Happy Bump Day! I am in my third trimester and I can't believe it! I am feeling great and counting every day of that a huge blessing. Each week brings changes and I never know what exactly those changes will be. I get weekly e-mails from What to Expect online and while I love knowing how my little girl is growing and changing, I do not love the constant warnings of all the horrors that will befall me with each new week of pregnancy. Thankfully, many of them have yet to happen. No swelling so far, no low back aches (although I have some strange upper back aches that I can't explain), no heartburn, etc. I even have a normal belly button (although I will say it is looking a tad stretched these days).
One crazy symptom I was sure I would not have was that of calf cramps. When warned of these I thought, "Now these calves are tough and they can handle the extra weight." Not so much. These calves aren't quite sure what to do! If I stretch in the night or in the morning (I never realized what a stretcher I am, but I do it all the time and I relish it!) my right calf will seize up. Almost every time. I have learned to flex my feet instead of point them, I'm drinking water all the time, and I'm trying to remember to stretch them (in that non-luxurious way), but there is really nothing like a good pointy-toed about-to-get-out-of-bed stretch.
The bump is growing steadily. In fact, this very week it has started growing higher. This is brand new and sort of amazing to see. I do wonder how this will make eating and if my portions will need to get even smaller due to not having a whole lot of room in there for my other organs to do their thing. If I eat a bigger meal (and bigger has gotten smaller as this pregnancy has progressed) it feels like I can't breathe. As for the little girl causing this bump, she is a wiggle worm and I love it! I just sit back and watch my belly do all kinds of crazy things and grin.
As far as running goes, I'm still at it, albeit slowly. My goal remains to get 1 hour of exercise a day and usually 30-50 minutes of that is running. Some days it feels great and normal, and some days the body and belly say no. My round ligaments at the bottom of my belly get sore from time to time and when they hurt, I usually listen and walk as briskly as possible. Even walking I still get my heart rate up and now that it is getting warmer, I still work up a good sweat. I'm hanging on to the running with both hands, hoping to make recovery after birth shorter so that I can get back to it when I feel ready. I mix my walking and running with my weights and pilates routine, and I keep telling myself I am actually going to use the yoga video I bought a while back, but I haven't done it yet.
With my strange upper back pain (kind of between shoulder and ribs - too high for her to be), I think it would be a great help if I did some yoga or something to stretch out my back or my shoulder or my ribs or whatever it is that hurts if I sit too long or lie down to sleep.
Sleep! It comes and goes but apparently I'm getting enough to get by. I wake up really early in the morning (and sometimes also during the night), which helps me get a run in before the heat of the day, but makes it a real act of will to get out and do it. Still, I'm managing. Maybe it is good practice.
Speaking of practice, my Florida vacation took me to my old stomping grounds and I visited a dear friend and her nine day old little girl. I held her, observed diaper change (it has been a while) and caught up with her sweet mama while getting tips on all things newborn. So, to wrap up this bump day post, here is a picture of the bump and a sweet baby girl!
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| I can't wait to do this on a regular basis! |
What a beautiful picture!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!
ReplyDeleteAww, happy third trimester! Add extra calcium, potassium, and magnesium into the diet and see if it helps. It won't make those cramps go away but maybe space them out.
ReplyDelete