Swelling and stuff

For the first time in my pregnancy, I noticed something that indicates that my body is now working in overdrive to handle the excess weight, hormones and pressure a growing baby creates: swelling.

As I was finishing up my 40-minute sweatfest on the elliptical and heading over to do weights yesterday, I saw that there was some swelling just above my ankle. The strange thing is that this swelling was only on one leg!

I was a bit worried, but since it didn't hurt and friends told me that I should expect some swelling, especially in the last few weeks, I soon relaxed. In fact, after my gym workout, I went to unwind at prenatal yoga. After that, I went home and put my feet up, finishing the knit baby blanket I started a few weeks ago. (I noticed that the swelled area seemed to get smaller when I put my feet up.)

I've now gained a total of 25 pounds since the start of this magnificent journey- that's about a quarter of my body weight. These days, sleeping - especially, changing positions in bed - has become somewhat uncomfortable. With the weight of my belly, I now put a small towel under it to prevent excess pull on my back. I've also found getting out of my car and rising quickly from the couch a bit challenging.

No doubt, I'm really in the home stretch. Mr. Braxton Hicks is now making regular appearances and some contractions have been so bad that I've wondered if I'm actually going into labour. However, when I have a glass of water or walk around for a bit, they tend to die down. So I know, it's just my body's way of "practicing" for the real thing.

People ask me whether I think I'm going to go into labour early. I really hope not. Since I'm not great with surprises or a sudden change of plans, I'm hopeful that Baby Max will come at his appointed day (though this is very highly unlikely). On average, I'm told the majority of first babies tend to arrive a few days after their due date. However, I'm hoping that Baby Maxity will come somewhat close to his November 11th due date. Since Baby Max is now just fattening up, I'm hoping he will be a size that I can push out!