I weighed myself yesterday. All scales say different things and this was one of those quite unreliable digital ones that give you two different results in a ten second span. However I clocked in between 62 and 63.5 consistently over the time I was using that scale. Which puts me in at about 2.5 kg or 6lbs over where I would like myself to be. On the other hand, we are on vacation and I've been pigging out.
I should have done a day-by-day photograph of my belly. I'll have to do it next pregnancy. I'm talking now about my post-pregnancy belly. On the day after birth, it sagged like an enormous misplaced boob over where my waistband would have been had I not been clad in a hospital robe. By day 2 it hadn't changed much. On day three, by the time I came home from the hospital, it had regressed significantly. I still had a soft mushy belly, but it looked like the soft mushy belly of a soft mushy person.
Looking at pictures of myself from a day or two after that, I can see that I still looked a bit pregnant. However, within the fist week, I was already able to feel that I had a waist again. It was a very good feeling. I keep putting my hands there because I can't believe it. What a feeling! A waist.
Now, about two and a half weeks after delivery, my stomach is soft and mushy still but it's not so protruding anymore. I probably look like I could stand to lose a few pounds-- and I probably can. I only weighed myself once, and that was within a week of delivery. My stomach was down but my weight was still about twenty pounds more than my pre-pregnancy starting point.
Another thing is that I normally have very prominent hipbones. I wouldn't say that they are prominent now but I can feel them again. I also feel like my thighs and legs are on their way back to being what they were before I gave birth. I still think my butt looks big, but I've learned that a big butt is not necessarily a bad thing. Fashion models may have nearly nonexistent bottoms, but I think a little bit of roundness on a girl is a nice feature. I am normally quite angular.
My face has thinned out. DH observed that women who are about to give birth tend to bulk up around the face. I noticed this in a friend of mine as well who's about 37 weeks right now. She's a thin girl with a tiny bloop of a belly but her face looks swollen. Mine was like that towards the end, but it's thinned out now.
All this is without exercise or any special dieting. In fact, I just finished consuming an ice cream pop. I was all ready to start going shopping and wandering about town after the baby was born but then she got sick with fever at one week and landed in the hospital for three days. Of course, I went with her. We were all but quarrantined in our room. You don't want to wander around a germy children's ward with a newborn. I was totally paranoid about germs that whole time and also totally sedintery. I had DH bring me my yarn and I sat and crocheted the whole time. Ever since then, DH doesn't want me to take her out until she's at least a month and even when he's home, which isn't so often lately, it's hard for me to leave her b/c I'm breastfeeding. Pumping is an option but it's hard to find the opportunity.
Anyway, the point is that my body does seem to want to get back to its normal self. Now if only I could help out by getting some exercise.
I guess I must have been pushing my pregnant body too hard on that day. I didn't really realize how tired I was until the late afternoon. We went a family trip in the morning and spent a good chunk of time wandering around and in the sun. The car ride itself was very crampy and tiring for me, not to mention hot. When we got home I prepared coffee and snacks for our guests and that was when I started to realize just how much I wanted to lie down. When I finally did fall into my bed a little while later, I all of a sudden started shuddering and shaking, groping for the sheet on our bed in 40 degree heat (that's about 90 or so for all you farenheit fans). I called my husband to bring me another blanket and then another. I was definitley feverish.
It's really scary to be this sick when you're this pregnant. I had no idea what was wrong with me. The shakes eventually went away but I still needed the protection of my blankets. After a while I shed the blankets as well and used just the sheet. A shower made me feel much better, but that was all the getting out of bed I did that evening-- oh, and I got up a couple of hours later to eat a bit of dinner.
I was nervous to go to the hospital, though that was definitley an inclination because of how worried we were. The thing is, I know that at this very late stage in the pregnancy, they wouldn't hesitate to just take the baby out either by c-sectoin or inducing-- probably the former-- if there was even the smallest sign of danger. It's easier for them. But it's definitely not something I wanted. So we decided to wait it out, at lest for a few hours. I'm glad we did. By the morning I felt much better. I was pretty much back to normal though I made sure to take it easy for the rest of the day. And since then I've been trying to avoid anything that is too physically stressful. I've learned my lesson well. The fever, we deduced later, was due to heat exhaustion.
I can't remember the last time my hair looked so fantastic. A bonus courtesy of pregnancy hormones. My nails also grow faster than I can bite them down. I could get a new manicure every three days... perhaps that would actually prevent me from biting them.
The last three days or so I've been dragging even more than I've already been. I thought it was just, you know, pregnancy and being tired and slow. But then I realized that no, this is not just regular blahs. This is sick.
It began with a cold and then I developed some kind of stomach ailment. I'll spare you the details, but I will tell you that this happens to some women before they give birth-- it's the body's way of clearing the system for labor. In my case I know it's not so because dear husband, brother, sisters, and brother-in-law, all who were over at my house this weekend, are or were also sick to varying degrees. Sounds like I was hit hardest, but considering my 'condition', that's hardly surprising. I just hope this clears up before I go into real labor.
At first I thought that DH was just having sympathy paints-- couvade syndrome. But when I found out that it was actually everyone who was ill, I stopped flattering myself with that notion.
Update: I feel much better today, though I am sure that I'm a bit dehydrated from having expelled so much fluid so fast. On the plus side, my feet are less bloated!
Prior to going to the hospital yesterday, I actually had a doctor's appointment for my terrible sinus pain. (With all the hubub of having DS in the room with me, I totally forgot to ask her about the edema. If you think of it, the higher likelyhood of edema and sinus pain in pregnancy stem from the same problem-- water retention. This has definitely been a problem in this 2nd pregnancy of mine. I'm hoping that a lot of the weight I gained is just water.
My sinus pain has been excrutiating. At times it has me moaning and walking around holding my face. Tylenol provided some relief but at really bad times it just takes the edge off, it doesn't make the sinus pain go away. It's not always terrible, but when I have a flare-up, it is just horrible horrible horrible. I can't do anything. I can't sit, stand, or lie down. The pain keeps me from talking comfrotably. I can't concentrate on anything else. It wakes me up if I'm asleep. I find that it usually creeps up on me when I'm doing something that doesn't require moving my head around too much. Driving is a big culprit. So is reading. Using the computer, for some reason, isn't that bad.
Last night for the first time I tried putting ice on it. I hadn't tried it before because anything touching that side of my face when it hurts makes me feel worse. But after the initial shock of the cold, the ice actually managed to soothe the pain in the nerve running along my jaw, which is where all the sinus pain radiates from. The first thing you would try if you are not pregnant is decongestants. But they are strictly forbidden during pregnancy. I'm going to have to try some natural remedies for sinusitis such as vapor inhalation and nostril flushing. Also cutting out dairy and wheat products which contribute to the development of mucous.
Anyway, back to the doctor. I finally went to see her and she gave me antibiotics for it-- amoxicylin-- which is supposed to be safe for pregnant women, but which didn't make me any less nervous to take it. I even called my OB and confirmed with him that it was OK. It was. It is. Which made me feel slightly better about it. The truth is that I have to do SOMETHING about this sinus pain, pregnant or not, because at times it renders me completely non functional, not to mention the complete agony I feel.
Here's the irony between my leg swelling (which doesn't hurt, btw) and the sinus trouble. The radiologist who scanned me for blood clots yesterday at the hospital reminded me that if I sleep on my left side, it should help the swelling in my leg. Well, because of the sinusitis I can only lie on one side for so long before the pain starts and then I have to flip to the other side, whcih causes the pain to subside temporarily but makes my leg swell up. This doctor said that it's better even to lie on my back than to lie on my right side. That was a fist for me. EVERYONE says not to lie on your back in pregnancy. But apparently lying on your right actually blocks blood flow while lying on your left allows it. Lying on your back is only bad if it causes you discomfort. I don't have discomfort from lying on my back so I tried it out last night. It wasn't as good at relieving the pain as flipping from side to side, but I had my ice pack, and between the two, I managed to get a few good hours of sleep.
Edema is what happens excess fluids in your body gather in your extremities. I didn't have any problems with it in my first pregnancy. I even flew six times in late pregnancy (four of those were part of a trans Atlantic trip) and did fine-- though I did wear compression stockings each of those times and I took care to move around a lot.
Now, in my 2nd pregnancy, I've been noticing that my legs and feet are pouffy-- much more substantial looking than my usual chicken-like appearance. I even had marks on my feet when I took off my fancy sandals after an affair last week. I showed it to DH who pressed on my shin with his finger and sure enough, it left an indentation. That's how you tell. Apparently it's pretty mild, but I'm still not happy with the situation. It means one more thing to be careful about. One more succumbing to pregnancy ailments that I'm going through this time around. On a positive note, it probably means that I have less to lose after the pregnancy since a higher percentage of my weight gain this time is water.
Because of all the Omega 3 hype now, especially for pregnant and nursing women, my husband and I started considering whether or not I should start taking the suppliment. I already take folic acid, iron, and calcium. What's one more pill? Well, one of the main considerations was price. The pre/neo natal omega 3 pills were really really expensive. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. And the way the lady at the pharmacy was pushing them, you'd think I was committing child abuse if I didn't take them. I compared those pills to the cheaper (but still not cheap) generic brand, and indeed, the maternity ones contained twice the amount of Omega 3, not to mention a whole host of other vitamins and minerals. I did a quick consult with my husband on the phone who said to just get the generic ones. After all, I'm probably not getting that much of it in my diet (since I don't eat much fish) so anything will be better than the amount I'm getting now.
I brought the stuff home and when I opened it, I had a surprise. Hey, I thought, isn't this the same as the cod liver oil pills my dad used to make us take when we were younger? It looks the same, smells the same... and I get that same fishy aftertaste. (Have I mentioned that I don't really like fish?) I did a quick search online and apparently the two are related. I wonder if cod liver oil has been caught up in the Omega 3 hype-- or if it's even sold under that name anymore.
I took about 18 doses of the maternity Omega 3 pills in my first pregnancy. That's because my husband brought home a couple of free samples. I can't tell you that they made a difference, but who knows? Today they are packaging the stuff for kids as 'brain suppliments' and stuff like that. Crazy.
I read recently somewhere that Heidy Klum typically gains 40 lbs in each pregnancy. The books and doctors all reccomend 25-35. Maybe she's a little bigger than the rest of us (that's why they call them super-models. ) but that's still off the charts.
Then today I read that Mila Jorovich (sp.?) went up 75 lbs when she was pregnant!!! She was nearly 200lbs when she gave birth. Nobody told her about being alowed to continue physical activity through her pregnacy, I guess. Can you imagine? She must have been a house (as opposed to a whale like me).
All I want to say is that if supermodels and actresses (what does Mila do for a living again?) get to go up that high, I have nothing to worrry about.
The worst time to go grocery shopping, as we all know, is when you're hungry. Hunger can cause you to make decisions that you wouldn't normally make at the supermarket. One solution to this problem, by the way, is to just open up a package of whatever the first thing is that you're craving and eat it right then and there (and of course pay for the package on your way out). Another way to avoid this problem is to carry a shopping list and stick to it. Easier said than done.
Now, the best time to go shopping is just after someone agrees with you when you complain that you've been putting on weight a little too quickly. In this case, it was my obstetrician. When I told him how much weight I gained (about 11 kilo or 23 lbs and I'm in the middle of my second trimester), he gave me a little smile and said "well, you're only supposed to go up about 13 kilos, so you don't have that much more to go." I don't think he meant it in an encouraging way.
I went to the grocery store immediately afterwords and bypassed the huge sale on store-brand canola oil (which was, in fact, on my shopping list) opting instead for the high quality, low retention, omega 3 enriched stuff. I also lingered by and then forewent the incredible sale on the juice I always drink, figuring that I'd be better off with water. But that compulsion only lasted a few more aisles. Then I stocked up. We can't serve ONLY water when we have guests, right?
I told DH about what happened and we talked a bit about BMI and what the numbers really mean. I told him that I'm just getting over the feeling of being fat. I think that my belly has grown a little but my weight remained stable, which has contributed to a somewhat more pleasing distribution of surface area on my body. And I don't REALLY look fat. My face hasn't exploded in roundness. Just a little. The thing about pregnancy is that you just never know. You never can tell what is due to overeating and what is just baby. So we go by the standards and the numbers and, depending on our personalities, we either forgive ourselves or we don't. (I'm of the first school, usually.) Time will tell if the weight gain was a healthy one or not. Or there are also some people whose bodies have a genetic tendency to spread and stay that way after childbirth. We shall see.
In any case, it's about three hours later and I'm sitting here, stuffing my face with marshmallows. I guess the diet was short lived, but at least I bypassed those brownies at the store.
I just came back from a prenatal checkup. Pee on a stick, get weighed, take blood pressure, and get reprimanded by a nurse. It took about ten minutes.
I was shocked-- just floored to discover the enormity of my weight gain since my last visit. I clocked in at 68 kilos-- a whopping six kilos (that's about thirteen pounds)more than I did at my checkup one month and ten days ago. You're supposed to go up-- what? One pound a week? My friends, I more than doubled that. No wonder I feel fat. I AM fat. The proof is in the pudding.
The nurse yelling at me, by the way, was not about my weight gain (nobody believes me) but about not drinking enough water. She's right. It's my own fault that I've been getting these headaches. I need to drink more.
I remember a difference between this pregnancy and the last one. Last time, I kept getting horrible foot and leg cramps. I would bend or flex my toes and they would just lock painfully in that position. It lasted for a couple of minutes each time. I think this is a fairly common symptom of pregnancy-- something to do with potassium? Maybe having a 'nana' obsessed toddler at home that has helped me keep the house stocked with bananas has aleviated the symptom this time. I have gotten a couple of cramps but minor ones.
I also have fewer episodes of my various appendages falling asleep. I still get pins and needles if I'm sitting at my desk or on the toilet too long or sometimes in my sleep, but last time I remember waking up with completely immobile arms almost every night. But last time I was also sleeping on a rather hard mattress and I think that contributed to the problem a lot.
I'm drinking coffee this morning. Decaf. Since I first became pregnant, I have had almost no desire for coffee. I've taken to drinking tea with milk. Coffee didn't nauseate me or anything like that. In fact, I wanted to want coffee. I like the smell and the taste... I just didn't have the desire to make and drink it. Can't explain it. I've had it a few times but only when we go to a restaurant or out for coffee or something like that.
Aside from the coffee thing, I'm trying to eat more healthy foods lately and less garbage. I don't mean a fat-free or junk-free diet. I just mean that I eat a meal of real foods first and then I'll indulge in a chocolate after instead of gorging myself on chocolate and then filling up whatever leftover space there is with salad. In civilian life (okay, in non prego life) I eat pretty well, but I definitely consume my share of junk food. But when I feel like things are getting out of hand I easily transition to healthy foods. In fact, if someone was to prepare nice, healthy meals for me on a regular basis, I'd be very happy to eat those most of the time. I just hate preparing and then especially cleaning up after cooking. I hate it. I prefer to eat toast and butter on a napkin five times a day.
Butter, by the way, is considered a whole food on my list.
