I hesitate to say this has been a “difficult” pregnancy. I haven’t had it nearly as bad as so many do, and I know I’m quick to complain about the little stuff. The last few weeks, though, have really knocked me on my ass. Literally. I was barely able to get out of bed.
And it’s not that I could sit in bed. I had to lay down because I couldn’t handle the pain in my ribs that came with sitting up. Even laying down didn’t provide much relief, but it did help me to breathe better. Yeah, breathing was a real problem.
I’m sure you can understand, then, why I wound up in L&D 2x and the ER once the last few weeks. Not being able to sit up PLUS trouble breathing is a touch alarming. I also had a couple sorta high blood pressure readings (140s over something normal), which was likely a result of my anxiety over the pain and the not breathing… and a variety of other things that went down at the beginning of November.
It all sent me into a panic spiral, and I demanded every kind of lab and test be run.
Normal. They were all normal. My blood pressures all went down to very good levels. Nothing showed anything in my urine or blood. Baby always looked great on the monitor when they could actually get him to stay still.
In fact, the last time I was in L&D the nurse said he’s probably the most active baby she’s ever tried to monitor. That wasn’t a shock to me. He’s always moving, and very aggressively.
It was great to hear there was “nothing wrong” with me, and also super fucking frustrating because, WTH, this is not ok. I have had 3 other babies, and I know that pregnancies get harder as we get older, but seriously WTF? To have to put myself on bedrest for the last MONTH of a pregnancy because I couldn’t SIT UP? Yeah, no. That is not a normal thing.
And then I went to the chiropractor, not even expecting anything to change, but desperately needing to feel like I was trying.
YOU GUYS…
I am a new woman!
TURNS OUT the baby kicked out one of my back ribs to the point that when she felt it while she was adjusting me she gasped. AND ALSO, he separated two of my front ribs.
He basically had his butt in my lungs, and was ninja kicking me in the ribs on the regular. OH GEE, I WONDER WHY SO MUCH PAIN AND NO BREATHING.
This. Kid. He owes me.
So, via the magic of chiropractic care, she popped my ribs back into place (swear to God, it didn’t hurt at all), and got him to move back to a more appropriate position- like where babies should be, not camped out in my respiratory system.
I was a little sore the next day, but by day 2 the rib pain was totally gone. 100%! I noticed I was able to breathe better right away. It made such a HUGE difference that I went from spending probably 60% of my day laying in bed to getting. shit. done.
I have Christmas shopped IN ACTUAL STORES this week. I have been able to sit up long enough to get work done! Answer emails! Allllll the stuff I wanted to have done before December but couldn’t because I had to lay down all day.
I mean, I’m still Too Pregnant to care about our half decorated tree, or to try to decorate cookies with the kids, but at least I can sit up again. And I’ve stopped panicking. For now. Breathing is good. Deep breaths are good.
I’m going to be fine… as soon as I finish two more projects and get this house good and clean and wrap a few presents. I should stop typing.
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7 comments
Goodlord, lady, I’m impressed you made it this far without chiropractic care! With both of mine, at about 6 weeks the round ligament pain became a serious problem, among other kinks and aches, and I was going weekly by the third trimester. Glad you’re hanging in there!
Yay for chiropractic care! (I’m waiting for my appointment as I type this.)
Also, dislocated ribs suck. I can empathize.
I just had my fifth baby four weeks ago and this pregnancy was so hard. The Chiro saved me on previous pregnancies and I toughed this one out, but my tailbone started popping out of place at like 30 weeks and then my pubic bone separated. SERIOUSLY. I’m glad you got everything shoved back in place! Good luck on the last few weeks!!!
Omg I feel for you – literally!!! My ten-pounder did this to me with my second pregnancy about two months before she was born. It was misery. The chiropractor was like a miracle worker. Except it can pop out again so don’t be surprised if it happens again or you start to feel the pain coming back. Knowing what it is was such a relief. It was awful trying to drive to work, and I was in so much pain I was literally laying on my office floor trying to get into a position that didn’t hurt and crying because I didn’t know what was wrong with me. After all this, prenatal massage is also worth it’s weight in gold!!! Go get one!
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