A little background: While on our cross-country road trip between Austin and Chicago, JP and I were determined to stop for a nice dinner. We needed a real break from the car and the firm was paying our travel expenses. Unfortunately there is nothing in the way of fine dining between Illinois and Texas- somehow on both of our car trips we ended up having dinner at the Perkins restaurant in Blytheville, Arkansas. Both times I had a satisfying meal of pancakes, and both times we marveled at the "Manly Breakfast Platter" complete with not one, not two, but FOUR types of sausage. One of those four varieties was the imposing "kielbasa sausage" and when I looked at my fingers this morning, those kielbasas were precisely what came to mind.
So I now have my first real nuisance of a third-trimester symptom: swelling. After wearing high heels and skirts during my 5-week internship in Texas, I'm now hiding my ever fattening ankles with pants and barely squeezing my feet into flip flops. So far no one at work has commented on my less than professional footwear and I'm really hoping they don't- I vastly prefer heels and don't want to buy wide, flat work shoes that I'll only wear for the next 4 weeks. I have some nice looking sandals and with the pants they're barely noticeable anyway. I tried to wear boots yesterday and even though I had on JP's large socks, they left a rather deep impressions in my ankles after only 20 minutes. I'd be alarmed except that I have no other signs of preeclampsia, my blood pressure is normal, and according to every pregnancy authority, swelling is to be expected this late in the game.
Just now I noticed that my toes are swelling and touching each other. I thought toes always touched, but they must not because I am suddenly very aware of their proximity. My ankles have no shape, they just bulge their way down to my foot. It's all very bizarre. Oh- and for the first time in my life, my thighs rub together when I walk. That has nothing to do with swelling and everything to do with my daily dessert eating, but I thought I'd throw it out there- it seems to fit with the "looking like kielbasas" theme of this post.
Sigh... only 4 weeks and 2 days to go until August 9th. I realize the due date is practically arbitrary as only about 10% of babies are born precisely on that day, but if I wake up on the 10th without a baby I'm going to be really upset. I keep reading that first babies are often late, but nothing will tell me how often and how late- any anecdotes? I figure a random sampling of blog readers is about as scientific as some of the official pregnancy articles out there on the internet.
Peppermint Bark
21 hours ago
My son came a pleasant 9 days earlier than his due date. I don't personally know anyone who has gone more than a week past their due date on baby 1.
ReplyDeleteMy oldest daughter came 9 days late. I think that was unusual, but you really shouldn't be setting yourself up for unhappiness on the 10th!
ReplyDeleteI'm a first baby and I was 11 days early. (And they were monitoring my mom for pre-eclampsia, but all turned out well.)
ReplyDeleteYou might want to call your doctor about the sudden swelling. Could be a sign of something not-so-great (although it's probably just "it's damn hot, my body's done!" swelling). Better safe than sorry.
ReplyDeleteMy son was 5 days EARLY. I stayed up all night watching Law & Order and finally went into labor around 3 a.m. It was a great labor/birth experience. :) I don't think docs let you go much past a week these days before they induce.
Okay, duh, somehow I completely missed your second paragraph. Ignore my first panicked comment. ;)
ReplyDeleteNot to be an alarmist, but I had normal BPs (just slightly elevated on occaision) then one week my feet swelled to giganto proportions (they hadn't been swollen all pregnancy except marginally and then only on warm days) -- and that was just before (three days) I was admitted for preeclampsia. Is there a way you can get your BP taken just to check?
ReplyDelete8/9 is one of my baby bros b-days -- also Nagasaki. :)
Anecdote? Look at my February posts. :)
ReplyDeleteBut he eventually came out, so all is well.
I was a first baby and I was super early - 6 weeks to be precise.
ReplyDeleteMy sister's first baby was about 10 days early.
Two weeks late max. (I don't know if that's true, I'm just trying to make you feel better.) My first was six weeks early. And both times I was pregnant I swelled up like you would NOT believe. I swear, even my ears were swelling. It was vile. I never had preeclampsia and the kids were totally healthy. But my feet permanently grew a whole size.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I was trying to make you feel better. Forget what I said about my feet growing.
My first baby was two weeks late and I was completely miserable and boiling hot in Dallas' heat and humidity.
ReplyDeleteSwelling in the third-trimester is completely normal. In fact, my ankles, feet and hands were water-logged for a good two week pp.
The average length of pregnancy for a first-time mom is 41 weeks 1 day; for multips it is 40 weeks 3 days:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/272qh4
Personally, I grow 41-week babies.
Also, for the swelling, I would suggest increasing your protein intake, don't restrict salt, and of course drink lots of water.