The Saga of the Leg Cramps

Whew - I guess time has flown by lately! It hasn't seemed that there was much interesting news to talk about after the ultrasound. Things just keep growing...And the baby keeps moving! That's a weird sensation, by the way. Sometimes it feels like rapid-fire shooting in my stomach; other times I feel this steady pressure in one area and if I touch it I feel a hard bulge - booty? head? Don't know...Sometimes I want to talk to the baby, but I don't know what to say and then feel silly when I try! Did anyone out there regularly talk to their baby in-utero? Brad likes to give an occasional geography lesson or history lesson. I find it quite entertaining and educational myself. It really surprises me sometimes how much knowledge he has stored in his head about certain things!

Anyway, the saga of the leg cramps: Of course they started out mild and unobtrusive to my sleep (yes, they have only afflicted me during sleepy time). So of course, when people ask how I was doing I got tired of saying the usual "great, thanks" and avoiding the mental and emotional gymnastics I sometimes wear myself out with... So I started mentioning to a few people that I had leg cramps at night once in a while, but that they were really mild and not a big deal. Well, after "gloating" about my good fortune and lack of physical ailments during pregnancy the cramps turned severe.

One night it all came crashing down. I woke up at about 3 a.m.: my left toes were pointed straight down, my calf muscle was completely spasmed. I tried and tried to flex my foot in order to stretch my calf out but it was like it was paralyzed. I tried deep breathing and mental relaxation, but that didn't last long. I think my deep breathing sounded more like "lamaze" breathing because Brad woke up. So he helped me get it worked out and promplty fell back asleep. In my relief I stretched out my legs, moved my feet around in circles and intended to roll onto my side again...but that muscle cramped right back up and even tighter than before. So the cycle continued and eventually moved to the other calf and even to the muscle on the outside of the leg - don't know what that's called, anyone want to help me out? Poor Brad - it must be just as annoying to be woken up by someone else's leg cramps as if they was your own...OK well, maybe as annoying, but definitely not as painful.

A similar event happened the next night. I knew it was important to be stretching my calves because I knew this often happened to pregnant women...But just stretching wasn't enough. So at my doctor appointment last week she said get more calcium and potassium. Also, dehydration and exhaustion can make it worse. So I've started making it a habit to eat half a banana, drink lots of water and occasionally have Brad massage my calves before going to sleep. I still need to go get some tums to supplement the calcium, but so far the banana and water seems to be working. I've had almost a week of peaceful sleeps since the last cramping craze. Oh - that Dr. appointment was on the same day that I had my small group pray for relief from the cramps, so I credit that as part of the remedy also! Praise the Lord!

Rollercoasters and Ski Lifts

I love rollercoasters! Kinda strange for a non-thrill-seeking person like myself, but I absolutely love rollercoasters. It has been somewhat of a sad summer since we didn't visit any amusement parks with the youth ministries but if we had I couldn't have gone on them anyway. The prominent signs about being under 54", having heart conditions or being pregnant restricting people from rides has been etched in my mind since my first rollercoaster ride. That's when you know it's going to be a good one! If they don't have any warning signs and let just anybody on, well, it must not be that great and it belongs at the county fair. I like those rides, too. It's a nice time to relax. :)

Speaking of warning signs...When we were in Flagstaff we went to SnowBowl (the ski slopes) to ride the chair lift to the top of the mountain. It's a pretty cool view from the top - you can see the Grand Canyon and some other things. But I think it's a money maker for them. Talking to some folks at the church we went to there they said some years the slopes are only open for a week because they don't get enough snow, so this is a great way to operate the business year long and make a killing on toting people up the mountain and sending them back down. It was enjoyable, definitely. Not spectacular, though.

So what I was going to say was that after we had purchased the tickets and waited in line for about 20 minutes we approach the ski lifts. As we stand there chatting with Rick and Brittany I notice a 8.5" X 11" sign posted on a pole: "You are currently at 9,500 feet elevation. When you reach the top you will be above 12,000 feet. If you are pregnant or have heart conditions, you may want to reconsider you ride."

Lovely. So now I'm second guessing myself as to whether or not this is an unwise risk to take for either myself or the baby. Had I never seen the sign we would have gotten up, enjoyed the view, returned and never given it a second thought. Now I'm wondering if it's worth it, what kind of risk it poses to the baby, etc.

Thankfully, my dear husband and good friends walked me through the evaluation of the situation. It came down to this: We live well above sea level here in GJ had already spent 3 nights camping above 8,000 feet. So it wasn't going to be a huge shock to my system, like going from sea level or something. Also, once we got to the top there wouldn't even be a demand for any physical exertion. Plus, my doctor had not been worried about me hiking and such at higher elevations - she just said "remember that if you are out of breath, then your baby's out of breath. But if you are getting enough O2, so is the baby."

So we went up and I didn't think about it again...I guess they just have to have those signs as a safety issue for themselves. And I felt fine the whole time...I'm glad I didn't sit that one out.

Oh, blessed Thermarest!

I know this will sound strange to anyone who loves their soft mattress at home...but Thermarest does wonders for a pregnant woman's back! The few weeks I've been waking up at home feeling achey and if I catch myself sleeping on my back it gets sore and uncomfortable. I've tried sleeping on my side and putting a pillow between my knees and different sizes of pillows under my head, but when I wake up in the morning, I just want to get up and stretch out the soreness.

Solution: found!

Over Labor Day weekend we went camping with the Roeda's (wohoo!) which required sleeping in our tent for four nights. Normally the first couple nights of camping I spend tossing and turning, adjusting to the narrow thermarest and confinement of my mummy bag while trying to keep my pillow from slipping away from me. (This is all in addition to the need to use the rest room at least once during the night, pregnant or not --- which is something I never have to do when at home...only when camping. How annoying.) (Let me assure you that I do enjoy camping and the sleep frustrations are really pretty minor - I still sleep pretty well when we go camping. Except for the bathroom thing - I hate that!) So anyway, I have to be honest and say that I was a little nervous about how sleeping on the ground would go, with my changing body and everything.

RESULT: It was GLORIOUS!!! I can't believe it still - I slept better than I ever have before when we've been camping...and I slept better this weekend than I have the last few weeks in my cushy bed at home! (PLUS - I never once woke up with the urge to go to the restroom - AMAZING!) I felt comfy in every position on the thermarest and never had an achy back if I woke up after sleeping on my back! I was wonderful.

Now, I don't think that I'll be opting for the thermarest on the floor at home over my bed with Brad...The aches aren't that bad yet!