24 Weeks

It's been a week since I posted anything on here.  Sorry about that...I've been either way too busy or in pain (that's my defense and I'm sticking to it).   

Since we met the last time at 23 Weeks, my body has slowly deteriorated.  I think this is yet another sign of why I'm not good at being pregnant. 

I've been having pain below my left shoulder for over a week now.  When the pain first came on it was very manageable and would go away within an hour.  On Sunday, while working around the house, I had to take many, many breaks to lay on the couch and ice my back.  Monday came around and I went to work like normal, however, by about 10 a.m. I was in so much pain that I needed to take the afternoon off to address my shoulder/back problem. 

I received an OK from the doctors office to go to the chiropractor and to use BioFreeze.  However, they said if my pain continued after seeing the chiro, I would probably need to be referred to physical therapy...WTF?  Physical therapy sounds like it's not fun and I don't want to take extra time during the week to go.

Anyways, I went to the chiro which took alot of the pain away and spent the rest of the day on the couch with an icepack.  I had orders not to lift anything...even my purse until the situation was fixed.  Do you all know how hard it is to actually follow this rule?  Very.  I violated it many times...just slap my hands now.

On Tuesday, I went to work and was sore in the problem area but didn't have any shooting pains like the day before.  I still iced it all day long just in case.  By Wednesday, I was pain free.  Yahoo!

By Thursday afternoon, hell had apparently froze over and the devil was out to get me.  I again had the worst pain shooting straight through my shoulder...I even had trouble walking.  I once again took the afternoon off to ice (which didn't help) and lay around the house.  I ended up using BioFreeze which was fabulous even though the chiro told me not to use it because of the baby...the doctor said I could and in that pain filled instance, the doctor won!

I've always thought I had a very high pain tolerence so either I really don't or this is pain a intolerant person would never be able to handle.  This is knock you down, rock you like a hurricane type pain and I've cried a few times over it (yes, I'll admit it). 

Today, I'm feeling much better.  I went to the chiropractor this morning and have to go again tomorrow.  There is still some discomfort but nothing like yesterday.  Hopefully this will fix it and I won't have to go regulary for the next 15-16 weeks.

The root cause of all the pain is that the belly & pregnancy are putting stress on my lower back (I already have a small amount of curvature in my spine which does not help matters - I failed my sports physical my senior year because they thought I had scoliosis) which transitions to my upper back.  It's causing the muscles around the shoulder blades to be strained.  Until everything gets put back into place and all the kinks worked out, I'll be enjoying this pain.  Lucky me.  I should've known that my body wouldn't cooperate.  I don't consider myself a weak person but I'm small framed and probably not the ideal body type for carrying around a baby for 9 months.  I guess in the end, if our baby girl is healthy and happy, all the pain would be worth it. 

Now on to the regular, weekly programming:

Maternity Clothes ~ I tried on a couple of maternity dresses and they are very non-flattering to say the least.  Now I'm looking for spring/summer dresses that I can wear to work, weddings, rehearsals and so on in my normal, non-pregnancy size.  I bought a maxi dress from Target that can be worn after my pregnancy is done.  Old Navy is having a sale on dresses starting next weekend so I'll be hitting that one up.  Also, Gap, Banana Republic & Old Navy are having their Give & Get event right now - 30% off I do believe so you might want to get in on that deal as well.

Sleep ~ I get what I need, although I've been waking up during the night to use the restroom more often than in the past. 

Best Moment This Week ~  Having the hubby home on the afternoons I've had to take off.  It wasn't planned that way but it was nice to know he was there if I needed anything.  Grilling out and making a healthy meal (minus the beans) of Thai Peanut glazed chicken kabobs, rice & baked beans last night - it was yum-o!  Wearing flip flops to work this past week! 

Cravings ~ I crave water when I wake up.  I drink water all day long but always wake up so, so thirsty.  I miss the taste of Mountain Dew since giving up pop.  I think I should put myself on a diet so I'm not carrying any extra weight around except for the baby.  Maybe this will help my back.

Gender ~ GIRL

What I look forward to ~ summer & July.  The 60 degree weather we had here in Iowa for a couple of days was such a tease and I look forward to 60 and 70's to make their way here again. 

Milestones ~  Baby is still the size of a papaya.  Baby has developed her sense of balance so she can tell which way is up inside my belly.  Baby can recognize the mothers voice due to their ears being extremely sensitive to sounds outside the womb.  Baby continues to play around inside the womb and will grab onto anything she can which is only the ambilical cord.

Happy pain free Friday,