Twenty-Six Weeks

The coworker who is obsessed with my weight asked me the other day how much weight I had gained. I told her I didn’t think that was a question to ask any pregnant person. Then she asked, “Are you overweight? Did your doctor tell you if you have gained too much?” What kind of question is that? I told her my doctor didn’t seem concerned and it was none of her business. (Yes, I work with a lot of strange people. But that’s a total other blog to start.)

So far, I’m still feeling pretty good although I was very tired on Saturday, which I now attribute to lack of water. We went to Ikea to look at cribs and I promptly fell asleep in the car on the way home (like our baby will soon) and napped for the entire afternoon. I could tell that I hadn’t had enough water because I could barely take off my wedding band.

Sleep has never been the same since I found out I was pregnant as I was suddenly struck with insomnia, waking up every two hours and also having to pee. Well, now the new problem is that if I want to change sides to sleep on, it’s a major chore. I can’t just flip over like I used to. I actually have to hoist my body up and move over, then get comfortable, and try to fall back asleep (which is hard when there’s a snoring hub beside me). Sometimes I’ll get very sore on one side and refuse to flip over until it’s unbearable. I guess this doesn’t help with the aches and pains.

I’m pretty sure I don’t have sciatica — although I’ve heard it thrown around to explain back pain for pregnant women. I used to get sciatica pre-pregnancy from running and this feels different. It happens when I bend forward, such as to pick up something. The left part of my buttock near my spine just really hurts. It’s not a shooting pain, but more like a long ache. (This must be what it feels like to be really old.) I haven’t figured out what causes it and what I can do to make it better other than getting the hub to massage it.

I’ve heard that many women get leg cramps during pregnancy and I have so far experienced it twice. They’re extremely debilitating! There’s nothing to really make it feel better other than to wait for it to wear off and have the hub massage it. Then afterwards, I’m all wobbly and my calf is sore for a day or two.

I went to the dentist for my check up and the hygienist told me that my gums were slightly inflamed from the hormone fluctuations. She recommended I go for cleanings every four months because I might still have the problem when breastfeeding. I told her the baby is due in June — it was highly unlikely that I’d be able to return in the next four months. She suggested I use a rubber point (sometimes seen on the end of toothbrushes) to clean my teeth when I can.

Within the past month or so, I’ve noticed that on a handful occasions, I’ve experienced this strained/tightening feeling near my pelvis or below my belly. It doesn’t hurt, but just feels like those types of cramps you get from running. The first time I noticed it was when I was walking really fast and I thought I was pushing myself too much. Another time was during my cardio kickboxing class and I thought I had pulled something. Then I talked to a friend recently who told me they were Braxton Hicks contractions. I had no idea! I asked how I would know what a real contraction felt like if I didn’t even know about the Braxton Hicks ones. She said, “Oh, you know… you know… it’s painful.” Glad to hear.

My breathlessness has gotten worse. It’s a real chore now going up stairs, and I’m huffing and puffing and my legs ache over two flights when those used to be easy to me. (Again, is this what it must feel like being old?)

This reminds of of a 5K race I ran last year where a pregnant woman — well into her 5th or 6th month — was running ahead of me. I couldn’t believe she was running! She was obviously very fit because her arms and legs were well toned and all she had was this little round ball as her belly. Well, I refused to let her beat me in the last half mile or so and sped up. I passed her and noticed she was slowing down. As I neared the finish line, guess who sped passed me and left me in the dust? Yes, the pregnant woman. I can’t imagine doing what she did at my stage now.

Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised that someone offered me their seat when I was on the metro. Of course, it was another woman. But I probably stood there for about five minutes with everyone staring at my belly before someone offered me their seat. She wasn’t even sitting close to me. Another woman who sat directly in front of me at eye level of my belly just stared at me. I’ve come to the conclusion that taking the metro is very trying on pregnant women. Thankfully I don’t take it every day. But people are ruthless in the DC area. They pushed me and didn’t understand that having a big belly means I take up more room, and thought it was okay to try and crush me. I was quite protective of the belly — putting my arms around it and using my butt to push people back when they tried to squish me. This is a very unsympathetic place for pregnant women.

Last night, I dreamt that I saw a friend of mine and every time I opened my mouth to speak, a loud noise like the sound of a rumbling truck came out of it. I told my friend that I had started burping a lot since I got pregnant. But every time I started to speak, the noise came out and I was really puzzled. Well, I woke up, and realized that it was me snoring and it had been incorporated into my dream! Tables were turned for once and it wasn’t the hub. Of course, when I asked him this morning if he heard me snore, he said no. (And he thinks he’ll hear the baby… yeah, right!)