21 weeks!

Today marks 21 weeks!! That means we've got approximately 17 weeks to go!! WOW, I still can't believe we're already this far along. It's just moving, moving, moving. This week has been an interesting one. Some good, some bad.

Bad has been my skin. Oh my heavens I am SO SICK of scratching my itchy skin. A couple nights ago I was full-on-sobbing I was itching so bad. DH was packing ice packs around my body to try to help stop the itching. After another shower, slathering on tons of Aveeno eczema lotion, and taking another Benadryl I was finally able to get some sleep. I think the crying wore me out too. It was horrible! DH went out and bought me a bunch of men's t-shirts to wear so I could wear only cotton on my itchiest areas (of course it really hasn't been helping much. Instead I'm just leaving blood spots all over my new t-shirts. UGH!!)

On top of the many patches of eczema I'm now sporting, my lovely hives are back. What the fuck?!?!?! Arms, hands, wrists, even had one behind the knee and one on each leg where my foot meets my shin. I had a GIANT one under my armpit the night of my meltdown and wow, not only was that one itchy, it was so painful that I couldn't lay on that side for hours. Needless to say, I will be visiting my dermatologist again on Monday morning to see if there is something else I could try. The stuff they gave me just isn't working. Worst case (and I have a feeling this will be my destiny) is that I just need to suffer through this until I have the baby and can use some kind of steroid cream. God help me get through 17 more weeks of dawn to dusk itching!!!

In other news, I found out my company is not too keen on part-time work so I had a decision to make - work full-time or leave the company. The decision was easy, there's no way I'm working full-time and missing out on everything. I missed so much with DD & DS, I just don't want to miss it all again. So I'll be leaving my job in a few months to become a stay-at-home mom. I'm nervous and excited all at once! Now I just need to decide when my last day will be - thinking early June and I want to decide soon so my boss can work on who my backfill will be and we can get them up to speed before I leave. But wow, I really am excited to have this new countdown underway! I'm pretty sure at some point I'll grab a small part-time job a couple evenings a week, perhaps a cashier job at a grocery store like I did a few years ago. We'll just have to see what plays out in that arena.

DH & I decided a few weeks ago that we're going to go the cloth diaper route and I was so excited to place my first order for some on Tuesday. When I cloth diapered DD 22 years ago, you tri-folded a cotton diaper, put on the safety pins and rubber pants and dealt with plenty of leaks. Cloth diapers today come in so many different varieties (AIO-all in ones, Pockets, Pre-folds, Hybrids, etc.) that I literally spent weeks reading up on different kinds, reading reviews, comparing brands, polling CD'ing friends on what types they like. After gathering all of my info I decided to start with pockets. They come in so many colors and patterns, have snaps so they're super easy to put on, and have a pocket to add microfiber or hemp inserts for absorption. I'll probably grab a couple other kinds (maybe a couple of AIO's) just to see which baby and I like best once she's in them. While I've estimated that it will be a few hundred dollars to get started, it will save us SOOO much money in the long run compared to using disposables. (And that will be extra important now that we'll be down to one income.)

Other than that, Maribel has been kicking up a storm and I'm loving ever jab. She's been a little shy the last couple of nights when we've tried to get her to kick for daddy but I'm going to try a little OJ tonight with dinner to see if that gets those long legs moving in there. :-) Hope you're all having a great week and I'll post again soon.