Starting with Pregnancy and ICP (bare with me)
Hey there, beautiful people!
My first blog! Wowzers! 😨 I guess I should start with the story of what made me a mommy! My pregnancy story. I mean, isn't that how every "mom blog" starts? Where to begin though? I'll be completely honest... I didn't really enjoy being pregnant. Before you turn away from my page or start saying how nutty I am for making that statement, read my story. Please. My pregnancy didn't go the way I had hoped or planned for. But in reality, can you really plan the course of a pregnancy?
First, here is a short basic history of us. My name is Kanisha and my fiance’s (boyfriend at the time) name is Derek. I’ve known him since the 6th grade. We have been dating for five wonderful years this month but we have lived together for four years. Our family started to grow when we adopted a cat not long after we moved in together. Her name is Freya. Shortly after that, Derek brought home a puppy. My Christmas gift! His name is Loki. As a surprise to me, we got engaged during our gender reveal in November! It was amazing! All of our family members were there to share our moment with us! That was our little family. The two of us and our fur babies!
Now, onto my pregnancy!
Beginning of July 2017. Well, there I was. Pregnancy stick in hand, telling Derek "this is not a joke". We were well... thrilled! A little nervous, but thrilled none the least. We surprised all of our parents with quirky little announcements and I was feeling GREAT! Or so I thought. About late August the dreaded morning sickness hit! Nothing made it better! And trust me, I tried it all. Tea, ginger, crackers, preggopops, soda, more water. It all made it worse. I was soon put on nausea medication that thankfully took the edge off. I was still throwing up so often that I began to camp out in the bathroom. I soon had to stop working because it was such a hassle. And let's face it, working with 13+ two year olds doesn't make the nausea any better. In December, we picked up our tiny family and moved. A whole two minutes down the road. Okay, okay… I know that's not a difficult move but when you're 25 weeks pregnant it’s pretty freakin’ tough.
At around 26 weeks I started getting super itchy. Yes, itching is a symptom of pregnancy. This itching... wasn't normal. I was scratching every inch of my body. My feet and hands were constantly red and dry and they seemed to itch the worse. (One thing you should know about me... I like to look up symptoms I'm having on google. Then I proceed to tell myself I'm dying. Dramatic, right? ) I told Derek I felt like something wasn't right. I had been googling my symptoms for a week and found a few things that sounded similar to my case. But I felt like I was being dramatic. The itching was only getting worse and soon it became unbearable. I was standing next to the bed at night gliding my feet against the carpet just to scratch them. I was digging into my skin with brushes, forks, combs, and anything sharp I could get my hands on. I'd avoid wearing jeans and tennis shoes because I couldn't get to my skin for relief. I knew I had to tell the doctor how I felt when I noticed I was scratching so hard it was drawing blood.
My Dr. was awesome! I told her how I felt in between sobbing (I was drained). She immediately sent phlebotomist into my room to draw my blood and send it out to the lab for testing. A week later, at 29 weeks, I was diagnosed with ICP or Cholestasis of Pregnancy. "Cholestasis is defined as a decrease in bile flow due to impaired secretion by hepatocytes or to obstruction of bile flow through intra-or extrahepatic bile ducts. Therefore, the clinical definition of cholestasis is any condition in which substances normally excreted into bile are retained." (Here is a link if you want to read more about it. link.) Basically, I had to be induced at 37 weeks or my pregnancy could end in stillbirth from all of the stress put on baby from the bile in my blood. I also had to be monitored extra close. That meant 4D ultrasounds, NSTs, and blood work every Monday and Thursday. I was immediately put on medication to control the amount of bile in my blood and was advised to change my diet. Cutting out dairy, sweets and grease. (I will admit, I did slip a few times) I got referred to a specialist, he was awesome! And the technicians there were the absolute sweetest! They all made me feel comfortable even when I was in tears in their office. I even got sent to the hospital once after an ultrasound because baby wasn't behaving normal (fortunately... 8 hours later they said she was just sleeping). I was so stressed and anxious. I was so unsure if I was going to be able to get her here safe and healthy. I felt like my body, the one that is growing this precious tiny human, wasn't safe anymore. Like I was toxic to her.
My Dr. was awesome! I told her how I felt in between sobbing (I was drained). She immediately sent phlebotomist into my room to draw my blood and send it out to the lab for testing. A week later, at 29 weeks, I was diagnosed with ICP or Cholestasis of Pregnancy. "Cholestasis is defined as a decrease in bile flow due to impaired secretion by hepatocytes or to obstruction of bile flow through intra-or extrahepatic bile ducts. Therefore, the clinical definition of cholestasis is any condition in which substances normally excreted into bile are retained." (Here is a link if you want to read more about it. link.) Basically, I had to be induced at 37 weeks or my pregnancy could end in stillbirth from all of the stress put on baby from the bile in my blood. I also had to be monitored extra close. That meant 4D ultrasounds, NSTs, and blood work every Monday and Thursday. I was immediately put on medication to control the amount of bile in my blood and was advised to change my diet. Cutting out dairy, sweets and grease. (I will admit, I did slip a few times) I got referred to a specialist, he was awesome! And the technicians there were the absolute sweetest! They all made me feel comfortable even when I was in tears in their office. I even got sent to the hospital once after an ultrasound because baby wasn't behaving normal (fortunately... 8 hours later they said she was just sleeping). I was so stressed and anxious. I was so unsure if I was going to be able to get her here safe and healthy. I felt like my body, the one that is growing this precious tiny human, wasn't safe anymore. Like I was toxic to her.
As if having ICP wasn't enough, we had to have a heart echo done for her after the ultrasound tech found fluid on the side of her heart and an EIF or white spot on her heart as well. The EIF they found is usually linked to Down Syndrome, so I had more blood work done to see if that was the case. Around the same time that the heart echo was planned, the results came back for my blood (negative). In the echo we found out that the spot and the fluid had somehow disappeared. Crazy right?! I can't explain how much relief I felt. I just wanted my baby out by that time!
Towards the end of my pregnancy, about 33 weeks I finally started to enjoy it. I loved feeling her hard kicks and hiccups, which both happened very often! I was able to enjoy a few of the things I was craving after they put me on medication for the ICP (which miraculously got rid of my nausea). I constantly wanted buffalo wing sauce! If Derek would have put a bottle of that stuff in front of me, I would have chugged it! So delicious! When my baby sister arrived back from New York, I had my beautiful baby shower! It was absolutely perfect! I set up her nursery and began to wash all of her clothes and blankets. And around 35 weeks, I started to nest. I swear I deep cleaned my house 5 times before I hit 37 weeks. I was ready for her. March 17th at 9:00 p.m I went to the hospital to be induced! The birth? I'll save that for another blog.
My pregnancy wasn't easy but I know it wasn't the worst in the history of pregnancies. The most important thing is that she made it here safely. She didn't have any major issues at birth and she was healthy. We were and still are in love. She’s the perfect mix of her daddy and I! I want other mommies out there to know that itching during pregnancy isn’t always normal. I was one of the extremely lucky people to have been able to have a safe labor. If you are itchy, please tell your doctor! If you feel like something more might be wrong, nag your provider until they listen. If they don't listen, find someone who will! I’m more then happy to answer any and all questions any mommies might have about Cholestasis! I’m also including the ICP website for anyone that wants to read more about it. ( ICPcare )Fight the itch and save a life!
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