June Life Update
Really bumping now! Taken at 30 weeks pregnant.
Can you believe it is already July? Time seems to be zooming by. It is good to remind myself of this as it still seems like a long time before I get to meet my little guy - even though I know it is really only 4-5 short weeks. In general June treated me pretty well. The month started out a bit rough, I was having really bad insomnia and coupled with the itching I felt like I was losing my mind. At 27 weeks I received a steroid shot to help the baby's lungs develop in case I went into pre-term labor. The shot was like a miracle drug for 2.5 days - I had so much energy, a strong appetite, and the itching had almost vanished! It felt so good to feel like myself again, even if it was just for a short time. After the steroid wore off the itching came back with vengeance for a few days but then luckily settled back into a more manageable state.
Since then I have had a few spikes in terrible itching, but in general June has been so much better than May in the itching department. The drugs I am taking seem to really be working and have lowered my Bile Acid and Liver Panel levels dramatically (these are the indicators for ICP). When I was first diagnosed with such severe levels I was fearful that my levels would never go down, but luckily that hasn't been the case! Now my condition is not in the severe category so I can probably wait till 36-37 weeks to deliver rather than at 34 weeks. I go in for Non-Stress Tests (NST) twice a week that help to monitor the baby and make sure that everything is alright. Even though it is annoying to schlep to the hospital so much, knowing the baby is doing well gives me a lot of peace of mind.
This month I celebrated my 27th birthday by taking a one night staycation at a beautiful castle-like old hotel in downtown Berkeley. While very short, it was so nice to break out of my routine and spend some quality time relaxing with my husband. I really wish we could of had a real babymoon, but hopefully we can do a nice relaxing vacation once the baby is a few months old (I can dream right ;)).
This month I also opened my shop (buy some candles and help support my maternity leave!), wrote a personal post about my dreams for the future, launched a collection of cards for Punkpost, headed into the very last finishing stages of all my client projects, started to set up a nursery nook, and attended a full day birthing class.
This next month is all about tying up loose ends, resting, and nesting. I have no new client projects (feels soo weird) and will mostly be spending my time working on candle orders, blogging and updating my portfolio with my finished projects, going to dr appointments and NST's, and getting the nursery nook and loft all ready for baby. I am hopeful that my itching and insomnia will continue to be mild this month, but I do know that things get tougher as your baby grows and discomfort increases. But with the discomfort the excitement will only increase too as I get closer and closer to actually giving birth!
Thank you again for your continued support and for reading this little 'ol blog. It means so much to me!