27 week update: Ouch

 (check out the full series at the link to the right) 

When were at the new doctor's office last week, I got on the scale and it was official--180. One hundred eighty pounds. That's THIRTY pounds gained--and not even seven months along! I think the Brooklyn doctor originally suggested 35 pounds of weight gain for the entire pregnancy. Oops!

The thing, though, is that other than my hips getting bigger (at least 4 inches already!), and obviously my chest too (EIGHT inches), and my belly really isn't that big (still measuring the same belly-button number for three weeks)...so I'm not sure where that big number is coming from. I really don't look (or feel!) like I've gained thirty pounds. But all the same, that's kind of a scary number. The Portland doctor didn't feel like it was anything to worry about, and in fact she said it could double by the end! I'm nearing the third trimester (for some reason I thought it was this week, but I still have two more weeks I guess), which is when the most weight gain happens for mom and babies. It's intimidating thinking about what is to come--I have no idea what I will look like or feel like. I suppose it's all going to go downhill as I get bigger?

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Everyone did and still does exclaim at me that we did this big road trip while I'm pregnant. My response has been a suppressed eyeroll and, "It's just sitting! It's not like I'm walking across the country."

The timing turned out to be perfect as well as lucky. Lucky because I'm still carrying pretty small for twins (in my own uninformed-but-internet-reading opinion), so I wasn't uncomfortable. Timing because at the time I was pretty able to move around. If I had been any bigger or already aching, it would have been even tougher to sit and get up and down.

As it was, every time we stopped for a break (every 2-3 hours), I struggled to get up and straight-up hobbled like an elderly person for a bit. Then I would loosen up a bit and walk a little more normally. But the sitting part was fine. I kept a pillow behind my back and leaned the seat back a bit, and I was comfortable.

I brought my pillows with me, and every night brought in my body pillow to our hotel rooms. That really helped me sleep better, to have the same kind of leg/knee/foot support I was used to at home. 

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At our last OB appointment before we left, I remembered to ask about skin treatment and benzoyl peroxide. She said don't use it, because it's an unknown how it might affect a fetus. So I stopped my normal treatment routine and my face (etc) exploded. It's a constant battle with my skin anyway, so all these extra hormones are surely not doing my face any favors. Which means I look a fright and of course worry that I've poisoned these babies. Sigh. PDX OB referred me to a dermatologist, and I'm hoping she will be able to help!

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I mentioned awhile ago that my hands had swollen. I may have mentioned some discomfort too. My feet also got a little swollen and hurt for awhile.  Soon, though, my hands started hurting, and they still do. A lot. Everything hurts--bending, gripping, pulling. (Surprisingly though, knitting did not hurt last month! It did this week though.) It's not the joints; it's the in-between, meat-y parts of my fingers. Our Brooklyn OB tried to tell me it was carpal tunnel, and PDX OB started to as well. I told them both no way--no pain in the wrist, I'm on the computer a lot but I don't actively type that much or that often, and all of my fingers hurt, including the pinky (the nerve that gets irritated with carpal tunnel syndrome does not affect half of the ring finger or the pinky). I know that hand swelling is normal, since there are extra fluids running around my system. But nowhere do I read that people have this kind of pain and discomfort. I suppose that if I knew it was common and/or if there was something to do about it, it might be easier to deal with, mentally (obviously I have to deal with it physically all day anyway).

To add to the fun, last week I did something to jam my right thumb. It's been over a week and it's still very painful. It doesn't bend all the way and the bottom joint is painful to the touch. Occasionally it will bend too far and I will gasp out loud.

AND, for at least the last two weeks, my back has been hurting. Yes, yes, that's par for the course with pregnancy and a growing belly. But this is different; it's the back of my left hip.  If you feel at the very bottom of your back, you can feel joints on either side of your spine. On the left it feels like it's been out of joint, like it needs to pop back into place. I've tried my normal tricks to no avail. It left me hobbling and limping--at first only a little, but for at least the past week, all the time. Then my front left hip flexor started aching, so I was limping twice!

The Portland OB referred me to a chiropractor that specializes in women and children, and I went on Monday. I was really hoping that she would be able to pop that joint back in and I would feel instant relief. That wasn't the case, but she did a little massage and I realized how tense my whole lower back has been. Makes sense, I suppose, not having been walking normally for a few weeks!

Yesterday afternoon I was walking up the stairs (there's a half-story between the living room and bedrooms), I realized that it didn't hurt! No more back hip pain! A miracle!

I will go back for two more adjustments, but what a relief to be able to walk more normally again! Now I just need to get that hip flexor to behave and maybe I can try to go for some walks around the neighborhood.

So yeah, the last couple weeks have been tough with everything hurting. I realize that things are still going so well and that this is really still an easy pregnancy. No complications, no problems, nothing. Things could be so much worse. But not being able to do anything with my hands without pain, not being able to walk...when we met with the doctor last week and I was describing my issues, I felt myself starting to tear up. Not sure if it was frustration or pain or what. But looking at another two months of this is...not fun. Getting walking back is good, but I imagine that soon enough everything else will get even more uncomfortable anyway.