I thought long and hard about the recliner I was craving. It’s possible I obsessed.
We shopped around, looking at various options, most of them hideous. Most of them way more than I intended to spend on any one item during this pregnancy. I knew if I spent a great deal on any recliner, Scott would consider it an “investment” and want to keep it around for 20 years. The only recliner I found that I would be okay with keeping in my living room for 20 years cost nearly $1,000.
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.
Then a friend let me know she had a gently used LaZBoy she’d sell me for super cheap. They are the kind of friends who always have a clean house and bathe their children every. single. night. (Seriously so impressive, that last part.) Obviously, the recliner would be in great shape. It was cheap enough, too, that I wouldn’t feel committed to it. We could sell it and recover most of our money in a few months if we want to.
The first night we had it, I looked forward to peacefully dozing all night, and NOT waking up to stomach acid bubbling up in my throat. I made it about half the night before I climbed back into bed.
The thing is, we have a REALLY great bed. And the LaZBoy? Well, it’s still a chair. And it moves a lot. And it does this thing where every time you change positions it tries to sit you back up. And I didn’t take into account that even though I’d be reclined in it, I’d also be on my back, which means I wouldn’t be able to breathe. So I had to try to lay on my side in it. And that meant I had to stuff pillows around me. And that meant that every time I switched sides, I had to push the chair back into a recline and restuff the pillows.
It was kinda… a lot of work.
But it DID help with the reflux. And it DID help with the restless legs. Just didn’t really help with the sleeping part.
So I’ve taken to just lounging in it at night. My body refuses to be in an upright position after 6:30pm, so it’s been helpful those last few hours of the evening before bed.
The thing about recliners for me, though, is I’m not used to their sensitive movements. Logically, I know it’s not going to fall backwards or catapult me across the room when I move and it reacts, but there is a part of my brain that is screaming, “THIS THING CAN NOT BE TRUSTED!”
Last Wednesday night, I settled in to try to get some work done on my iPad (artfully decorated with toddler smudges) after a couple hours at my desk lead to a panic attack because I simply couldn’t breathe sitting upright anymore. As I switched sides to get more comfortable, the chair went one way, and my brain forced me to jump the other, causing me to kick a nearby dresser. Hard.
I broke my toe. At 37 weeks pregnant.
2 days later, I started the day at the doctor’s office, confirming the toe was broken, and nothing more. There is literally nothing more they can do for broken toes on pregnant women (or anyone, really). Later that night, I was in the ER, getting scanned for blood clots in my leg. See, I went back to sitting upright at my desk for a few hours, in an effort to really try to knock out some long-past-due work. When I stood up, my entire right leg was numb and a little swollen. I also noticed a bump on the front of my shin.
Thinking it was maybe something to be concerned about, I checked in with my midwife. She wanted me to head to the ER for an ultrasound on my leg just in case, especially since my right foot took such a beating just a couple nights before.
All is well. There were no clots detected. The toe is slowly healing. I’m at least able to hobble around with a limp now, and don’t require Scott waking in the middle of the night- multiple times- to help me hop to the bathroom. I’m hopeful it will be mostly healed by the time I go into labor because I need it to be. I can’t walk through early labor or stand in a shower if it’s not.
The recliner hasn’t seen much love since all this went down. Mainly, I’m scared of it now. And also, I refuse to sit in it unless Scott moves it to the middle of our already cramped bedroom and away from the dressers.
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4 comments
Poor toe! I’m so sorry – I know how much you wanted that reclined, and it seems that it is cursed. At least, for toes.
#1 When I read about your friends who would bathe their children every night I thought it said LOATHE their children and I was just like, “wow she must be really close with them to be able to judge them so openly and harshly!” I was relieved to re-read it a third time and see BATHE. Much better.
#2 I have what can only be described as the opposite of a foot fetish. I did look at your broken toe though. It looks sore…I will not pin it.
#3 Have you started planning the next baby yet? Pregnancy suits your blog posts. Can’t. Stop. Laughing.
Furniture prices scare me. It’s why we’ll likely stick with the (still OK lookin’) Ikea leather sofas we have. And beds. Because we’re cheap (and now I’m envisioning my toe kicking an Ikea dresser and the dresser falling apart). Try to keep it elevated as much as possible, even a little bit, and you should be good “enough” by the time the boyorgirlgirlorboy I LOVE NOT KNOWING shows up.
[…] the bright side, my toe is healing. It still hurts a little when I walk. And it hurts A LOT when my toddler stomps on it mid-tantrum. […]