Greetings FitnessRx for Women readers! Welcome back to my little corner of the web!
This past Friday marked 37 successful weeks of pregnancy. With three weeks to go until my little man is expected to arrive, the final stages of pregnancy joys are upon me…
Cankles
Cankles. Oh yeah, I said it. Big fat ankles filled with water that descends down from your calves making your legs look like tree stumps. Some days I have them, and some days I don’t. Some days walking even hurts my puffy feet, and some days, I’m just fine. Not exactly sure where or why the fluctuations are occurring, as I try to drink the same amount of water every day and am keeping an eye on sodium intake. But, hey…it is what it is. I’ll spare you the photos of my feet and ankles. A few lucky friends saw them in a text message earlier this week!
Stretch Marks
My belly is at max capacity. With 23 days left until my due date, I’m hoping I don’t get much bigger. I know compared to some mothers, my belly is not very big, but for me, this is big enough. My skin is tight, and I have to moisturize it daily to keep it from itching. And, my belly is ROCK HARD. I just don’t see how I could possibly grow any more without my skin ripping! Which brings me to another glamorous part of pregnancy…STRETCH MARKS. A reported 90% of women who have gone through pregnancy will develop these somewhere on their bodies. WOW!
It’s hard to find any concrete evidence, but the more reading you do, you will find that there are no ways to avoid it 100%. There are plenty of creams and high dollar products out there that are supposed to help you avoid them, but none can guarantee this. Everyone and their mother has a favorite remedy, but it looks more and more like stretch marks are based on genetics and race. In one survey done by Stanford University on 161 mothers who had given birth, it was found that 48% of the women with stretch marks said their mothers had stretch marks too. That said, being proactive with your healthy pregnancy and not gaining too much weight too soon can help. They occur when your skin loses elasticity.
When I first told a few friends I was pregnant, one of my friends sent me some Palmer’s Cocoa Butter cream, because she swore by it. I used it regularly, and still do, in rotation with good old-fashioned baby oil. So far it’s working, and I’ve been lucky to avoid the stretch marks on my abdomen, hips, etc. Whether it is this, or the fact that I have only gained 27 lbs, or a combination of both, who knows?
Breast Pumps
Breast pumps are another not-so-sexy part of mommy-hood, if you should choose to breast feed. I took a 3-hour breast feeding class a few weeks ago, and let me tell you…there is a LOT to learn. Speaking with moms who have done it, it will be a challenge at first, but it will be worth it. For Tim and I, breastfeeding is the logical choice, both from health standpoint for baby and from a financial perspective. Since I will be going back to work 9 weeks after baby Staggs is born, I’m going to need to pump. I got a very nice pump and was reimbursed for most of it through my benefits at work. I am very grateful for that. I decided to take it out of the box this past weekend and familiarize myself with it. It’s a good thing I did! There were so many parts and the instruction manual was not small. It would have been overwhelming if I waited until I needed to use it.
Baby Progress
So updates as far as my pregnancy goes: I saw my midwife today for my 37-week visit and everything is good! Baby is head down and right on schedule. There are no guarantees as to how mom’s progress, but currently I’m not showing any signs of going early.
Well, that’s it for now! See ya’ll next week.
If you have any questions or comments for me, leave them below. I love hearing from you guys!
Xo,
Bec
Source: (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/fashion/29SKINstretch.html)
