Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better. (King Whitney Jr.)
I've got swollen feet & ankles y'all. It's not even funny. I was watching tv last night and just out of curiosity, looked at my feet and noticed how swollen they were. It's scary, I've never seen anything like this before: it looks like someone else's feet, but more like an elephant's feet. The weirdest thing is, my left foot is now bigger than my right foot.It looks like it belongs on Frankenstein! Apparently,elephant-like ankles are a normal, though frustrating, woe for many expectant women. They even have a fancy name for it: edema!
Edema: The mild swelling that's so common during pregnancy and that, thanks to the laws of gravity, is particularly noticeable in the feet and ankles. It can vary by the hour (fatter feet in the evening) and by the weather (warmer temperatures forecast more swelling).
People, these are the things they don't tell you before you get pregnant. You have to go through it and learn for yourself. They don't tell you :
That your whole life may become dominated by your bladder
That constipation can reduce you to a raging, weeping shell of your former self
That the moment someone sees your bump they will rush to tell you their birth nightmare story. And that they'll feel free to tell you that you're walking like a duck. Thanks.
Puting your shoes on and making wudu on your feet is a major performance
Your bump will be stared at constantly. Mostly by women,AND especially when you are at that stage around 25 weeks when people wonder if you're actually pregnant or just fat. Not sure if this is out of longing, disgust or sheer horror....
The linea negra (dark line that runs down your stomach) is not always a straight line. Mine is crooked,off center above my belly button and that part doesn't line up with the part below my belly button. When I look at my stomach, it feels like the left side is bigger than the right side....
Maternity clothes are designed by people who failed their cloth designing diplomas
Maternity bras are ugly and the salesperson will give you an ugly look if you try to purchase a nursing bra at 25 weeks. Nursing bras are only for Nursing women, people!
You will wake up in the middle of the night with numb hands that look like claws and will scare the hell out of you!
Oh, and the not being able to get out of bed/bath/shower/sofa without help and/or industrial crane.
.......
.......
.......
Really am not wanting this to be incredibly depressing but there are many other things..... but I will save them for a future blog.
Despite all these not so funny changes, it is truly a blessing to be pregnant. Just don't lose your sense of humor :)
34 comments:
wooooooow!
tout d'abord merci enormement de partager tous ces details avec nous, I really really appreciate it car aucune de mes amies qui ont eu un bebe m'ont dit cela..
J ai eu droit a "t'attends quoi???c'est genial, rejoins nous au club"
wooow, je ne savais pas que les pieds gonflaient a ce point. Est-ce que tu peux les toucher(Excuses moi si c'est une question bete), est-ce que ton mari peut les masser avec du karite de temps en temps ou y a rien a faire?
J espere que tu n as pas mal en marchant..
Je trouve cela tellement impoli quand les gens commencent a donner des conseils alors que tu leur as rien demande..aie aie aie..comment reagis tu? tu souris seulement?
Maternity clothes are designed by people who failed their cloth designing diplomas
LOOOOOL!!!!
Maternity bras are ugly and the salesperson will give you an ugly look if you try to purchase a nursing bra at 25 weeks. Nursing bras are only for Nursing women, people!
ah oui....je fais du G et une dame me disait de regarder les soutifs maternity pour plus de support, j ai cru qu'elle m'avait insulte..LOL
un futur blog?? yaay!!
Donc ca y est le nom du bebe sera Lala?
Salam sister. I didn't even know you were preganant. Congratulations! I must say that picture is a little scary, especially when you see the baby's foot kicking like that,lol.
Take care!
ASA sister,
OK where have I been? Did I miss the I'm pregnant post? Congrats on the baby!!! Have you felt the baby kicking yet? That is the best feeling in the world!!!!
I disagree with those sales women, get a nursing bra now. When you start breastfeeding it takes a while for your body to adjust and to follow a routine, so yea let's just say leakage does happen and who wants to be trying on a bra when "they" are leaking. I think you are already through the "worst" of your pregnancy the rest is just weight gain yeaaa (hehe ya right)
Mashallah! take care Sis,the odd changes can be annoying but worth the wait,May Allah make it easy for you :)
Very funny post. I, too, learned through experience that pregnancy is not glamorous, contrary to what hollywood and the media would like us to believe. hang in there.
Amina,
You're testing my french. Next time, try spanish, I wanna practice that 2 :)
Oui les pieds gonflent, et oui les masser, aides beaucoup , ca diminue le gonflage ( is that a word? lol). J'ai mal en marchant, mais pas du au fait des pieds, mais "ligament pain". Quand je change de position par ex, de couchee a assise, ou debout ou vice versa, il me faut 5 minutes pour marcher normalement.
I guess, les gens te donnent des conseils car ils se sentent concernes lol, wonder why. Certains sont bien, mais d'autres, laisses tomber.
Pour les maternity bras, Im still looking for good ones. Je fais du DD et c'est dur pour moi d'en trouver so j'imagine ce que ca doit etre de ton cote.
Pour le nom du bebe, non, LOL. C'est rokaya qui l'appelle Lala since day1 so on lappelle Lala entre nous, mais pas de nom choisi pour l'instant :)
My Getaway,
Thank you. Lol, yeh the pic is scary. Feels like you have an alien in your stomach loll.
Malek,
Thank you sister. Yes the baby's been kicking and dancing for a few weeks now and its an amazing feeling. Probably the best part of pregnancy :)
Struggling,
lol, somewhat the idea of trying a bra when you're leaking is not really glamorous LOL! The reason why i held of getting the nursing bras is, the girls are still growing and I might need a different size if I get them now,so I wanna wait and see how they grow! & the weight gain part, not funny :(
Yasmeen,
Ameen! InshaAllah, it will be better :)
Umm Omar,
Lol, like I said, these are all the things they don't tell you! A pregnant woman's best kept secret, but I guess in the end, its all worth it once you meet your little one :)
Mabrook!!! I'm so excited for you sis!!
lol!! love that pic. mabrook on your pregnancy!!! looks like there's two of us going for our first time :D yay!! masAllah
Have you enjoyed the perpetual belching? That is always so fun when you are out in public.
What about the baby dancing on your bladder? Fun, fun, fun!
I found that eating a good portion of organic cucumber nearly each day helped keep my blood pressure down (must be organic so it has its natural stuff) and going for walks helped with the swollen ankles. That fluid can only be moved by muscle movement.
Be prepared for everyone to forget what you tell them and the same people will ask, every time they see you, "When are you due?!" Just wear a sign around your neck. It'll be easier.
And they ask, over and over again, "Are you excited?!" I always want to say, "Excited? Right now? While pregnant? Are you insane? I feel like a beached whale, can't breathe, can't sleep, can't walk, can't eat more then two bites at a time. Get stuck in the bathtub. Have to heave myself out of seats like a rhino, spend all day rushing to the bathroom and I belch and break wind every 20 seconds. I can't figure out why materniy shirts have plunging necklines and maternity pants are skin tight and ride on the hips. To top it all off I have to deal with jerk OBs that should find a different career path and nurses that insist on constantly pointing out how much danger I'm in because of my weight. Sorry, I don't have time to be 'excited'. I'm too busy daydreaming about ordering the next baby from Amazon.com. We'll deal with 'being excited' *after* the baby arrives!!!!"
Gracias por las respuestas...
Vas a crear un blog dedicado a tu experiencia como nueva madre?
@coffee catholic: your reply had me rolling on the floor laughing!! I loooove your irony!
I am sooo guilty of asking those same questions!!! especially are you excited? LOOOOOOL
masha'Allah!
hopefully the baby will have your sense of humor!
Oh also you might like this article-
http://www.examiner.com/x-7551-LA-Muslim-Womens-Style-Examiner~y2009m5d29-What-to-wear-when-youre-expecting
Hijabi Apprentice,
Thank you hun :)
M.J
Mabrook on yours as well. I think we are due around the same time in October as well, yey!
Coffee Catholic,
LOOOL, Tell me about it! You just crack me up!
I should start going for walks but I am so lazy that I lay on the couch all day! Also my OB-GYn recommended prenatal yoga for back pain.
Maternity clothes are a total waste of time, especially the bottoms. I'm still wearing my regular clothes and buy clothes at regular stores. My advice would be to get a bigger size at a regular store rather than kill yourself to find something in a maternity store.
Amina,
Si, estoy pensando en un nuevo blog para eso. Tambien estoy pensando en esperar hasta despues el nacimiento del bebé. Does that even make sense? lol
Clare,
Thanks for the link. I will check it out!
oye, no sabia que hablas espanol :)
Lo aprendiste tambien a la escuela secundaria?
Pues me parece una idea excelente crear otro blog asi este estara dedicado a la religion y el otro al embarazo/nacimiento/los primeros meses, etc.. :)
Puedes esperar el nacimiento de la nina o empezarlo ahora.
Haz lo que te parezca mejor :)
A mi me encantaria aprender mas sobre tu experiencia durante el embarazo y la perspectiva de la religion hacia el embarazo etc...
Hi Hijabee, I'm getting so excited for you!
Right on about the maternity clothes being a waste of time. I couldn't find anything maternity for my sisters wedding that would work, and rarely wore maternity. It's hard to find anything decent and you end up wasting lots when you could be buying a nicer crib, stroller, etc.
I can't wait to hear about baby's name, I know you'll pick something beautiful! Love you habibty.
You've been tagged! Lol, check out my blog for details
The joys of pregnancy...aaaahhh I think I can write a book, I had morning sickness from the day I found out right until I gave birth.
Talk about elephant feet...I looked like a baby elephant walking around.
But Alhamdulilah...once the baby comes it will all be behind you. And I think we need to make Shukr that even though we have the little discomforts - all is well with you and the baby.
Keep your feet up & get your hubby to do a little foot massage...so that you can truly enJOY being pregnant.
You are preggie??? Gya~~~ I'm beyond words!!! Do take some really good tender loving care of yourself and your little one! Seriously sis, you're scaring me with your pregnancy humor. Haha~ Great to know you still got it in you. You'll do great, I'm certain of it. :)
May Allah swt make it easy on you ameen.
I have a question are you hispanic? cuz the comments are getting me confused.
Amina,
Mi español no es bueno lol. Voy a tratar de obtener un blog distinto pero no sé cuánto tiempo puedo dedicar a él, así que veremos. Es difícil sufficiente para mí para actualizar este blog:) Hablare de religion y embarazo tambien y compartire tanto como puedo..
Lisa,
I went shopping yesterday again and even my husband was amazed at how ugly some of them looked. We're discussing names now and trying to come to an agreement lol.
Ldn. Hijabi,
I'm heading your way to see. Thanks sister :)
Haneem,
Thanks for sharing.I can totally understand what you're saying about feeling like a baby elephant, lol.
Hajar,
Yeh, I'm preggers hihihi. Pregnancy humor is all I got these days, so bear with me :)
Tuttie,
Ameen. No, I'm not hispanic, lol. It's just that Amina is a spanigh guru, and I wanted to practice my spanish so I asked her to reply in spanish! :)
Try decreasing your salt intake, it's amazing how much water salt makes us retain but it's normal for pregnancy.
Those items made from elephant feet are just ugh.
My dear Hijabee,
the last sentence makes this post of yours funny :D!Yet,I know it is not funny at all!You are always on my mind and I am so happy that you are sharing with us your pregnancy days.I am so looking forward for the sweet little Hijabee to come to this world.That will be so great!
My friend was pregnant last year and now she has a little boy.Last summer she had such swollen ankles that it scared me so much.Well,all good that ends good,today she says many times that she would do everything again just to be able to have her child.It is true,he is so worth it =)!
You will be fine,just a little more patience and your sun will be here.
I send you all my love and good wishes.
Mwah,mwah...
Mona,
So I've heard. I don't even use a lot of salt in my diet. Will see what the doctor says at the next appointment inshaAllah.
Jasmina,
Thanks for the support girl :) I'm sure it's all worth it in the end. Just a little weird when you're going through it.
Oh..... you FINALLY told the world!!! LOL..... well, being that it's summer, it could just be retention from the heat.... just drink TONS of water and that should help relieve some of the edema.... and keep your feet up whenever you're sitting.
It's been a minute since we spoke- look how the time has flown!!! Just yesterday you were 6 weeks..... it's coming!!!! And here I sit, to huge to move around comfortably- rounding the bases for the final stretch- about 4 weeks or less.... and counting!! :p
Take care of you.... and loved those family pics on FB- MashaAllah, your family is beautiful
Empress Anisa,
Yes I have LOL. You're so right and I don't wanna go back to that premature stage :) I'm trying to say hydrated, the heat is deadly around here. Hope you're ready for your big day... I'm sure you can't wait anymore! I'm so excited for you and will be following your steps inshaAllah very soon, can't wait hehe...
Thanks for the comment on the pics :-p You have a beautiful family yourself.
ok. :( I always get way too excited when I think i find another musulmana.
So now u pregger huh???Anyways thanks for scaring people trying to make babies here!!!!As for the swollen ankles I have a book about it but I don't wanna scare anyone here so I'll hold my thougts until after Lala Aicha ( I looooove this name) is here Insh'ALlah...As for me not only my feet were swollen but my entire "ME" was! My face;my body, my whole as a whole was swelling. I was walking like a Grand ma Duck...And my face brrrrrr it was huge I was 24 weeks when it happened...Thought holding....I remember when I was walking I really felt like I was walking on a water mattress or whatever it's called my shoes wouldn't even feet I went from weighing less than a hundred pound to 140...But hey thought holding again....Salams
(yoow nak meu fogoon biroo so bireh waxmeu teel meu ko wax beugoumeu rater genteh bi :-))))))
And Tuttie yo no soy hispanic pero hablo espanol muy bien...y soy musulmana tambien
Tuttie, me too lol.
Marianne D-K,NO I'm not pregnant, Im just carrying a doll in my stomach :-p I can't imagine you swollen, you must've looked like a big baby elephant hehe any pictures you wanna share? :-p
ahahahhahaa ALhamdoulilah I don't have any remembrance pictures...
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