Pregnancy Tracker: 37 weeks, 2 days
Size of the Baby: About 7 pounds
Biggest Obstacle: Multiple aches and pains!
Pregnancy takes an interesting arch.
In the first trimester, many women are miserable because they can't keep food down, they experience food aversions, or they endure nearly constant nausea.
For the middle trimester, suddenly you have more energy, food sounds good, the nausea goes away and you feel pretty much like your normal self. Except now, you have the pregnancy glow and family, friends, even strangers embrace your mother-to-be status.
After that peak, you slowly decline into the uncomfortable stage known as the third trimester. That's where I am now. I assume this is natural because feeling so uncomfortable makes you look forward to delivery, excited to get labor going, and generally want the pregnancy to end.
My most pressing complaint is moderate to strong hip pain on my left side. From my online search "hip pain in late pregnancy" I learned that this is typical. Many women get hip pain, often on just one side. In late pregnancy, the soft tissues loosen to allow everything to spread out during labor. The softening of these tissues creates pain in the joints, especially when they have to bear weight like when you walk.
According to one website, you should avoid swimming the breaststroke when you experience this kind of hip pain. The pain feels like it's in the groin area, so I can see how the breaststroke kick could exacerbate the problem. I've modified my swimming routine; now I swim freestyle almost exclusively. The regular flutter kick doesn't hurt and actually stretches out my swollen legs.
Oh my, the swelling! I've had really mild swelling in my left ankle on and off for months. It was a bit of a joke because only the one side would swell! Suddenly in the last couple weeks, the swelling has spread to my right side. It's no longer just the ankles, but my feet, calves, and even knee area are quite swollen by the end of the day.
Getting off of my feet is the best remedy, but between working, exercising, getting the baby stuff ready, and all of the holiday festivities we've been involved with, this usually doesn't occur until around 8 or 9 p.m. In the morning, after being in bed for nearly nine hours, my legs, ankles, and feet are remarkably less swollen. Thus, with the four day Christmas weekend coming up, I plan to sit with my legs elevated as much as possible.
My pregnancy has been pretty easy, as far as aches and pains go, so I don't have much to complain about. However, these last couple weeks are making me very glad I won't have to wait until my due date to deliver the baby!
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