Today I am 28 weeks and 6 days along. Garrett calls me huge-iful now, which is a much nicer size indicator than stepping on a scale (which, despite my efforts to be scientific about this process, I generally choose to avoid these days. I had a chart, once, but it just got too depressing to maintain).
In June, we went to Walt Disney World. Garrett had never been before, and my wonderful brother Erik had managed to reserve a week through my wonderful parents' time share system. By luck, we were there for our anniversary. Upon checking in, we were given giant pink buttons proclaiming the occasion so that all the terminally happy employees could congratulate us at every turn.
Because of 'my condition' we could not ride the big kid rides, so we just stuck to the senior citizens' tour. I tried to talk Garrett into at least riding Splash Mountain, but he would not leave my side, proving, yet again, that I have the best husband in the universe. We did manage to 'ride' the Star Wars ride--at least, the disabled version. This means they shut off the hydraulics on the simulator and just ran the movie while we tried to imagine how much fun it would be. For this, we were able to cut in front of the entire line and got the whole simulator to ourselves. It was very romantic, if not a little bit silly.
It was very hot and humid throughout our stay (about 95F/95%), but we still managed to have a fabulous time. We saw Cirque du Soleil there, which was absolutely magnificent, watched a gospel group at Sunday brunch at the House of Blues, went snorkeling in a giant fish tank, went on a 'safari', saw some tapirs and hippos and giraffes (oh, my!), rode all the ‘dark rides’ we could, and ate a marvelous anniversary dinner at a fabulous African inspired Buffet, where, of course, we were wished a very happy anniversary by the staff.
The whole trip was an altogether magical experience, just like the brochures promise.
Edema--Not just another lovely 'unique' girls' name like Chlamydia
There was one pregnancy detractor in all this magical anniversarial bliss. Something about the weather or the travel or standing in lines or all-of-the-above triggered some pretty unpleasant non-pitting edema for me. In other words, my ankles swelled to tree trunk diameter. A bit of research revealed what it was, and revealed some easy things I could do to alleviate it, which worked magnificently. Here is where this entry becomes a tad didactic.**
Edema in pregnancy is often caused by the uterus pressing down on and restricting flow through the inferior vena cava, a huge blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood from the legs back up to the heart. Not all pregnant women experience this, but it is quite common can be pretty bothersome. The restricted flow causes fluids to accumulate in the ankles. Other, rarer dangerous complications, like preeclampsia or blood clots, can cause edema, but usually it is just a nuisance. With all that fluid accumulation, you can imagine the strain on the other blood vessels. I felt some twitchy discomfort in my legs along with this, and also developed some redness, but since my edema was non-pitting (meaning the swelling did not retain an indentation when poked with a finger) and more or less even on both sides, there was even less of a chance that anything really bad would happen. Be warned, the following section is 100% proselytizing, so skip it if that kind of thing annoys you.
Proseletyzing Section: How To Whoop Edema**
SWIM. If you have access to a pool, use it as often as you can. After getting out of the pool the first day on the trip, my edema had completely vanished (temporarily) in less than a half hour. The water alleviates the pressure on the vena cava because the buoyant force of the water counteracts the weight of the pregnant belly, lifting the belly off that vein. This is part of why water birthing is gaining popularity these days--all that blood flow and buoyancy probably helps with labor pain. The activity of swimming helps get the blood flowing too, so all around it was the best treatment for me. Although the results are only temporary, they mean a world of difference. If you don’t have access to a pool, get in a tub, but try to sit upright and maybe wiggle your legs around or flex the muscles. I found that if I sat up in the tub and elevated my legs, the blood flow was better. Flexing the muscles in my legs sequentially upwards from my ankles seemed useful, too.
MAKE YOUR OWN BELLY SUPPORT BAND OR BUY ONE These are available all over the internet and at maternity stores, but if you’re trapped at Disney World or don’t want to buy one (they can be pretty expensive), this worked great for me: Fold a sarong in half diagonally from corner to corner, like a bandana. Roll it up to about a 3 or 4 inch width. Starting from the middle, wrap the sarong under the belly (like a sling), wrap around to the back, cross over at the small of the back, wrap around to the front, twist at about mid chest (at the breastbone), wrap the ends around your neck and tie at the nape. You should tie it tightly enough so that you can feel it lifting the belly, but not so tight that it causes discomfort. This works quite well and hides pretty well under clothes. Also, unlike the pregnancy support bands from the store, it comes in pretty colors so you don‘t mind that you can see it above the neckline of your shirt. IMHO, this around the neck style gives much more relief than the bands that just go around the lower back, but I haven't tried the other style. My edema is mostly gone these days, but I wear the band anyway because I find the added support really comfortable.
KEEP MOVING Avoid sitting or standing for long periods of time. If you must wait in line for Pirates of the Caribbean for an hour, do lunges or squats or dance like a monkey or 'Do The Freddie'*, ignoring the surprised and quizzical expressions of on-looking tourists. If necessary, cast the glance back at them and they will retreat to tend to their whiny 3 year old. If you must sit, try to elevate your legs. If possible, elevate them so your feet are as close to the height of your heart as you can reasonably get. If you are sitting somewhere where leg elevating is unlikely, you could try exchanging your chair for a giant exercise ball. Not only is this theoretically good for posture, and supposedly for baby positioning, but moderate bouncing can‘t hurt your circulation. Take breaks and walk around.
SLEEP with a pillow between your legs on your side like all your nurses and doctors and midwives and other professional people have told you to already. Some say the left side is best because of the position of the vena cava.
WEAR LOOSE FOOTWEAR Don't give in to the instinct to stick your feet in tight laced shoes and hiking socks like I did. Though it kind of concealed my swelling from prying eyes, it made things worse. I wore loose sandals exclusively after that, and subsequently the redness improved and the discomfort was very much reduced.
DRINK TONS AND TONS OF WATER This is key for all kinds of pregnancy health issues, for this it keeps your blood thinned out for better flow. Camelbacks™ are perfect for this, but since they are expensive and you probably forgot to pack one, you'd probably be better off spending ten bucks at Walmart for a ‘hydration bag’ in the camping isle. Hang that from the hand loop on the back of a backpack with a carabiner or a key ring or a paperclip and zip up the bag leaving the sippy end out. Excellent! Now you look almost as nerdy and weird as I did, and as a bonus, you will have cold water around all the time. Using one of these, I managed to consume at least 3 liters a day. Take that, dehydration! With ice it also kept that apple crisp and cool for snack and kept my back chilled out in the Florida swamp. Low sodium, healthful foods are of course of High Importance. Salty stuff makes me puff up enough under normal conditions.
*DO THE FREDDIE! This is so obviously beneficial it needs no clarifying exposition. What more, the song is snappy and sure made those fifties tweens scream! I'd skip the jumping part. See the video below!
**Legal disclaimer. I am not a doctor or health professional and make no claim to know what is best for anybody. I'm sharing what I learned via research and what helped me. Be sure to talk to your provider about your edema. 'The Freddie' has not been tested or approved by the AMA.
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