Yesterday Michelle was feeling pretty uncomfortable throughout her hips, back, and legs. Her body is starting to really feel the strain of the extra weight. The good news is that all her hard work on eating is paying off and she is definitely on track to meet the 36lb weight gain by 24 weeks recommended by Dr. Barbara Luke in her book about healthy multiples pregnancy. With multiples it's really important to have lots of weight gain early because towards the end of the second trimester those babies are taking up so much space that it becomes physically difficult to eat enough calories in a day so the babies then draw from the early weight gain when they need nutrients.
Anyway, it is a bummer that Michelle is already starting to have back and hip pain at 18 weeks because we both know that she is only going to get bigger and the next 18 weeks, or however many we get, are going to feel really long if she is in pain. So yesterday we went to the warm therapy pool at the YMCA and spent about 45 minutes letting Michelle be weightless. I tried to remember some aquatic therapy exercises and we tried a few of those, but mostly just gave her body a break from carrying those babies. Wen she first got in she said it felt funny, like her belly just lifted up. The weirder feeling for her though was getting out. As she walked up the ramp to get out she a like "woah, now my belly feels sooooo heavy...like it is going to tip me forward!" So it was definitely only temporary relief but nice while it lasted. Until it really gets hot here it will be nice to have this option to giver her body a break. We also got a referral for physical therapy from our doc at University Health Service, who, by the way is a very sweet guy and who is very excited about this pregnancy! I did some searching and found a local PT who specializes in women's health PT so we are going to call and see when we can go see her. Yes, yes, I am a PT, but in case you. Don't remember I work with kiddos only! All that grown up PT stuff I learned in school is long gone, having fallen out of my brain as I made room for more learning about kiddos! So I would really like for Michelle to see someone much more competent than me in this area! I can certainly follow through with the treatment plan, but would feel better if someone else designed it!
Anyway, it is a bummer that Michelle is already starting to have back and hip pain at 18 weeks because we both know that she is only going to get bigger and the next 18 weeks, or however many we get, are going to feel really long if she is in pain. So yesterday we went to the warm therapy pool at the YMCA and spent about 45 minutes letting Michelle be weightless. I tried to remember some aquatic therapy exercises and we tried a few of those, but mostly just gave her body a break from carrying those babies. Wen she first got in she said it felt funny, like her belly just lifted up. The weirder feeling for her though was getting out. As she walked up the ramp to get out she a like "woah, now my belly feels sooooo heavy...like it is going to tip me forward!" So it was definitely only temporary relief but nice while it lasted. Until it really gets hot here it will be nice to have this option to giver her body a break. We also got a referral for physical therapy from our doc at University Health Service, who, by the way is a very sweet guy and who is very excited about this pregnancy! I did some searching and found a local PT who specializes in women's health PT so we are going to call and see when we can go see her. Yes, yes, I am a PT, but in case you. Don't remember I work with kiddos only! All that grown up PT stuff I learned in school is long gone, having fallen out of my brain as I made room for more learning about kiddos! So I would really like for Michelle to see someone much more competent than me in this area! I can certainly follow through with the treatment plan, but would feel better if someone else designed it!
Swimming was the best for me. Loved it. I'm keeping you both in my thoughts every day! xo, Gina
ReplyDeleteNot sure this would work for multiples, but I used this: Prenatal Cradle. I had a pubic symphysis tear during Rudy's pregnancy that's progressively tougher to deal with in subsequent pregnancies because I'm always older (Lame-O).
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