Mama A has been one of the lucky pregnant women. To date she's had minimal symptoms – no morning sickness, no excessive fatigue, no headaches (only a couple of mini-migraines sans Dr. Evil).But now that she's a little larger (and so very delectable), some things aren't as easy as they used to be. A few weeks ago we went on a hike at Wilder Ranch State Park, and on the tail end of our hike, Amy had to, shall we say, go tinkle.
I always loved that Amy wears baseball caps and has no problem going when she needs to go. However, doing so on a hillside when you're almost six months pregnant and your uterus has grown into a lovely honeydew, ain't the same thing. I was on lookout for her when I heard:
"Whoaaaa! Whoaaaa! Help me, sweetie."
I had to reach down and grab her hand while she regained her balance and overcame bladder vertigo. Close call. A urinary cliffhanger.
Laughing and bladder control. Need I say more.
And in week 29 according to one of the many sites we read, did you know that the baby is even urinating about a half liter of urine into the amniotic fluid every day?
The night before last Amy woke in terrible pain, her left leg cramping miserably. I did the best I could helping her stretch it out, which alleviated some of the pain. She was still sore yesterday but better.
According to the American Pregnancy Association site, leg cramps may be caused by the additional weight gain of pregnancy and changes in your circulation. Pressure from the growing baby may also be placed on the nerves and blood vessels that go to your legs. This pressure or pinching may be the cause of your leg cramps.
Yikes.
One or more of the following interventions may help to relieve or prevent leg cramps:
Exercise regularly; include stretches that target your calves
Rest with your legs elevated
Wear supportive stockings
Massage your calves and feet
Apply local heat
Relax in a chair with cat in lap
What? Cat in lap? In French, chat dans le recouvrement? In Spanish, el gato en regazo!
I heard somewhere that having a small amount of tonic water daily (with the quinine) is also supposed to relieve leg cramps when you're prego. Can't say how it effects the rest of your body (I know taking large amounts of quinine can damage your eye-sight), but ya...Amy might look into that. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lauren!
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