Eager Anticipation

Hello folks!,

I know I’ve been pretty quiet on here, but really, there hasn’t been much to report in the way of the hips! Which is really great news!

Current Status:

How far along?: 37 weeks + 3 days

Weight gain?: ~45 lbs

Here’s a somewhat current picture from last weekend. They say there’s a “honeydew melon” in there, but they have to be lying. It’s closer to something like a watermelon or donut car tire. Also note that this is 7 days ago, and if you don’t think that makes a difference you are very wrong.

UPDATE:
Just took a new picture tonight, so for comparison (sorry for the bright flash, lighting was terrible):

Baby is doing great! We are just about 3 weeks from liftoff and we cannot wait! We have all the furniture in place, pictures are hung, the clothes and swaddles are washed and ready, we’ve got a short list of names, and he’s got swings and pack ‘n plays and bouncers and all sorts of fun baby things. My hospital bag is packed and in the trunk of the car, I’ve got all my snacks for the hospital ready (this is noteworthy, as I am a constant snacker), even hubby’s stuff is all packed. We are officially READY!

This time has really flown by, it’s unbelievable to me to think that we will have our little guy in our arms in less than 3 short weeks (or sooner!).

As far as my hips go, I really can’t complain at all. There have been occasional days of discomfort; maybe in the sciatic or general arthritic joint pain. However, I really can’t say it’s been something that’s felt significantly worse because of the pregnancy.

So, what does feel different? Well, here’s what I’ve noticed in my hips and back: the heaviness really weighs on me (pun totally intended, FYI). While it’s not constantly painful, by the end of the day my hips and pelvis are very sore and achy. 45 pounds is a lot of extra weight to carry around. My days go mostly like this: When I wake up in bed, my hips are really achy and painful from lying in bed all night. I get up and go downstairs to have a cup of coffee and watch the news for about a half hour. I spend this time stretching my hips and trying to open up my pelvis. I do the butterfly stretches and I try to stretch out my sciatic and psoas a bit as well. This typically feels amazing. I get my day going and by the time I’m out of the shower and dressed, I feel pretty good. I’ve loosened up and I go about my business. The only time I feel any real pain throughout the day is if I sit for an extended period of time, so I try to get up once an hour and walk around the office a little bit.

By the end of the work day, I’m pretty tired…and my hips are getting pretty tired, too. By the evening hours, it’s about all I can do to get off the couch. It’s not that it’s excruciating at all, it’s just exhausting to be tired and achy. I’m sure all pregnant women, everywhere, can relate to this. The pain is an odd kind of pain. It’s not hip pain like I am used to experiencing (although I sometimes feel that arthritic pain as well). It’s like an aching in my groin and outer hips. Like the ligaments are sore and achy almost? It’s hard to explain.

Anyway, we covered my 45-minute bedtime routine in my last post. Now that I’ve gotten more uncomfortable I’ve changed it up a little bit. I have started taking two Tylenol before bed, and most nights I take a warm bath to try and ease the inflammation in my pelvis. Some nights I’m way too tired to take a bath, but I try to force myself because it does help. By the time I’ve filled the tub, soaked my daily stress away, and crawl into bed, the Tylenol has usually started to kick in and I can start with a fairly painless sleep position.

Sleep is still good to me, for the most part. I guess, what I should say, is that it’s as good to me as you can expect for a 37.5 week pregnant woman. I typically start on my left, non-operated side. That’s the side I’m most used to sleeping on because I never used to be able to lie on my right side pre-PAO. I still feel odd sleeping on my right side, although I’m getting better at it. I can really only sleep on my left side for about 3 hours before it’s really uncomfortable and painful. The pain is the hip pain I’m used to. It’s a stabbing, aching pain in the joint, and the ligament pain I explained above accompanies it as well. By this time I have to pee anyway (shocking!), so I get out of bed and when I get back in, I switch over to the right. A few hours after that, typically around 3 AM, I start to play the “which side hurts less?” game. The rest of the bed time is spent switching from position to position with some short periods of sleep in there. Most nights I get about 5-6 hours a night of sleep, which I think is pretty good all things considered. Some nights (like a couple nights ago), I sleep really awesome and it’s amazing. I was in bed for like 10 hours and got about 8 hours of sleep. Probably the last time that will happen until my son leaves for college…

Well, that’s really kind of it. To wrap up I will just say that every day it is more evident to me that this surgery really did change my life. I could not have handled this pregnancy if I hadn’t had PAO. There’s absolutely no doubt about it. It’s amazing to me to think about how great I am doing even though I weigh so much more and have such a burden on my hips. It’s not just the weight (although that is such a huge factor…pun intended again), it’s also the change in my center of gravity, and it’s the loosening of the ligaments and joints. I am certain that if I hadn’t had this PAO and labrum repair/microfracturing, I would be absolutely miserable. I don’t think it would even be possible to move around much. Just another reason why I am so grateful for Dr. Schiller, and for PAO; because of the surgery, I have been able to have such a great pregnancy. I cannot believe how lucky and blessed I have been. I have enjoyed every second so far. It’s been such an amazing experience, that I’m actually almost sad that it will be over soon! Clearly we are so excited to meet our little guy and have him in our arms…but there is just something so special about carrying a child. I can’t explain it, but it’s been the most amazing experience. I am sure I will miss carrying him once he decides to make his appearance!

So, here’s to two and a half more weeks of eager anticipation and unwavering excitement! We will be waiting for you, whenever you are ready Baby G! You just say the word, and we will be ready and waiting with open arms. See you soon, my little love!

We’ll talk soon, xoxo

D

P.s. I leave you with this: