My body run amock!

Well, it's one thing to be sick with a cold, which given our climate and the fact that I am in and out of my kids' preschool four days a week, isn't much of a surprise, but it's another to find out that your body is rebelling on you.

While we were in California, I noticed that my skin was particularly itchy. I thought it was just climate change, scratched a bit, lotioned a lot, and let it go at that. But back at home, it has only increased, and it is now all over my body, not the expected belly stretching itching that anyone at 36 weeks would expect. Three days ago I had my regular midwife appointment, and at the last minute, the itching got the better of me and I remembered to ask her about it. She immediately recognized that it could be liver related and ordered a series of blood tests. Luckily, the next day was the one day each week when a lab clinic opens for three hours on the island, so I was able not only to do it at home, but not have to wait very long to do so.

The results returned the next day - I have something called obstetric cholestasis. A bad definition would be that something has caused my liver's bile duct to not allow the normal amount of bile salts through to my intestine for processing, meaning that there is a back up in my liver. My liver can't support all of that, so the extra spills into my bloodstream. My bloodstream runs near the surface of my skin, and by some miracle, attempts to rid itself of these extra toxins by popping through my skin. Of course this also means that my blood flow going to the baby is toxic. The midwife called with the results and sent us immediately to the hospital to consult with an obstetrician.

Great doctor - she was calm and not given to a rash decision (some of the websites - it can be dangerous to google! - stress that stillbirths become common and that a very early induction is required), so we had fetal monitoring (baby is happy!) and bloodwork. At this point I am elevated but not high, so we are going to wait and see - 35 weeks is a bit early to consider meeting this peanut!

Home from Vacation

Well, we are all back home from our jaunts around the world. The kids and I were gone for a week in Southern California, staying with Chris's grandmother. It wasn't nearly as warm as I would have liked - but it was sunny, and to feel real sand on my feet was a balm. We spent a day at Disneyland, time at the beach, time with Sterling just sick in bed (and me so grateful that the view from Great Grandma's is so lovely), visited with a few friends... it was really nice.

Chris is also back from his 12 day trip to Sierra Leone. It required approx. 41 hours of flight/transfer time in each direction, a nine hour time change, 7 days in the country, and lots of overwhelming cultural experiences. He was there as part of a team - director and assistant, writer, and Chris (producer) - scouting out information for a feature film that they hope to film in the next year. It is a fictional story about the recent civil war there. While in the country, they had rather astonishing access to interviewing several people who had fought in the war, as well as to view the countryside, spend an afternoon in a diamond mine, sleep under their mosquito nets in the 100 degree nights... Lots of culture shock, some amazing film footage (they filmed a documentary while there), and a good opportunity to get to know one another as a team.

Chris arrived to California a few days after we did, so we all had some time together there as a family.

Now we are home, have some friends (from Bowen, moved back east) here for a visit, I'm getting over a cold, and now we are realizing that, at 33 weeks pregnant, the baby is coming sooner than later!