My biggest difficulty at 34 weeks is the muscles in my belly. They tighten as I walk and it’s extremely uncomfortable. To stop the tightening, I must either slow down to a crawl or hold up my belly, neither of which is really practical. My doctor says the tightening is normal and that the options are to live with it or buy a maternity belt. A maternity belt supposedly takes some of the pressure off the abdomen and back, but with only a few weeks of pregnancy left to go, I don’t feel inclined to spend the money. I guess I’ll have to live with the discomfort.
One bad thing about walking slow is that it means more time spent on my feet, which are also starting to feel the strain. I can’t stand for long periods of time. It should be noted, though, that while I feel every ounce of this pregnancy and gravity’s cruel response to the weight, I have not yet started waddling. I’m proud of my still-normal stride.
The Sunday before last, we went to another birth class. This one was called “Caring for You and Your Infant.” We learned how to swaddle a baby, which was a worthwhile lesson, and we picked up some tips for minimizing the pain during my recovery.
One thing I didn’t appreciate about this class, or the one before it, is that they sang the praises of nursing while simultaneously setting us all up to fail at it. They told us how difficult it is, made us worried about getting a proper “latch,” suggested that we contact a “lactation consultant.” Talk about making a big deal out of something very basic! If human beings weren’t capable of breastfeeding naturally, the race would have died out a long time ago. Enough talk of failure. I have every intention of nursing my child and I’m not going to worry myself silly before even giving it a try.
Now, since tomorrow marks 35 weeks, I’m going to stop this post here and save something for the next installment.