Twenty-Two Weeks

The swollen ankles and legs still persist. I have put my legs up after getting home from work, made a conscious effort to drink more water, and tried stretching every hour at my desk, but my ankles are still not the same. At night, when I take off my work socks, any designs from the socks are embedded in my calves. If I wear ankle socks, they leave a deep mark from the elastic and my ankles look like sausages. It’s not painful or anything — just unsightly.

A friend of mine suggested I called the OB because some of her friends who had swollen legs early had to go on bed rest. I called the OB nurse to ask if it’s a concern. She asked how swollen were they and I said I didn’t know what to compare it to since I’ve never had swollen ankles/legs. She asked where I was swollen and I told her ankles, legs, fingers. Then she asked if I had any headaches and I said no. She said to keep my legs elevated if possible (yeah, right), walk around every hour (yeah, right), and drink lots of water. If I started getting headaches, call back. I have my next appointment in two weeks, so she said they’d take a look then. My acupuncturist said it’s probably just hereditary. I know my sister’s legs swelled during her pregnancies, but I assumed it was the hot and humid Dallas weather that contributed to it. *Sigh* This is very disappointing. I certainly hope I don’t have to go on any bed rest.

The congestion in my nose has worsened. I’m not sure if it’s the dry indoor heating (it’s been very cold here recently) that has contributed to it, the dog’s recent shedding, or it’s just part of the pregnancy. It used just be bad in the morning and then level out throughout the day. But lately I’ve had to constantly blow my nose all day.

I’ve also started to get pretty unproductive around 3 PM again. I get very tired and sleepy. So, I definitely don’t get any work done after 3 PM.

As I previously mentioned, I’m taking a Prenatal Fitness class. Turned out, someone I used to work with was also in the class. She’s probably in her early to mid-40’s. She has a 13-year-old and had been trying for some time for a second child, but it didn’t happen and had given up. Then — quite by accident — she got pregnant. She was probably 3-4 weeks ahead of me. I saw her in class last week and we discussed our symptoms. On Monday, I heard she had lost the baby over the weekend. I was in shock. As far as I know, everything was going fine with the pregnancy. We always think that after passing the first trimester, it’s smooth sailing. This incident made me realize how fragile any pregnancy is at any stage. Sometimes, I think the little tyke moves too much and it distracts me. But now I’m glad. It’s a constant reminder he’s there and very much alive.