I just wanted to let you know all of the things I have to look forward to in the next few months :).
Not only are you lugging around an extra 20 to 30 pounds (or more), your expanding uterus rearranges other organs in your body, adding extra strain. You’ll likely have to slow down a little.
An expanding belly can throw off your posture, and the hormone relaxin, which loosens your joints in anticipation of delivery, exacerbates the stress on your body.
Since your uterus puts pressure on your bladder most heavily in the third trimester, this means you’ll probably have to go to the bathroom more than you ever did before. What’s even more annoying is that you might have sudden, uncontrollable urges to urinate, called urge incontinence (over 40 percent of first-time moms experience it).
HEARTBURN
Nearly half of all moms-to-be will be plagued by heartburn. Thanks to all the hormones circulating through your body during pregnancy, the muscle at the top of your stomach — the one that usually prevents digestive acids from splashing into the esophagus — relaxes, allowing those harsh juices to go back up. What’s more, by now your uterus has taken up most of your abdominal cavity, pushing your stomach up toward your throat, which makes the burn more noticeable.
SWOLLEN FEET, LEGS AND VARICOSE VEINS
Edema, the technical name for swollen feet, ankles, and legs, is caused by fluid retention in the lower half of the body. Varicose veins, those blue lines running up and down your legs, are caused by blood valves that soften, causing the blood to pool and form painful bulges. Though the swelling will subside, some of the varicose veins are there to stay (surgery is one way to remove them, but it’s costly).
PRECONTRACTIONS
By month eight or nine, you’ll probably feel Braxton-Hicks “practice” contractions. They prep your body for labor and can startle you into thinking birth is imminent.
INTENSE DREAMS
Many moms-to-be report bizarre nighttime dreams, from giving birth to frogs or puppies to losing their baby in childbirth. You remember dreams better during your third trimester because you’re waking up frequently at night (to use the bathroom or because the baby’s kicking).
Doesn’t everything sound like fun?
Now–here’s the kicker (pun intended). I don’t really care about all of the discomfort associated with these less-than-glamorous parts of the next couple of months.
Every time I feel the little ninja kicks and rolls in my tummy, I am happy! Even when Baby F. wakes me up in the morning with all of the kicking (as he/she loves to do these days), I don’t mind.
I wonder if God made pregnancy to be such an uncomfortable physical condition so that we moms and moms-to-be would could get a head start on learning unconditional love…
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