{38 weeks and counting}

Yes, I have totally been a slacker lately about posting on the blog! Well, more weeks have gone by, and I am now 38 (almost 39) weeks along into this pregnancy. It really does feel like it has gone by SOO fast! I can't believe our little guy will (hopefully) be here in a little over a week! CRAZY!!! I'm sure it won't really hit me until I'm actually holding him, or until we bring him home from the hospital. There's a lot that's happened the past few weeks that I haven't been very good at recording, so here comes a little journaling. It's probably going to be long, so be warned!
All in all, this has been a pretty good pregnancy!...UNTIL about 32 weeks along. I have had Psoriasis and eczema for years now, and have had some bad outbreaks in the past few years. Well, at around 32 weeks along I started getting some little red bumps around my belly button, that I figured were just little pimples or something. A few days later there were a bunch more on the sides of my belly. Well, each day they just started expanding more and more, until this "rash" covered almost my entire belly, my chest, and the front of my neck. The "rash" was bright red, scaly and EXTREMELY itchy!!! Unless you have experienced this, it's difficult to explain the sheer torture of it all. I called my OB to see what he thought, because at the time I wasn't sure if it was my psoriasis. He thought it was PUPPP (Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy), a rash that can develop in the third trimester of pregnancy that is extremely itchy, has no treatment, and doesn't go away until after you have the baby. He told me to just put hydrocortisone cream on it, which didn't help AT ALL!!! Then he couldn't get me in for an appointment until almost another week later, because he was sick and out of the office. The rash kept getting worse and worse, so after calling him AGAIN he had me schedule an appointment with my dermatologist, who was also out of the office for the entire week!
SOO...I finally saw my OB on Thursday of the following week, where he told me he didn't think it looked like PUPPP. Great. So I had to wait until the next Monday to get into the dermatologist. So by then, after only about a week and a half, the rash covered most of my belly, my chest, my neck, and a good portion of my arms, legs, and back. IT. WAS. HELL. Sorry to offend any of you, but that is really the only way to describe it. The dermatologist confirmed that it was psoriasis, and prescribed a topical steroid ointment to put on it every night. So now...after almost 5 weeks, 2 trips to the dermatologist, 2 prescriptions, ridiculous amounts of moisturizer, and countless tears shed, it's looking A LOT better and is almost gone, although a few areas continue to flare back up. I'm hoping it will be all gone by the time baby comes, because I'm scared to death that it will all flare back up again. It's already been a little tricky to treat in the first place, because topical steroids can be absorbed into the blood, and could possibly affect the baby. Luckily, I was far enough along that they thought it would be ok. I pray there will be no side effects.
Well, there you have it! I had my last OB appointment 2 days ago. I was dilated to 1+cm, and was about 50% effaced. I'm curious to see what's going on next week! I have terrible acid reflux and gas lately, there is just no room left in my abdomen! My back hurts and I am sleeping terribly. Not to mention I have been VERY congested for the past few days.
The crib is ready, clothes are washed, and bags are mostly packed. Now it's up to you little guy. We love you! Please make your appearance SOON!!!