Wednesday, May 12, 2010

And the swelling and pelvic pain begins...

So, ever since I posted a blog entry a couple of weeks ago about how great I was feeling and perhaps even may have even bragged about wearing heels still and that my rings still coming on and off with ease...  I haven’t felt so great.  I shouldn’t have tempted fate. I know better. Because slowly, over the last couple of weeks I have been noticing some pretty big changes in my body, my energy, and a lot of swelling and aches that just weren’t there before. Is this what the last 8 weeks are going to be like? Is the home stretch meant to be painful?

My biggest complaint these days is the pelvic pressure and pain I have been experiencing since Sunday.  It caught me by surprise. I was expecting some soreness, but not sore ‘there’.  What I was expecting was some common everyday swelling. You know, swollen feet and hands... (which I also have),  but pelvic pain wasn’t on my list of upcoming adventures.  So given my next doctors appointment isn’t until this Friday I am doing some self diagnosing and I am pretty sure what I am experiencing is nothing to be too concerned about given the Internet says it’s “common”.  Common for the unlucky ones that is. 

Apparently there are two major causes of pelvic pain & pressure during pregnancy. An expanding uterus presses on your pelvis, causing pain and pressure. This happens as pregnancy moves on, and the baby becomes larger  (our little guy is supposedly weighing in at about 3 1/4 pounds) and moves deeper and deeper into your pelvic area. Basically it feels like someone is pushing from the inside on my pelvis. Pushing hard. Amazing.

And if that wasn’t enough, the second major cause of pelvic pain & pressure during pregnancy is the stretching of ligaments. As the ligaments that support your uterus thin and stretch, they can cause sharp, almost stabbing pains on the side of your pelvis. This pain can stretch all the way down to the thighs. The sciatic nerve may also be crowded, causing a painful or sometimes a numb feeling in this area as well.  For real. These are the special details no one shares about pregnancy.

How am I supposed to move and paint and decorate and finish MANY work details and be a pleasant loving wife when something is crowding my sciatic nerve and causing sharp stabbing pains and numbness I ask you?  No really, I am asking you..?

Anyway, aside from the pressure I am feeling ‘inside’, we’re actually moving along on other things on the ‘outside’ quite well. Next update will be about the renos!

XO

3 comments:

  1. Kim - my thought, in a nutshell - is that you ARE NOT supposed to move, paint, decorate, or do much of anything at all - other than relax, in this final stretch. Frankly I'm a bit surprised at how much you and Pete have taken on re: renos with only two months to go before baby. Not sure if you are hiring contractors for the work... if not, Peter is going to have a lot of work on his hands. To be sure you'll still be able to help out, but expect to have very little time and energy to do so, after your working day is complete. You may quickly find you run out of energy faster, need more rest more often. Those were the changes I noticed for Eliza anyway. I'm curious to see how you fare, so keep posting! And call me already!

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  2. I hear ya Hun! Some mornings I wake up and it feels like I was trying to do the splits in my spleep. Very weird! All I can say is do some stretching and treat yourself to a massage a week for the next 8 weeks! :-) Whatever it takes to help you through it!

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