Learning my limits (week 36)
Ask most people who know me well and they'll say I'm a person of high energy. I rarely say no to activities because I'm too tired, or because I'm being prudent about taking care of myself. There are exceptions, of course, I didn't stay out drinking the night before my Yosemite hike for example - but for the most part I am fairly hearty and can push myself hard, and I know my limits.
That's all changed. What everybody says about the last month of pregnancy does appear to be true (not that I doubted it). I now wake up 3 - 4 times a night to go to the bathroom and have trouble getting back to sleep. I can only sleep in two positions - on my left side propped up with a pillow between my legs, or on my right side in the same position. If I could take daily naps I would, because wow do they do wonders for me on the weekends when I am able. Otherwise I have to power through with black tea while I'm at work, but that's dangerous because after I worked a 10-hour day on Thursday I felt like crap.
Mike and I went to the Star Trek Exhibition last weekend and after an hour of walking through it I was pooped. Today I did some chores around the house and wrapped all of our Xmas gifts and now my back is aching, as it does after I do dishes or anything where I have to bend over for more than 15 minutes.
And of course there's the fact that I'm several inches further from everything. It took me 10 minutes yesterday to put on my Converse sneakers, I kid you not. I put them on but of course my feet were swollen so they were too small, so I had to take them off and adjust the laces, then put them back and on tie them. Getting all the clothes out of the bottom of the washing machine is quite the adventure. :)
The worst is that my pelvis is hurting a lot more, forcing me to slow down when walking, take elevators instead of stairs, and overall feel like I'm geriatric. I actually think it's a good lesson for me to learn, that I have limits and I need to recognize them, it's just been challenging that those limits are a rapidly moving target these days.
In other news, I got a positive result on my Group B Strep test. This means that if my water breaks I have to go to the hospital right away because I need to be in IV antibiotics for at least 4 hours before giving birth, otherwise the baby will have to stay in the hospital on antibiotics. It's not dangerous for me, around 30% of women are carriers (and it's not permanent, it can come and go, which is why they test you so late), but it could cause problems for the baby. As long as I have a 4-hour window at the hospital it won't be a big deal, but it's just another logistic to think about...sigh.
That's all changed. What everybody says about the last month of pregnancy does appear to be true (not that I doubted it). I now wake up 3 - 4 times a night to go to the bathroom and have trouble getting back to sleep. I can only sleep in two positions - on my left side propped up with a pillow between my legs, or on my right side in the same position. If I could take daily naps I would, because wow do they do wonders for me on the weekends when I am able. Otherwise I have to power through with black tea while I'm at work, but that's dangerous because after I worked a 10-hour day on Thursday I felt like crap.
Mike and I went to the Star Trek Exhibition last weekend and after an hour of walking through it I was pooped. Today I did some chores around the house and wrapped all of our Xmas gifts and now my back is aching, as it does after I do dishes or anything where I have to bend over for more than 15 minutes.
And of course there's the fact that I'm several inches further from everything. It took me 10 minutes yesterday to put on my Converse sneakers, I kid you not. I put them on but of course my feet were swollen so they were too small, so I had to take them off and adjust the laces, then put them back and on tie them. Getting all the clothes out of the bottom of the washing machine is quite the adventure. :)
The worst is that my pelvis is hurting a lot more, forcing me to slow down when walking, take elevators instead of stairs, and overall feel like I'm geriatric. I actually think it's a good lesson for me to learn, that I have limits and I need to recognize them, it's just been challenging that those limits are a rapidly moving target these days.
In other news, I got a positive result on my Group B Strep test. This means that if my water breaks I have to go to the hospital right away because I need to be in IV antibiotics for at least 4 hours before giving birth, otherwise the baby will have to stay in the hospital on antibiotics. It's not dangerous for me, around 30% of women are carriers (and it's not permanent, it can come and go, which is why they test you so late), but it could cause problems for the baby. As long as I have a 4-hour window at the hospital it won't be a big deal, but it's just another logistic to think about...sigh.