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September 2013 Moms
Bed Bugs (Long Story)
I usually lurk here, but thought y'all might find this story amusing (or at least a cautionary tale) since I have some time.
Somewhere between 11 and 12 weeks pregnant my hubby and I found a limited edition Bugaboo stroller available on craigslist. We were so excited to be able to get the exact stroller I wanted, barely used (previous owner said that the child didn't like it), for such a big discount. Even though it was early in the pregnancy we couldn't pass up this deal. The seller even gave us a cheap umbrella stroller for free.
Fast forward to about 14 weeks.
I woke up one morning with one red bump on my hand. It wasn't very itchy, but it was very red.
The next morning I had 2 more red bumps on my hand and one on my back. My husband and I start to Google. What could be causing these marks? Fleas? Bed Bugs? Mites? PUPPS? It was so hard to figure it out because only I had these bites and there was no evidence of any of any bugs. We eliminate PUPPS because that is a 3rd trimester issue but are still perplexed.
Morning 3 I have 2 new bumps on my back and one on my inside forearm. I spend the day researching. I am CONVINCED it is bed bugs, but my husband is still skeptical. I mean, are we gross people or something? No (At least I hope not). When it comes time to go to bed, I basically freak out and can't go to sleep. The idea of bugs crawling on my and biting me and having itchy red bumps that will not go away is just too much. At midnight, my husband agrees to search the bed just to placate me. Over an hour later, we have stripped the sheets, gone over our pillow top mattress with a fine tooth comb, and pulled the mattress up so that we can examine the box spring. We start searching the box spring. After about 10 minutes WE FIND A BED BUG. I freak out! I freak out so bad, my husband tells me to just go wait in the living room so that he can take care of everything. He quarantines everything in plastic garbage bags and tapes them shut. We have clean sheets in the dryer, so - at almost 2am - we sleep on the couch....for the next two nights.....IT SUCKS.
We finally get the bug smelling dog to come and tell us where the bed bugs are (so that we can properly treat for them). The handler first does a visual inspection and says that we were right - there were practically NO signs of bed bugs. He knew we had them because my husband saved what he found and it was definitely a bed bug. So, he sends the dog through the entire house. The only place where the dog seems kind of interested is our box spring - but he doesn't alert. I start to worry that the dog is not alerting. He has smelled everything that I think the bugs may have come from - the luggage from traveling, our roommates luggage, even our new car. Then I tell him about the baby stroller from craigslist.
You see - we took the bassinet portion of the stroller and stored it in our bedroom because we thought we shouldn't store that part in the dirty garage. And my husband quarantined and wrapped it up really well because it was for the baby.
So as soon as I pull out the three garbage bags that this basinet is stored in and let the dog smell it (cause my husband sealed it so well), the dog ALERTS. Like in 2 seconds.
UGH. I thought we got such a good craigslist deal, turned out it came with a BONUS! We are going to have it steam cleaned by the exterminator and have our room treated just to be safe.
The best news is that we can sleep in the bed again. And my blood pressure is back to normal. I monitor it for the pregnancy and for the 3 days after I found the bug it was 140/90. The day after the dog came and searched everything (and I could sleep in my bed) it was 125/80.
LOL! What an ordeal. Needless to say, all the money we saved on the stroller will now be spent on the bug dog/exterminator. Silly us 
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Bed Bugs (Long Story)
My thoughts exactly.
Oh my. You have now put fear into me about all the stuff I just bought at a kids consignment sale this past weekend. I've bought a boppy and changing pad as well as a few soft stroller toys. I was going to put them all in the wash on the sanitize cycle
I'm paranoid now too, but don't be too worried. If you buy something used that you can put into the Dryer ON HIGH for at least 30minutes that will kill everything.
If it is something that you can't put into the dryer, then I would be nervous. Esp