Attack of the Swelling Monster!!!

Last Thursday, I came home from work and changed into capris and a tee shirt. As I was putting lotion on the lower half of my legs I noticed that my ankles (mostly the right ankle) were somehow replaced with those of a 300 pound woman. I stood there in the bathroom staring at my ankles and poking and prodding them to make sure that they were real. I then went as fast as possible down the stairs (waddling doesn't allow you to move too fast) to show Jordan, who was making dinner in the kitchen. I just stood there with fear in my eyes and pointed to the ground. Jordan took about half a second to process what I was pointing at and then smiled and said, "You have CANKLES!!" The fear drained from my eyes and turned into near hatred. We then debated what should be done and I referred to the only source I could think of (since my internet was not working), What to Expect When You're Expecting. Well, this horrible swelling is called edema and is normal in the third trimester and probably won't go away until after the baby is born (WHAT?!?) .

In the morning I woke up and immediately checked my ankles. They are still swollen. Not as badly, but still quite a bit puffy. By the time I got to work, they were nearly as bad as they were the night before. I went straight to the internet to see what I could do to reduce swelling. Then, after seeing 3 different sites with the same info (if one ankle is significantly more swollen than the other -mine was- and you are having leg pain -I was- you should contact your doctor immediately.) I was starting to get a little worried (especially since one of the sites says this may be a sign of a blood clot!!). I then called my doctor's office and told the nurse what was going on and she confirmed that, yes, they would need to see me right away. So I left work and went to the doctor to find out that the reason my right ankle was swollen so much more than the other was because the baby likes my right side, a lot, and doesn't move from that side!! And the swelling is normal; I should just drink a lot of water and keep my feet elevated and that I should sleep on my left side to help blood flow. Oh, and if none of that helps, then there isn't really anything I can do and I'll just have to deal with it until baby girl arrives.

Also while at the doctor's office I asked if I could go ahead and get the shot of RhoGam (required for me since I have a negative blood type therefore missing the Rh factor) that they give at 28 weeks. I was one day shy of being 28 weeks and really didn't want to go back in only 4 days, so since I was so pitiful with my HUGE ankles they graciously decided to give it to me. The nurse came into the room with all the shot stuff and I go to sit back up on the table and she says, "Whoa, wait a minute this is no shot in the arm! This sucker goes in the hip..." At this point I was kind of wishing I hadn't asked to get it early when I could have put this pain off for another 4 days, but I bravely stood at the table and looked at Jordan, who was getting VERY squirmy (he has a huge fear of needles). I asked him if he needed to leave but he said he'd be okay. So I pulled down the left side of my pants and the nurse felt around for my hip bone then stuck me. It hurt. Jordan had huge eyes and told me later that is was a very big needle. I preferred not to look. So much for sleeping on my left side, not with all the soreness going on. So I survived the shot experience.

That night I got home and immediately inspected my ankles to discover that the 300 pound-woman's ankles have been replaced with a 400 pound-woman's ankles. AAHH! Not only was this extremely annoying but it was quite painful. But after drinking tons of water and sleeping (or more accurately not sleeping) all night with my feet propped up on 3 pillows I am thankful to report that most of the swelling was gone by Saturday morning!! It's still hanging around slightly, but not too bad. Hopefully my ankles will stay with me and the fat woman's will stay away!!