(no subject)
weird things about being 32 weeks pregnant that nobody has seen fit to publish.
1. a baby moving/kicking inside you is tiring. and it causes back pain. which makes sense since some little creature is punching your insides
2. when i sit down my tummy now sorta rests on my upper thighs. this is disconcerting and prevents bending over unless you spread you legs enough to let the tummy rest on the chair. and even then bending sucks. i struggle to put on socks...
3. at 25 weeks walking 2 km has become my daily max. at 30 weeks i can still walk the distance but need a nap immediately thereafter. and i've only gained about 30 new lbs. imagine some women who gain more than 1 lb per week!!!
4. i haven't seen my privates without the aid of a mirror for about 6 weeks now.
5. you can move the baby from kicking the most uncomfortable places (ribs most commonly) by sorta pushing him up or down with your hands on your belly.
6. licenced midwives in ontario are much like nurses. the whole focus so far has been on prenatal testing and medical issues - very little on my mental state and/or prep for the big day. STILL over-medicalized, in my opinion.
7. my appetite is now totally back to normal - it was craziest for the biggest growth stages
8. with the right pillow configuration you *can* sleep kinda on your tummy - though partly on your side.
9. maternity pants that are designed to fit around the tummy just don't work. they fall down to below the tummy. so just wear "low rise" or "ultra low rise" - or just wear lycra!
10. sometimes i feel no movement in the tummy but when i put my hand on top of the tummy, there it is!!
11. at about 30 weeks i could start to *see* the tummy move when the kid moved! and it's getting more obvious. but no, you don't see any body part clearly. the tummy will just bulge out a bit or sorta shift.
12. the worst part of shopping for baby is the stroller. to make the right choice you hafta learn a new vocabulary and new brands and types. and strollers range from under $100 to thousands$$.
13. everyone asks you 2 questions: 1. how are you feeling? as if you have a terminal disease...weird
2. what are you having? because gender can be determined from
ultrasounds and apparantly most people want to know.
I answer "a baby" but this seems to surprise and
even offend!
14. many prenatal vitamins have fillers and binders that are difficult to tolerate on the mores sensitive tummies of pregnant women. if you start them and feel nauseous in mid-day and/or crazy tired, go off of them for 2 days. if the symptoms desist, talk to an expert about better vitamins - or just eat well!!
15. at about 25 weeks walking too much made the ligaments in my groin hurt - alot. like if you slightly pull a muscle. this is cuz those ligaments have all this new weight to carry.
16. my feet haven't swollen but my left heel and instep are constantly sore and even tingly like they're losing feeling. this is due to the extra weight and all i can do, apparantly, is get better shoes and better insoles and stay out of high heels (duh!)
17. when the kid moves, the natural thing to do is tense up and wait for it to pass and feel every little movement. at first this is fun but later this is bad. nowadays the kid moves *so* much and *so* often that it's exhausting. i now try to distract myself and relax my whole body rather than tensing up. i have a feeling this may be a good thing for labour and delivery, too.
18. already it's a good idea to stay off my back. if i'm on my back the kid kicks my insides and back more. if i sit forward or lie on my side instead, s/he moves forward away from my back and i get less back pain.
all told, the worst part of pregnancy is the back pain and ligament pain. having less energy is sort of a blessing. it means you hafta slow down and do less and this teaches you that rushing around and being ultra productive really doesn't benefit you that much more than just getting the work done in a timely manner. and the rest is pretty transient. just when you get used to one new symptom, it'll disappear and a new one will begin. and you can't list all pregnancy symptoms. basically, if you're pregnant and some new rash or pain appears, it's the pregnancy and there's fuck all you can do about it. so you learn to be less of a control freak - or at least that there really are things you can't control. yah, like a living, breathing kid.
the best part of being pregnant is not caring about clothes not fitting. i'm terrified of losing all this weight later, but right now it's cool to eat pretty much what i want, and not feel guilty or lazy or disgusting if pants don't fit a week later. it's sorta liberating from the whole beauty myth thing.
there s/he goes again. a double kick to right rib cage - the favourite target. i need a cup of tea.
1. a baby moving/kicking inside you is tiring. and it causes back pain. which makes sense since some little creature is punching your insides
2. when i sit down my tummy now sorta rests on my upper thighs. this is disconcerting and prevents bending over unless you spread you legs enough to let the tummy rest on the chair. and even then bending sucks. i struggle to put on socks...
3. at 25 weeks walking 2 km has become my daily max. at 30 weeks i can still walk the distance but need a nap immediately thereafter. and i've only gained about 30 new lbs. imagine some women who gain more than 1 lb per week!!!
4. i haven't seen my privates without the aid of a mirror for about 6 weeks now.
5. you can move the baby from kicking the most uncomfortable places (ribs most commonly) by sorta pushing him up or down with your hands on your belly.
6. licenced midwives in ontario are much like nurses. the whole focus so far has been on prenatal testing and medical issues - very little on my mental state and/or prep for the big day. STILL over-medicalized, in my opinion.
7. my appetite is now totally back to normal - it was craziest for the biggest growth stages
8. with the right pillow configuration you *can* sleep kinda on your tummy - though partly on your side.
9. maternity pants that are designed to fit around the tummy just don't work. they fall down to below the tummy. so just wear "low rise" or "ultra low rise" - or just wear lycra!
10. sometimes i feel no movement in the tummy but when i put my hand on top of the tummy, there it is!!
11. at about 30 weeks i could start to *see* the tummy move when the kid moved! and it's getting more obvious. but no, you don't see any body part clearly. the tummy will just bulge out a bit or sorta shift.
12. the worst part of shopping for baby is the stroller. to make the right choice you hafta learn a new vocabulary and new brands and types. and strollers range from under $100 to thousands$$.
13. everyone asks you 2 questions: 1. how are you feeling? as if you have a terminal disease...weird
2. what are you having? because gender can be determined from
ultrasounds and apparantly most people want to know.
I answer "a baby" but this seems to surprise and
even offend!
14. many prenatal vitamins have fillers and binders that are difficult to tolerate on the mores sensitive tummies of pregnant women. if you start them and feel nauseous in mid-day and/or crazy tired, go off of them for 2 days. if the symptoms desist, talk to an expert about better vitamins - or just eat well!!
15. at about 25 weeks walking too much made the ligaments in my groin hurt - alot. like if you slightly pull a muscle. this is cuz those ligaments have all this new weight to carry.
16. my feet haven't swollen but my left heel and instep are constantly sore and even tingly like they're losing feeling. this is due to the extra weight and all i can do, apparantly, is get better shoes and better insoles and stay out of high heels (duh!)
17. when the kid moves, the natural thing to do is tense up and wait for it to pass and feel every little movement. at first this is fun but later this is bad. nowadays the kid moves *so* much and *so* often that it's exhausting. i now try to distract myself and relax my whole body rather than tensing up. i have a feeling this may be a good thing for labour and delivery, too.
18. already it's a good idea to stay off my back. if i'm on my back the kid kicks my insides and back more. if i sit forward or lie on my side instead, s/he moves forward away from my back and i get less back pain.
all told, the worst part of pregnancy is the back pain and ligament pain. having less energy is sort of a blessing. it means you hafta slow down and do less and this teaches you that rushing around and being ultra productive really doesn't benefit you that much more than just getting the work done in a timely manner. and the rest is pretty transient. just when you get used to one new symptom, it'll disappear and a new one will begin. and you can't list all pregnancy symptoms. basically, if you're pregnant and some new rash or pain appears, it's the pregnancy and there's fuck all you can do about it. so you learn to be less of a control freak - or at least that there really are things you can't control. yah, like a living, breathing kid.
the best part of being pregnant is not caring about clothes not fitting. i'm terrified of losing all this weight later, but right now it's cool to eat pretty much what i want, and not feel guilty or lazy or disgusting if pants don't fit a week later. it's sorta liberating from the whole beauty myth thing.
there s/he goes again. a double kick to right rib cage - the favourite target. i need a cup of tea.