Pregnancy Week 27

This week has marked the end of my 2nd trimester! Hurray!! Just 12 more weeks! St. Patty's day was a blast! Liam jammed right along with us while listening to my brother-in-law's Irish rock band play. Friday his other band played locally as well, so we had fun listening to some bluegrass as well! Our last birth class went well. I'm sad they are over. I love spending time with Rachel and getting to know her and the whole birthing process. We ended with breastfeeding and newborn care. Most of which I already knew. --(other than the techniques of breastfeeding). Rachel is also the La Lache League leader in my area, so she is a fantastic resource for breastfeeding. Also, I have realized that my calendar is beginning to fill up with appointments and special dates before Liam's due date. It is becoming a bit overwhelming so I definitely need to find my daily planner and start writing out to do lists and such. Next week we will be purchasing our birth kit and birthing pool. I cant believe we are already this close! I will also start a list of "hospital bag" items, just in case. I wont pack that for awhile yet, but I just need to get my thoughts in order. Anyways, this week Scott and I went to the eye doctor. I havent been in at least 3 years. I am sick of my glasses, and my eyes reject my contacts now. I know you arent supposed to get new glasses while pregnant since your eyes can change shape and whatnot. But we have the insurance now, and we might as well take advantage of it. My eyes did change .75 in each eye. And I have a pair of trial contacts on order to see if it was just the style of my contacts or not. I can't wait to see my new frames! They should be in this week. Scott got new frames as well, although his prescription only changed .25 in each eye. He cant remember the last time he was at the eye doctor. Must be nice. :) I have made a chiropractor appointment for april 3rd. I have been having terrible back and sciatic pain as well as pubic pain. I described it to Rachel and she thought it sounded like pubic symphsis. More on that later. .Anyways, enough rambling onto week 27.

How far: 27 Weeks

Weight gain: I will update this when I get back from my midwife appointment on Wednesday

Stretch marks: more and more

Maternity Clothes: yes and yes! And I cannot wait for the weather to warm up so I can wear my flip flops instead of attempting to tie my shoes.

Sleep: I would definitely say bad, but I know its only going to get worse. I wake frequently, not usually to use the bathroom, but for some odd reason. Attempting to roll over is always a challenge, one that I know wont improve anytime soon.

Best moment this week: Feeling Liam jam out to the music we have been listening to. Birth class, eye doctor.

Miss anything: not anything new. coffee mostly this week. I think more so because I'm so tired.

Cravings: pretty much the same. Hot ham and cheese on deli roll with dijon mustard. and of course OJ.

Anything make you queasy or sick: not really

Gender: Boy

Belly Button: In

Wedding rings: Off, again only for trying to get my hands back to normal. The dry winter (pseudo-spring) is terrible for the skin.

Movements: you betcha! Especially to the fiddle music!

Mood: tired, but good.

Looking forward to: my 28 week appointment on wednesday. I cant wait to find out if he is still head down.

Symptoms: back and pelvic pain, swollen feet/ankles, tired, sleep sucks, hungry all the time. Here's the low down on Pubic Symphysis.

This is where your pubic symphysis is.

 The following is an exerpt I found on what to expect.com

What symphysis pubic dysfunction is

Symphysis pubic dysfunction, or SPD, is one of those weird pregnancy conditions that sounds bizarre and well, kind of is. It means the ligaments that normally keep your pelvic bone aligned during pregnancy become too relaxed and stretchy. This, in turn, can make the pelvic joint — aka the symphysis pubis — unstable, causing some pretty strange sensations and sometimes pain.

What causes symphysis pubic dysfunction during pregnancy

The culprit behind SPD is the aptly named hormone relaxin. Its mission is to make your ligaments stretchy so your baby can ease his or her way into the world. But sometimes relaxin does its job too well, making the ligaments around your pelvic bone during pregnancy too loose too soon (way before baby is ready to come out), and that causes instability (and unfortunately, pain) in the pelvic joint.

What you need to know about symphysis pubic dysfunction

While your legs won't actually fall off (promise), it may seem like they're going in opposite directions from each other (and the rest of your body). Walking, standing, or rolling over in bed can really hurt as one side of the joint shifts more than the other, throwing everything off-kilter. In very rare cases, the joint may gape apart noticeably, a condition called diastasis symphysis pubis, which can cause serious pain in your pelvis, groin, hips, and buttocks (truly, a pain in the rear!).

What to do about symphysis pubic dysfunction during pregnancy

Try stabilizing those floppy ligaments by wearing a pelvic support belt (readily available online), which "corsets" the pelvic bones back into place during pregnancy. And be religious about doing your Kegels and pelvic tilts, both of which strengthen the muscles of the pelvis. More tactics to try: Sit down to get dressed, and avoid heavy lifting and pushing (which you should be doing anyway).



I hope this helps anyone else who is experiencing this kind of pain. It definitely sucks, and I'm glad I made an appointment with the chiro. Scott also found some interesting information online about swelling feet can be caused more severely by your legs not being the same length. Which is true in my case. My left leg is slightly longer--you cant notice it at all, but sometimes if I'm walking a lot, I will notice some pain.) Anyways, this all ties together. If I truly have SPD, then it is messing with my alignment, and so my normal stance is all out of whack, which can cause more swelling. Hopefully going to the chiro will straighten out all of these issues, or at least improve them!

Thats all for now, enjoy your week!
Nikky