Week 31

Week 31 is here. It is crazy to think that I've been pregnant so long and then again I still have almost 2 months to go. This pregnancy, although a total blessing for our family, has been so difficult for me physically. If it isn't one thing, it is another.

Recently it has been my swelling. None of my shoes fit. I had to go and buy some new big shoes. And it used to be that my body would deflate at night and now they are pretty much just swollen all the time. They tingle, and hurt, and feel like my skin is going to break. They are tight and hurt to walk on. My feel are normally a size 5.5 for dress shoes and 6 for normal shoes. I'm currently wearing a size 7 tennis shoe with the laces all loose and they still have to be squoze on. Then for church I bought some 7.5's b/c anything smaller was too narrow. Usually swollen feet are a danger sign for high blood pressure but my blood pressure is fine and low. I actually have been going every few days to the pharmacy and using the blood pressure machine. It is funny because the other people checking their blood pressure are old people and they, without fail, will cut in front of me in line because they don't think I'm in line. I hope my blood pressure will stay safe until the end.

My legs, arms and hands are swollen too.  I'm pretty sure my face is swollen too, or else that is what I like to tell myself.  :-)

On this particular day, my feet weren't even at their worst. I've been trying anything I hear can help with edema. I try and drink a buttload of water and cranberry juice, eat bananas, put my feet up, walk a lot and also super limit my salt to try and help. Some days are worse than others but it is hard to trace exactly what is making the difference. I figure any effort is good effort. Anyway, here they are in their glory.

And speaking of glory, here I am in my glory.  My dress was a little poofy so I tried to emphasize the bump like I see other girls do in their pictures but I'm afraid I just look like I'm holding myself because I have to pee.  Or maybe I have too much potty training on the brain.  ;-)  If you look closely, you can see the empty shoe at the back of my heel.

I know horizontal stripes are like taboo for "large" ladies but I figured that since I am pregnant, I can just break that rule.  I feel very nautical in this dress and I really like it because it isn't jersey fabric, which if you don't know, is like the official fabric every body uses to make maternity clothes and I find it to be quite unflattering.

Things are getting very real now.  My friend just had a c-section and going to visit her in the hospital kind of freaked me out.  So Greg has invited me to enjoy these last few weeks.  Enjoy my ever expanding body and not get down at all the extra fat I have in places that aren't baby essential, like my upper arm.  Try and do more with the kids and be more active around the house even though I'm tried and sore.  Try and not be cranky but grateful.  So those are my goals for myself.  Hopefully I'll be successful.