Well, not many more answers... but some serious head scratching (literally, and figuratively.)

I'll make this as short as possible, because it is a reaaaaaaal long story. After a series of various Dr's appointments, we don't have a real firm answer. I am still breaking out in hives, though the swelling hasn't been as problematic. My Dr's have had me change *everything* in my house to dye-free, fragrance-free and hypoallergenic. That hasn't really helped anything, but at least nothing has gotten worse.

We do, however, think we know what I'm allergic to... (drumroll).... Progesterone. Yep, the pregnancy hormone. It's weird, and it's rare, but it's possible. Nothing has changed other than the pregnancy, and despite removing all possible outside allergens, I'm still having the same reactions. So, yes, I'm allergic to my baby. Or myself. Take your pick.

Because of all of this, my chances of miscarriage are considerably higher, especially with the steroids that I've had to be on. This re-affirms that it will be a while longer before we start telling people about the pregnancy.

Until then... fingers crossed and prayers said.

It's the Itchy & Scratchy Show

I don't really know what's going on with me right now, other than it's really weird.

Things got a little strange on Friday night... and have only gotten a little more strange. We had a few friends over on Friday night for our normal poker game. I noticed during the game that my right leg was itching something fierce, but I didn't think too much about it. It is winter, after all, and I figured some lotion would fix it. After everyone left, I went upstairs to change clothes into pj's and noticed that I had about half a dozen red bumps on my leg that looked like mosquito bites. I couldn't figure out where a rogue mosquito had come from in the middle of January, but put some hydrocortizone cream on them and went to bed. I got up the next morning and they had multiplied. They now pretty much covered my legs. At this point, I knew that it was hives and not some weird bug bite, so I took a Benadryl.

Throughout the day, they continued to spread... benadryl didn't do a darn thing, so I resorted to cold showers and ice packs. It helped the itching, but they just kept spreading. Russ tried distracting me by getting me to play wii for a while, so I wouldn't think about the crazy itching that had now spread from the top of my head to my toes. The distraction was working ok until I noticed that I couldn't grip the controllers anymore, as my hands were starting to swell up, and fast. Pretty quickly, it started moving up my arms. The hives had been annoying, but managable. The swelling was something that I couldn't stop, and got a little scared. It was after midnight at this point, and we made the decision that it was time to go to the ER. I honestly don't think I've been to the ER (for myself anyways) since I was 5 years old and bit by a dog.

I knew that my mom was going to be up late, and called her to tell her that we were going to the ER. Keep in mind, she didn't know about the pregnancy yet. She was asking various questions and why I hadn't tried taking certain medications or more of them. I finally told her that I had a secret... that I had wanted to tell her in person, and to do something special, but that circumstances had changed and that I needed her to know what was going on. Needless to say, she is very excited, but was now double-worried.

We went to Summit Medical Center's ER, which ended up being a good choice. There was no one at all in the waiting area, and I was seen immediately. (On a side note, my ER Dr and nurses were amazing and so, so sweet.) The swelling had continued the whole way to the hospital, and was moving up my arms, and I was starting to have a little trouble breathing. By this point, my hives were 4-5 inches wide as well. Since I'm pregnant, there's lots of medications that I can't have, or can't have significant amounts of, but at the same time, all the precautions in the world do no good if I'm not breathing.

We have no idea at this point what has caused this, since nothing has changed. I haven't changed detergent, lotion, shampoo, etc. We haven't gotten new sheets or a new pet, and I haven't eaten anything abnormal. Hives during pregnancy is not unheard of in the third trimester... but is really weird (especially to this extreme degree) in the first. We're all a little stumped. I'd just like to find out what is causing this, so I know what I need to avoid.

They put me on an IV of antihistimines and steroids, which fortunately kicked in quickly. I spent the night at Summit, and they discharged me Sunday morning. The swelling was under control and lessening, but my hives were pretty much unchanged, but at least not getting worse. After some sleep and some more Benadryl, my hives were still visible, but far less itchy & annoying.

I talked to my OB today, and they are sending me to a dermatologist tomorrow to see if they can figure out what it is. Hopefully, I was just exposed to something random, and this won't happen again. We'll see what tomorrow brings!

Happy New Year... and what a New Year it will be!

Yep, a big surprise today.

I knew last night when we went out for New Year's that I didn't feel quite right, but I've also had a cold for a week or so I didn't think much about it. I just knew that food didn't taste right, I was starving one moment and then full after two bites, and that something was just... off.

Well, I got up this morning and Russ and I were doing a bit of cleaning for friends that were coming over tonight. I went upstairs to change clothes and had the random thought to take a pregnancy test. I didn't really anticipate a positive test, but just had a gut feeling. Within about 4 seconds, the digital test said 'Pregnant' quite clearly. I stood there stunned for a second, fully anticipating it to say 'Just Kidding!' any second. Needless to say, the screen didn't change and I bolted downstairs to show Russ. He heard me running and thought something was wrong until I rounded the corner and showed him the test. He said, "I didn't know you thought you were pregnant!" I said, "I didn't!"

Russ was ready to pick up the phone and start calling the world, but I convinced him to wait. I really want to have my first appointment and make sure everything's ok, before we start spreading the news. I can't call and make an appointment until Monday (today is Friday and the office is closed), so it's gonna be a long few days... let's see how long we can keep this secret. No one knows about this blog yet, so we're ok for now!