The Pregnancy Diary: The Struggles in Month 5
Actually, I’m not struggling. I still feel good and am glad to be over the sickness but I can feel body changes happening every week and that’s where the struggle part comes in.
- In Week 20, I suddenly felt the relaxin kicking in. And no, that’s not slang for ‘relaxing’. Relaxin is a real thing: it’s a hormone that is produced and released by the placenta and ovary that basically loosens your ligaments in preparation for your cervix to dilate and uterus to prep you for delivery. When it pumps out more, you may start to get backaches and soreness from your body shifting and I can tell you- my lower back is feeling it.
- One random Saturday afternoon, I stood up from the couch after sitting for maybe a half hour and my entire lower back and upper butt (ha! Yes, I said butt!) felt like I had run a marathon without any training ahead of time. A powerful pain- not sharp- jolted through me and the more steps I took to get moving the more is started to even out. Almost every day since, it has been hurting when I stand up from sitting. Ain’t nobody got time for this!
- The other struggle is a flight of stairs. This started to feel funky early on but now that everything keeps shifting and squishing upward, I am more out of breath once I walk up 15 steps. I feel like everyone in the house can hear me deep breathing at the top! It’s only going to get crazier and carrying Chloe (32 pounds) to bed is getting to be a mini-workout.
- Sleep is getting stupid. Up until Week 21, I was sleeping okay...could handle being on my side no problem and just waking up briefly to rotate throughout the night. It's gradually been getting more uncomfortable but nothing that isn't manageable. Starting Week 22, I found that I started to need the support of a pillow behind my back and one underneath the side of my belly for support. Time to bust out that pregnancy pillow!
How did you sleep and feel during pregnancy? Any struggles you had to deal with??