33 weeks 2 days

Ah, today is one of those days when I'm just tired of the pain and in the mood to whine.

I have pelvic pain that radiates not only through my pelvis and hips but also down through my inner thighs halfway to my knees.  Supposedly this is a result of my pelvic bones preparing for birth.  Not every woman gets this pain, but I am a lucky one.  Essentially, it makes it so that any movement in which my legs are not glued together hurts horribly.  This includes shifting in bed, getting out of bed, putting on pants, washing my legs in the shower, walking, going up or down stairs, getting in and out of my car, shifting my position in a chair, etc.  You can read about it here: Pelvic Pain During Pregnancy.  When I am experiencing it, this pain tends to get worse when I work out too hard and then it gets better when I rest.  However, as I mentioned in my previous post, I am on a prescription for no exercise right now.  Which means there isn't really anything more I can do to alleviate the pain.  I will definitely have to mention it to the doc at my appointment next Monday.

I have not had any more all-day contraction sprees, but I do get random bouts of them, especially in the evenings.  They are now getting stronger, so that some of them cause me to catch my breath, and I have to pause what I am doing for a moment to let the contraction pass.  I am glad we learned a couple breathing techniques in our childbirth class last Wednesday (I will share more about the classes later), because I'm getting a chance to practice them and get them ingrained in my head before the real deal comes.  The contractions tend to always occur after or during doing anything physical (and sometimes in between)...this includes vacuuming, picking things up off the floor, carrying an item, going up the stairs, etc.  It concerns me that I'm going to be on a prescription for no exercise for the rest of my pregnancy.  Which would be bad for several reasons.  A) I don't sleep well when I don't exercise.  B) I get restless legs syndrome when I don't exercise.  C) I am more likely to get anxious when I don't exercise.  D) I can't eat as much when I don't exercise.  E) I have much less energy during the day when I don't exercise.  These reasons A-E are what keep me motivated to climb on the elliptical 4 to 5 times a week and are also the reasons I do NOT like being restricted from working out.  (And are all reasons I encourage anyone who doesn't work out to get started!)

Add to this the horrible leg cramp in my calf that occurred at 6:45am this past Saturday morning.  Both Dave and I awoke to me yelling, "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!..." as I squirmed and did all I could to calm the cramp down.  Dave grappled to massage my leg as I tried to flex it as I'd read I should.  I don't know how long the cramp lasted, but it worked my calf muscle enough that I have been sore and somewhat limping the two days since then.  It feels like the after-effects of hopping a mile on my right leg.  Pretty crazy.  Leg cramps are actually quite common during pregnancy, and I get several light ones almost every night.  This, however, was by far the worst one I've experienced.  The others are calmed with a quick flex of my leg.  This one required a whole lot of flexing and a whole lot of massaging.  My friend Casey said when she was pregnant she used to wake up and just start punching her leg because she'd get them so bad.  Poor girl.  I now feel your pain.

Then there's other weird abdominal pains I get that I have no idea what they are.  And the sciatic nerve pain that feels like a constant bubble sitting in my back above my right butt cheek, that causes shooting pain and for my right leg to collapse if I step on it wrong.  And the rib pain that now occurs almost every afternoon and has me stretching my body back as far as possible while still being able to reach the computer keyboard.  And the swelling that leaves my left foot (yes, just my left, not my right) so bloated that my skin stings from the pressure.  And the inability to breathe.  And the fluctuating body temperatures.  And the insomnia.  Everything is building up.  To the point where I want to burst at times.  (In fact, this morning, I did.  I had about a 30 second cry fest all by myself as I was trying to get out of bed, exhausted from insomnia with my body aching and aching.  And then I felt better (emotionally).  Although, clearly not enough better to prevent me from writing this twenty-page rant about my pregnancy pain, hehe.)

And yes, yes, yes.  It's all worth it.  I would do it all again.  Or for much longer if necessary.  Any of it for my child.  But it doesn't take away the fact that I am experiencing it daily and that it makes life a bit difficult at times.  God is teaching me patience and endurance, this I know.  I know He is using this to help mold me into the mother and person He wants me to be.  But oh how I wish the molding would be over soon!!  Six and a half weeks.  Keep your eye on the prize.  It will be over in just a month and a half and then I'll have a bundle of joy in my arms.  I can't wait.