Bed Rest

Ever wonder what it feels like to be 8 months pregnant? I can sum it up on a few adjectives for you. Swollen, fat, uncomfortable, numb, achy, tired, excited, worried, bored, restless. Sound appealing? Before I scare you out of having babies completely, I should mention that these adjectives do NOT apply to every preggo out there. But they do, however, apply to me. Now I've been called dramatic for most of my life, so why would pregnancy be any different for me? My pregnancy pays tribute to my dramatic life in a big way. I have had just about every up and down you can experience during pregnancy so far. From intense morning sickness (all day sickness), excessive weight gain, extreme mood swings, lots of back pain, exhaustion, crazy bursts of energy, depression, high blood pressure, dizziness. Now, I thought that maybe since we are heading into the last quarter that my body would cut me some slack. But OH NO, there was another plan in mind for me. Enter extreme swollen feet, hands and face. In a couple short weeks, my face has doubled in size, and I have piled on at LEAST 15 pounds or more of extra water weight. My lovely maternity coat that I made sure to buy much too big, no longer fits, and the pair of clogs I have been jamming my feet into no longer stay on. I have two pairs of socks I can actually wear, and yesterday one became evidently too small, as I took it off and my foot was imflamed to twice its normal swollen size. I have been swollen for a few weeks, and I tried not to be a crazy nut at first, and said to myself, 'I'll see how it goes until my next check-up''. Well, the check-up was almost two weeks later, and by then my already out of whack pressure was up again, and my feet were HUGE. I also stopped being able to feel the tips of my hands about two weeks ago. So, my doctor brought me back in two days in a row out of concern. Checking everything out. On the plus side our little guy is moving around like a champ. However, on the negative side, Mamma is a beached whale. My doctor did a few reflex tests, looks at my hands and feet, took a few notes, then called over to the maternity ward, whispered a few things in the phone, hung up, and informed me to go directly to the hospital. I went there, had MORE tests done, blood drawn, peed in the little jar, and waited, and waited. Finally, a nurse came in and said, 'Okay, you can go home now'. I was sent home with strict orders not to do  ANYTHING. Apparently anything means no cooking, no cleaning, no walking, no exercising, no shopping, big fat nothing. Walking to the bathroom is the extent of my permitted activities. Honestly, I should be grateful, but my world shattered. Here I was, looking forward to this glorious nesting period where I would have all of this energy to scrub my floors, bake cookies, prepare meals for the weeks ahead, finish the nursery, and shop for the last minute baby things. Instead, I am stuck sitting on the couch, watching Gilmore Girls reruns, creeping Facebook, and listening to my dog snore. I'm fairly stubborn when it comes to taking orders, so I may not have listening to EVERYTHING the doctor said. But I just can't leave the cooking in the hands of my boyfriend, as much as I love him, I'm the cook in this house. He has been fantastic, yesterday for example, I sat with my feet up, sobbing my way through 'The Help', as he scrubbed, vaccummed, swept, and swiffered every inch of my house. I am so appreciative of his constant willingness to step up, but it's very hard to relinquish all of that responsibility on to him. I sent him into the grocery store with a list of items to pick up the other day, and I was so worried he wouldn't know what to get, that I only picked out things that were in the flyer, and made sure I circled them, in addition to writing them down on a list, including size and amounts. Did I mention my mother was also there to help him? Now before you go thinking the poor guy is incompetent. I should mention that he could have managed just fine without the list, without the flyer, and without the mother. But, my inner control freak just can't let things flow naturally, I always need to cover my tracks. So honestly, that's the hardest part of sitting back and not being able to do anything, just that, not being able to do anything! Not being allowed to leave the house. Not being able to grocery shop, not being able to go visit friends, not being able to stand in the damn shower long enough to shave my legs! Now that one is a tricky one, I could barely shave them before this happened, but now, I can't stand in there long enough to accomplish the task at all. I have told myself that maybe the swelling will go down if I do as I'm told, and I avoid sodium and other things that cause swelling. However, in the short time it takes to get up, brush my teeth, and eat breakfast at the kitchen table, my feet have already doubled in size. So, this is a good indication that things will not get better before baby time. So for now, I am stuck, with my butt firmly planted to the couch, with a remote in one and hand, and a doggie paw in the other. Have I mentioned my pup has become extra needy lately? Oh bliss. 7 weeks to go.