Snips and Snails and Puppydog Tails

So, as anyone who has ever had children knows (and likely, most of you who know anyone who has had children know), the third trimester of pregnancy brings with it some “fun” side effects. To list a few, there are the frequent potty breaks 24 hours a day (which, of course means not so great sleep), heartburn, lovely heartburn, feeling generally huge and awkward all over, being hot ALL. THE. TIME., possibly tinkling a little bit every time you sneeze, cough, or laugh, and huge, puffy feet.

I’ve actually been very lucky in many respects with this pregnancy. First and foremost, I’ve had (so far, knock wood) no complications. I had really no morning sickness, and for the most part, even up to almost 40 weeks, have felt pretty darn good–or at least okay. I’ve not yet had the tinkle-sneeze, though I’ll admit to having to move quickly to the potty if I wait longer than I should. (And, it should be noted, that little man does seem to like to use Mommy’s bladder for his own personal speed bag workout.) I do wake up several times a night to either change position (another thing that becomes a production in late pregnancy) or to potty, but I typically fall back asleep quickly. One dose of tums usually quells any heartburn that natural things (milk, ice cream, avocado) doesn’t fix.  As for being hot all the time? Well, let’s just say I am definitely thanking my lucky stars that Baby D is due any day now, and not in August or September.

So, what does that leave as my personal nemesis? Yes, for the moment, it’s puffy feet. Now, I wouldn’t say that I have “dainty” feet – they are a fairly normal size 8.5. I’ve usually (pre-pregnancy) got what I would call pretty shapely legs with relatively dainty ankles (thank you dance and running), so the first time I noticed pregnancy-puff-induced “cankles” honestly, I was a little amused. It started out mildly enough – some puffiness in the ankle region at the end of the day, quickly alleviated by propping up my tootsies while watching my evening shows. No big deal, I thought. Then, after a day of lots of walking or being on my feet, it wouldn’t just be my ankles that were puffy, but about half-way down my feet, too. Still, I thought, no biggie; I shouldn’t complain because I know women who said they felt like they were walking on painful pillows for the last 6 weeks or more of their pregnancies. Well, now it’s my turn to feel like that…I’m lucky if they’re close to normal sized by morning, and it’s a bonus if my feet fit into my shoes at the beginning of the day – let alone at the end of it! And, really, my biggest surprise on the puffy-feet thing? They’re not just puffy – they hurt! (I don’t know why this was a surprise for me, but cut me some slack. I have no brain cells right now; they’re all devoted to baby-growing.)

Now that it’s finally sandal-weather again, I’ve been loving wearing looser-fitting flip-flops and sandals, to give those puffy feet (which, by the way, are noticeable enough now that even Bryan points and laughs) some much needed air. However, with that came the horrifying realization of what 5 months in closed-toe shoes and I won’t even admit how long between pedicures will do to a lady’s tootsies! Enter my wonderful sister, who gave me a gift certificate at Christmas for a spa pedicure (on my toes, toes…does anyone else’s husband sing that Ke$ha song when pedicures are mentioned? No? Just me? Well, you’re missing out!) at a local nail place. My addled brain finally rememberd said certificate and called up the place Thursday to see if they could fit me in at all this weekend. They were wide open, so I set my appointment for Friday afternoon to get my toes (toes) and feet “prettified.” Hey, I deserve some pampering right now, right? And if the foot massage happened to work to help get things going in the L&D department, so much the better (and I’d have PRETTY toes for everyone to see in the delivery room).

Well, so far, no dice on the foot massage getting labor started, but it sure felt nice to just sit quietly in a massaging chair, soaking my feet and letting someone pamper me. And, I have Pretty Toes…even if they are attached to perpetually puffy feet.

Pretty Toes!

A little closer up, so you can see my pretty butterflies!