Friday, June 3, 2011

38 weeks and still incubating

Nothing particularly exciting going on at 38 weeks. Lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions, but that's it. I've actually been gaining weight (yay!) thanks to cookies from Sprouts and a switch from skim to 2% milk... I know I'm supposed to be gaining weight by eating healthier foods than cookies, but hey, I've been eating healthy for the last 38 weeks and look where it's gotten me. :)

The most obnoxious thing going on (besides the usual body pain associated with growing a baby) is restless legs. Holy crap, does it suck! I'm tired all day and so ready to lie down for a (mostly) restful night's sleep, but when I get all comfortable in bed with all sorts of pillows tucked in all sorts of places... it strikes. The very unnecessary need to move my legs. At first I'll try to ignore it, but the restless feeling only gets worse and worse until I finally get up and start walking around the house or the cul-de-sac or do some yoga flows or lunges or squats or go up and down the stairs multiple times. Does the exercise help? Not really. It just makes me tired enough to finally ignore my legs and pass out. It's a relatively new development, so I haven't brought it up with my midwife, but I will definitely be asking for some help on Monday. For now, I just do some exercises and get John to rub my legs before I go to bed. But if anyone has any experience with this and wants to share what helped them, I'm all ears!

I'm still tired, but managing to make it through the week due to help from family and friends coming over for a couple of hours each day to watch Johnny so I can lie down. Being able to lie down while they are here and then during Johnny's nap time makes a big difference in how I feel. I can actually make it through the day and then make dinner... usually. So thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has volunteered to hang out with my maniac of a toddler while I give my body a rest.

Johnny has been a big help by taking a nap every day (::crosses fingers::) and entertaining himself for about fifteen minutes or so at a time. HOWEVER, he is, as John says, a Nazi about letting me (or anyone) lie down while I'm in his presence. If I lie down on the sofa in the play room, he comes over from wherever he is and pulls on my head while saying "nonononononono." Ah, well, at least he's cute.

2 comments:

  1. restless legs? oh no. i read about that symptom but never experienced it. hope it gets better soon! (or you just pop out that baby). :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. i have restless legs too! not as a symptom of pregnancy, but as...my life.

    it does suck, and i find that the stretching before bed does help somewhat. i once heard from another woman who had gestational restless legs that her doctor suggested drinking tonic water--apparently the quinine is supposed to help. might be worth looking into. for some reason, i haven't tried it either but i should!

    xo

    ReplyDelete