Imagine you are watching a movie of a person who is nine months pregnant. What do you think they will be doing?
1) Complaining
2) Crying
3) Yelling
4) Sweating
5) Sleeping
6) Eating
7) Nausea/Throwing Up
8) Other ______ (add your own here)
Well, I had my first stereotypical pregnant lady day yesterday, and I think I went through each of the things listed above at one time. I just could not get comfortable in my own skin. I woke up grumpy, and went to bed grumpy. Charles renamed me "Ms. Sourpuss."
My legs and hands were painfully swollen all day. Even my face was swollen. My right hand was completely numb from wrist to fingertips, making the simplist of activities very frustrating (grabbing onto my pants, making the bed, using a fork, etc.).
Charles and I took Simon for a walk; maybe some fresh air would help all of us. None of my shoes fit me any more due to the swelling so I wore Charles' Tevas. Being outside did help my mental state for brief moments (it was a beautiful "spring" day), but it did not alleviate them all. Charles joked with some friends, "Try going on a walk with a crippled dog and an 8-month pregnant lady carrying twins. You have about 50 feet to get to the car and you've got to plan for an extra 1/2 hour in your day just to get there!" On our way back to the car, Charles asked me what my plan was for the rest of the day, I told him, "Sit at home and stew in my own juices." What a sourpuss indeed.
We came home, and I ate, hoping it would make me feel better, but my general feeling of uneasiness did not wane. I felt like I had to go to the bathroom, but everytime I went nothing much came of it. We resolved to go to Target to pick up some things for the babies' room. Just the sight of people taking their sweet time in the aisles (or better yet) talking on their cell phone blocking the aisle with their cart, drove me into a frustrated tizzy fit. "I just can't stand people today! Ugh, They are in my way! I think I am losing my mind" I told Charles. He just looked at me and started walking the other direction to find something else we needed. Walking in the store just made me more tired and irritable. We got to the car and Charles told me he was taking me home for a nap (like a preschooler who is throwing a tantrum!)
On top of it, my temperature control gage was completely out of wack. I was wearing jeans with a thin sweater, but everytime I got flustered, ate, or sat in the car, I would sweat through my clothes, just in my midsection. My feet remained freezing cold and swollen in my flip flops. My black shirts all have bled onto my white undershirts and have stained my skin. The first few times it happened, I woke up with my bed sheets blue and I couldn't figure out why!
Instructed by the boss, I laid down on the couch and fell asleep. Charles continued on his errands without me and came back later. My mood improved somewhat, but my legs began to burn. I had the worst cramping in my calves. I don't know what Charlie Horses are, but I've heard they are painful and I felt like I had those. Even with my feet propped up, my legs covered, me sleeping off and on, I couldn't bare it. Finally a friend suggested I take some Tylenol. Novel idea! But of course, we were out. Charles, the gentleman he is, stopped making dinner for his sourpuss, and went to the store for Tylenol.
Trying to distract myself, I turned on the TV and was watching American Idol. Sure enough, I began boo-hooing like it was a movie about children dying of some serious incurable illness. Seriously, I could not stop crying. The pain of my legs and the frustration of being a pain in the neck overtook me. When Charles came home, he literally looked at me like I was crazy. But of course instead, gave me the Tylenol, a glass of water, and a big hug. "You're having a tough day aren't you?" "Yes and I-I-I just don't know why....What is wrong with me?" I boo-hooed some more...
Within a short time, dinner was served, and the evening passed without further incident. I had some lower abdomen cramping later in the evening, but nothing worth timing or documenting. By 10:00 pm we were both fast asleep. Let's hope that this isn't a sign of things to come in the third trimester!
5 comments:
Haha! Wow! What a day!! Charles is a good man for taking care of his sourpuss!
P.S. American idol makes me cry too ;)
Poor thing... It will get better! Soon you'll have 2 little beautiful faces to put a smile on yours!
Hang in there, lady. The "fruits of your labor" will be extraordinary and all of this will fade to dim. So happy you have Charles. He is indeed a good and patient dude! What great parents you are about to become.
Much love,
Bennie
To Guin: I know huh? Is it the music? or the bad singing?
To Staci and Bennie: Thank you for reminding me of the good parts...to come...this seems to be the stage when I forget why it is I am doing all of this. I had a friend tell me that your body becomes extremely uncomfortable for a reason. It's nature's way of convincing you that you will do ANYTHING it takes to get these babies out of your body, including going through the pains of labor. It thought that made total sense! And then of course, you forget all that crazy pain and when the kids are all cute, you think...I just want one more.... :-)
Amers,
You are human, aren't you? Because sometimes I forget. You are one of the few strongest women I know and it's the fact that you're aware of what you're feeling and how you're feeling that is most important. Most (men and women) are not aware and do not know why they feel the way they do but you have more than the world to know why. It's "normal"...or so I would imagine. Thank you so much for your blog and the biggest heart I know of. I love you. :)
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