A Pain in the...Back

I'm over the halfway mark in my pregnancy, in my fifth month, and I'm about to say something that is sure to infuriate many a woman who have been or are currently pregnant:

I've felt great.

I heard so many horror stories about how hard pregnancy is and, trust me, I have been incredibly lucky with this little guy.  Morning sickness?  Nope.  In the first trimester, I would sometimes feel nauseous in the evening if I delayed eating dinner until too late.  I learned quickly that eating often and regularly was my key to avoiding too many stomach issues, so I did that.  I also was newly pregnant during the hot, hot summer so I drank a TON of water.  I was thirsty ALL THE TIME.  That hasn't changed much but, especially in the beginning, I couldn't get enough water.  In fact, I switched to drinking nearly ONLY water.  I used to drink soda or tea at every meal.  I gave up drinking coffee regularly the year before as a New Year's resolution that I actually stuck with.  I still would drink coffee if I was out for breakfast or meeting a friend at a coffeeshop but I no longer made it at home.  When I became pregnant, all I wanted was water and it quickly replaced all my other beverages.  I'd have juice in the morning, sometimes milk, but the rest of the day I carried around my 32 ounce water bottle and refilled it all the day long.

Mine is a Nalgene Water Bottle. Any bottle
with ounce information will do though! We're
supposed to be drinking AT LEAST 64 ounces
of water a day during pregnancy.

When I was eight weeks pregnant we had a trip planned already to the east coast to visit our families.  First stop was Manhattan for six days, then Baltimore for five then Florida for eight.  This was in JULY.  It was disgustingly humid and hot all along the eastern seaboard this year, breaking weather records for heat.  I was so glad I decided to pack my water bottle on this trip!  While in NY, I met up with my friend Tia, who was eight months pregnant at the time.  I asked her if she had morning sickness at the beginning of her pregnancy and she said she didn't.  She had heard that staying hydrated was the secret to avoiding feeling nauseous and she kept on top of it.  Something about how morning sickness was a result of the influx of hormones in our bodies and how water helped keep everything balanced.  And then I wondered if that is why I had been so lucky up until that point.  I was drinking like a fish (purely H2O though - not the other way that idiom is used).  Also, I know that some women that are struggling with morning sickness can't even get water down so I know that this doesn't work for everyone.  But I think it really helped in my case.  Who knows the next time around though?  Every pregnancy is different.

I also was lucky in that I had planned on this pregnancy and decided to up my fitness level leading up to trying to conceive.  There is a 5K loop around my neighborhood that I ran four to five times during the week, in addition to going on a weekly hike with my friend Corinne.  I attended stretching and yoga classes at my gym.  I was feeling very healthy and when I got pregnant, I had a fitness plan in mind.  I'll tell you ALL about that plan in another post.  It deserves it's own little write up!

I'm letting you know all of this so that I can tell you that all of a sudden - despite exercising regularly and eating right and staying hydrated and all of my best efforts to stay ahead of pregnancy woes - in the past few weeks....my back has started to hurt.  Pretty badly.  The middle of my back aches at the end of the day and my lower back is really struggling.  I was even having some muscle spasms near my tailbone that alternately spasmed and felt like a dull ache when walking.  So all of you who were mad at me for having an easy time with the tougher stuff so far can breathe easier now.  I'm not kissed with fairy dust after all.  Back pain is no joke and I think the most difficult part has been the way it makes me feel so fatigued.  My back starts to hurt and suddenly I feel too tired to stand.  I start asking my husband to "get that pillow for me" or "make me a sandwich" or "hand me that remote that is just out of my reach" - things I would normally do without question on my own - because the effort to move is daunting.

I asked my doctor what I could do to deal with this back pain and she said, unfortunately, not much.  I can take Tylenol and I can rest.  And as I start to get bigger, I may want to invest in a belly support band that lifts the weight in front, alleviating the strain on my back.  I nodded and thanked her because I figured as much.  I also took the next day off from my workout plan because I was concerned that maybe I had aggravated something and I just needed to rest.

Then the following day we went and visited with our friends Kevin and Yuni, who have eighteen month old twin girls (who are the cutest girls you've ever seen!).  Kevin and Yuni are always curious to know how the pregnancy is going, considering they recently went through one of their own.  When I mentioned casually that my back has started to hurt, Yuni's eyes lit up and she said, "Do you want to borrow my belly band??"  And then my eyes lit up!  "You have one??" I replied.  "Of course!" she said.  "It helps a lot."  And then she went to her room and brought it back for me to try on.  I don't feel like I'm carrying that much in the front yet but apparently I am!  (I'm like Gloria on Modern Family: "Manny! I don't need maternity clothes," she wails, as her pants rip).

Here is the support band Yuni has let me borrow!
It's by Loving Comfort and I found it online to buy at Motherhood.com.

When she showed me how to use it, I could tell a difference almost immediately.  I am so excited that she had one I could use and I plan on wearing it during my long walks and on days when I know I'll be on my feet for extended periods of time.  And, of course, as I get bigger, I can see this being a major back-saver.  I'm so glad that I have it to use this early on.  I would have waited a couple months - until the seventh month at least - to pick one of these up and would never have known how much of a difference it could have made at this point.  If you've been having back pain, you might want to look into getting one too.  And if you have a friend that recently gave birth, ask them if they have an extra one collecting dust at home!