My State of Three Beings

Today is 33 weeks--yippee! I keep coaching the babies and my uterus, asking for one more week after another. I have to admit though, now that I'm in a lot of pain it's hard to be as much of a motivational speaker.

The following is for my ongoing symptom documentation--not a ploy for gaining sympathy. Knowing that I'm nearing the end of this pregnancy makes me sad, because I know I might not ever experience it again.

I started feeling pretty bad last Thursday. I think up until then I had merely been inconvenienced by my lack of mobility and my excessive fatigue, but it was nothing that actually physically hurt me. I mean, if I couldn't stand or walk for more than a few moments, I'd sit or lay down. I'd enjoy feeling the babies move while I read a book or settled in for a nap. And I'd be fine. I didn't mind getting up a million times a night to stretch and pee, because I could still get up fairly easily and then fall back asleep. Now, however, I'm starting to feel the true discomforts of a twin pregnancy. Sitting, standing, and laying down all hurt now, quite a bit. I dream of being immersed in a pool, but it's still too cold and what would I wear?

When I sit, my gigantic belly presses hard into my thighs and sticks to them, cutting off circulation and causing an itchy little heat rash. I find I've started sitting with my legs spread a la Sh.aron Ston.e style more and more often, and my belly actually rests itself on the seat. When my MIL commented this weekend that she didn't think I was carrying low, I had to laugh. How much lower could I possibly go? All the nurses and doctors comment on how low I'm carrying every time I see them. Baby A's head is rammed into my pelvis. The upside to it is that I've never had heartburn. And from what I hear, that's a pretty big positive!

My belly skin burns like you would not believe. Now the skin on my back has been itching me like crazy all week. H has examined it and said there's no rash. My theory--I think it is now being stretched to accommodate my belly's need to continue to grow. My hips had started to itch the same way when the skin there started to stretch. Can't blame my body for being resourceful.

My knee and ankle joints ache whenever I stand up, and standing up takes quite a bit of effort. I no longer waddle; I shuffle across the room barely lifting my feet. When I lay down in bed, I feel like I am weighted down by the belly. Rolling over takes extreme effort and leaves me out of breathe. I can only stay on one side for an hour max, sometimes less. Getting the energy to get up to go to the bathroom takes about ten minutes of me panting before I can heave myself up out of bed. All the discomfort has made me a less than pleasant person to be around.

Okay, now I am depressing myself. I will make it 4 more weeks! The babies, the uterus, and I can do this! I feel the babies hicupping all the time now, and it is a lovely feeling. It balances out at least half of the pain.