I really hate to complain when I'm pregnant. I know that carrying a child is a miracle in itself, and the fact that I'm having our third child is quite amazing to me, but boy oh boy, is this pregnancy a bit more painful. (So yes, I am complaining... just a little bit.)
When I became pregnant with Averey in 2005, aside from gagging a few times while brushing my teeth in the first trimester, I honestly felt fantastic. Of course, my personal life was anything but fantastic (a future entry, I'm sure), so the fact that I had such a great pregnancy made up for the fact that everything else was spinning out of control. I gained 25 lbs., and other than being slightly anemic (due to not eating as well as I should have I'm sure, blaming that on personal issues, of course), I was always told what a cute pregnant girl I was, and surely I would only have a 6 lb. baby. Well, when Averey weighed in at 8 lbs. and 2 oz., it was quite a shock!
Kelsey's pregnancy pretty much mirrored Averey's, except that I gained some more weight. How much, I'm not sure, because I stopped looking at the scale after I reached a weight I had never seen before. I had some sciatic pain towards the end of the second trimester that lasted through the end, but I still was in good enough shape to be a bridesmaid in a dear friend's wedding, and Kelsey ended up coming out 2 days afterwards (rather than 2 weeks later as she was supposed to).
But this time, whew. I fortunately have NEVER had morning sickness with any pregnancy, but at the beginning of this one, a lot of food didn't seem to agree with me, so I just felt a little yucky for a couple weeks. And for the most part, this pregnancy is as enjoyable as the others as far as the positive body changes: a clear, non-oily complexion, a nice increase in bra size, and a little baby bump. I seem to be gaining about as much weight as I did with Averey, much to my surprise. I would've thought I'd be as big as a house by this time (23 1/2 weeks) with my third.
However, the sciatic pain has left me in near tears. It is a constant nagging since about week 9. Talk about frustrating. Tylenol doesn't even touch it, and while Icy Hot and ThermaCare patches provide temporary relief, and some exercise has relieved it for a little while, it's pretty much always there. And while this is the first pregnancy that I have not worked 40 hours a week, and I try a combination of sitting and standing at work, it's much worse than it was with Kelsey.
In combination with some acid burning in my throat last night (guess I can't eat after 8 p.m. anymore), the sciatic pain was so bad that I was limping around, and while I slathered the Icy Hot on before bed, I had yet another uncomfortable night's sleep. I could tell Jake was feeling pretty sympathetic, telling me to let him know if there was anything he could do.
Even though I really don't think he can, the fact that I have a caring husband saying those words somehow alleviated the pain enough that I could sleep (well, until I had to pee, and then had another round of Icy Hot).
I know that every pregnancy (and subsequent children) are different. I just have to remember that while the second two have been harder for my body, I'm just thankful to have a supportive loving husband by my side (or on the couch, which is what will probably happen in the next couple months).
Aside from teasing you about my first pregnancy being from hell in comparison to your breeze of wonderful first two pregnancies, (the first of which I wasn't around for but the second of which I saw you for almost every day and can say you managed with grace, poise, and a fantastic sense of style!) I will say that with my horrible experience comes a bit of possible help/advice.
ReplyDeleteHeartburn: Tums won't cut it, but once you're past 20 weeks, doctors say Zantac is okay. It made all the difference. Mind you, I was still taking it every 12 hours on the dot, and Tums to supplement, on top of avoiding all juice and other possibly acidic drinks or foods, but still... "Reach for the Zantac!"
And seriously, I had the same sciatic pain, which one day literally left me unable to get up out of a movie theater chair and bawling my eyes out, (very humiliating, but at that point I was so far into my pregnancy I didn't honestly care what anyone else thought!) and while I STILL to this day am dealing with it as a leftover result from the pregnancy, I wish I had gone to the chiropractor sooner. He was the only thing that helped! Dr. Hildebrand works with prego ladies!!! I didn't go until after Johnny was born, but he told me when I got there that I was silly not to have called him sooner, that he works with pregos all the time! I'd seriously give him a ring... tell him I sent you!
I habitually chewed 2 Tums before bed since my pregnancy with Kelsey since I had some reflux with Averey. But we ran out and I haven't bought anymore. We have some Zantac around the house, and I checked my list of approved meds, so I was greatly relieved to find it was on there. Thankfully that did the trick!
DeleteI am considering a chiropractor... I guess it's just a matter of making that phone call. So many people have said how much it helped them!