GOODBYE ANKLES - HELLO CANKLES!!

Unfortunately, swollen hands and feet are all too common in pregnancy. When you are pregnant, your blood volume increases substantially. Your growing uterus puts pressure on your pelvic veins and vena cava (the major vein that receives blood back from your lower limbs), which slows down the blood flow returning to the torso. This causes blood pooling, which in turn forces water into the tissues of your extremities (hands and feet).

And lucky for me, with the gestation of twins, I have even more blood flow thank someone pregnant with a singleton, so more swelling it is for me. And add that to the fact that it’s summer in Minnesota with high humidity. Yikes!!

Here are my feet on a more "normal" day in this pregnancy. Although this is still swollen.
And here are my really swollen feet today.

I keep looking down thinking, “These ARE NOT my feet!” I’ve lost my ankle bones, which usually stick way out. (I’ve never liked that so you’d think I’d like them to be swollen, but no! – not this much!!) Actually, now that I think about it more, I can’t even really tell where my calves end and my feet begin. AHH!! Oh, and don't forget my toes - I have sausage toes! Tennis shoes are out of the question and when I wear sandals, my feet start swelling around them. It's actually pretty funny as they leave huge marks when I take them off. Oh the horror – I’ve got cankles!! But don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining - just reporting! :)

Since my feet are so very tight and sore, it feels heavenly to soak them in cold water. I may just have Nick pull down that teeny tiny kiddy pool I bought for $1 at a garage sale last summer so I can fill it up outside. Then I can relax with my feet cooling off in the pool, while drinking a delicious pina colada (virgin, that is!!)

So, goodbye ankles...for now. I'll see you again...hopefully by next Christmas...

GETTING BIGGER....AND BIGGER...AND BIGGER!

I had my last doctor appointment last week on June 24th. My mom and sister, Corrie came to the appointment with me and they got to hear the babies’ heartbeats. What a joy that always is! I had a shock as I weighed in with a big jump of 7 pounds this month. (I had only gained 13 pounds total in 20 weeks, from the beginning of my pregnancy.) I’m not quite sure what to think about that. But I keep telling myself that it’s better than not gaining any weight at all! I need to keep these babes nourished, right?

At my appointment, I was 24 weeks along, but I was measuring at 33 weeks. My OB/GYN said, “Congratulations, you’re almost full term…for a single baby!” HA! Good one! I’m excited for next month’s appointment where we’ll have another ultrasound to check on the size of each baby. I pray they’re growing as they should!

Here’s a photo of me at 24 weeks. (But measuring 33 weeks!)