Still Not Mine

When I was pregnant, I made sure everything that went in my body was good for the baby, and I exercised faithfully (and morning sickness reminded me). At the time, I thought I would get my body back for my use, at least mostly, after delivery. Last night set me straight: my body is still not mine. I had a perfectly normal, pretty nice dinner last night. However, later in the evening I had an upset stomach. Since it was late and I didn't want to take the time to sort out why, I took two Advil, to handle anything on the muscle side, and a bicarb, to settle my stomach. Actually, I did that Tuesday night too, for the same kind of stomach ache. Anyway, when I went to bed at 11 PM after a couple of hours of trying and failing to get the baby to bed on his own, I noticed my neck itched at the hairline. I didn't think anything of it, and I scratched. And I went to sleep.

I woke up this morning at 3 AM when Karston made his first squeak for food. I went to the bathroom first, and I noticed I itched, well, everywhere. Sure enough, hives everywhere! I have no idea what triggered an allergic reaction since the only thing I know that gives me hives is cigarette smoke. (Actually, that's what concerns me. I don't know what triggered it, so I don't know when it will happen again.) Karston fell asleep again, and I stayed up to research what antihistamines are compatible with breast feeding. It's not a long list. There are scientific reviews at Kelly Mom and at Mothering Magazine. Based on what I had in the house and no specific contraindications (unlike my other already-in-the-house choices) here, I took two chlorpheniramine. I was headed for my breast pump since it would take about 20 minutes to take effect, but then Karston woke up so I let him nurse for 20 minutes instead. Unfortunately the pediatrician's office said to pump-and-dump after that antihistamine, but I needed it to get through the rest of the night. I was getting mighty uncomfortable, and those two pills brought it down to bearable.

But my body is still not mine when I have to worry about how to treat a fluke like an outrageous case of hives! And the itchies are kicking in again ... *sigh*