrieking....I'm pretty sure it'll freak him out. Can others relate?

35 weeks as of today. Wow. We don't have much more time before our little Dim Sum is delivered. I can't wait to hold him and look into his eyes...

The REAL Inspiration...

On and off over the course of these last two years that I have been blogging, I have had some lovely individuals post a comment or two about how I have inspired them....which has meant more to me than anyone could ever know.

But this week, I happened upon a story of REAL inspiration. After reading this entry and looking at all of the pictures, I cried. And it renewed my belief that with spiritual support and the love of family and friends, we can fight any challenge, no matter how difficult.

I would have to say that this lady is the true inspiration...read her story: Enjoying the Small Things

XOXO,
Springroll

Family Day

What a fantastic weekend this has been.

First of all, it afforded me some much needed rest, as I had the luxury of a 4 day weekend (got Friday off, which is normally the time that local teachers working for school boards had to attend Teachers' Convention...but because we are a private school, we did our PD on the Thursday instead...and of course, it was provincial Family Day holiday today...) I am finding that sleep is one thing right now that I cannot seem to get enough of. I've had such a difficult time sleeping through the night - constant visits to the bathroom, coupled with awkward sleep positions have me up at least once every evening, usually around 4:00 a.m. Then when I return to bed, I can't seem to fall back asleep. So this four day weekend allowed me to take some quality naps and just putter around the house...it's been great.

Valentine's Day was absolutely amazing. I awoke to a bedroom decorated with red balloons and beautiful heart cut-outs. My husband gave me the most wonderful gift - what he called the "Love Connection Game". Basically, he presented me with a scroll tied in red ribbon - which contained five questions about our relationship. I was to answer each question at a specific time of the day - and if I got the correct answer, I got to peel back a red ribbon on the scroll that described what my prize would be. My 9:00 a.m. prize was breakfast in bed. My 10:00 a.m. prize was a bouquet of beautiful roses. My 3:00 p.m. prize was a 30 minute back massage. My 6:00 p.m. prize was my favourite meal (chicken parmigiana) cooked for me. And my 9:00 p.m. prize was a foot massage with peppermint lotion. I tell ya - he went above and beyond to spoil me on Valentine's Day, and I fell more in love with him than ever. I have the most wonderful husband in the world...

Now, this weekend was also Chinese New Year, and we got the chance to go out with my family to celebrate on Saturday night. I love to go for dinner with my family, as it's always big and festive! On Sunday, DH and I went down to our local Chinese Cultural Centre to watch the traditional Chinese Dragon Dance...spectacular. Even though DH is Caucasian, he really loves everything about the Chinese culture and he has learned so much since being married. I can't wait until we can share our Chinese traditions with our little Dim Sum.

Time, of course, continues to fly by (I know I say that all the time!!) and pretty soon, our little Dim Sum will be here. He has been quite the gymnast this weekend - tossing and turning inside my tummy. I think he especially liked the drumming of the Dragon Dance - I could almost feel him moving to the rhythmic beat as I stood watching the colourful display! Each time I feel him moving, my heart swells with happiness and I cannot wait to meet him...

Only 7 more weeks, Baby, until I get to hold you in my arms...