Sleep, Blessed Sleep and Snark

Had another visit to the House O'Babies on Wednesday. We're at 32 weeks (technically 31 weeks, 5 days today) and had a good visit although I got the gestational diabetes lecture and was praised for not gaining any weight.

Baby's heartbeat was great. Blood pressure was 116/70. Baby's head down and wiggling.
I'm feeling good even though the Leg Cramps from Hell continue most nights. I've got sciatica in the left leg (Spider Monkey has her head FIRMLY on the nerve) and if I lay on my right side, the sciatica gets worse. I get leg cramps in the right leg. If I lay on my left side, my right leg cramps. So yes, this is a case of "damned if you do and damned if you don't".

I discussed this with midwife Stephanie with great gusto on Wednesday. As discussed, I've tried all kinds of solutions - more calcium, less calcium, bananas, massage, warm baths, stretching and pillows in between my knees, behind my knees, in fact, everywhere around my legs. No dice.

The midwife suggested diet Tonic water. She said it had something in it that might help, but couldn't remember what. I've since found out that most tonic water has quinine in it and that's an old cure for leg cramps (and the active ingredient in the over the counter leg cramp medicine - Legatrin). Well quinine was banned for use as a help for leg cramps in 1994 by the FDA and has been linked to birth defects when taken by a preggo - so I won't be drinking any tonic water.

So I was up at 3AM this morning trying to shake loose a leg cramp that was forcing my foot to literally turn over (this is REALLY painful). When I got the leg cramp under control and the heating pad fully warmed (which helps a LOT) of course, I was having trouble settling back down. Is a racing mind part of the third trimester? I had so many different things in my head at that point that I really considered getting up and writing some of it down.

Baby decided to wake up about that time and start her morning exercise. She's doing this thing where it feels like she's stretching as far outward as possible. My stomach kind of pooches out to a point when she does this and I feel pressure around my belly button. I can rub my belly and she relaxes, but she'll be back at it again in a few minutes.

So it's about 4AM now, my mind is going a million miles a minute, baby is awake and tossing and turning and WHAMMO! Another leg cramp.

I'm not especially a happy camper this morning.

But now that I'm reading back over this post, I realize, you know, I'm damn lucky to be where I am. Moo and I had almost unsurmountable odds against us being parents. He of the low testosterone and diabetes diagnosis. Me being over 35, fat, PCOS and surly. We didn't have to undergo weeks of testing and medical intervention to get pregnant - just a few weeks of Metformin and little hope.

This little baby is truly a miracle baby. So in the big picture, what's a few weeks of leg cramps? What's a few weeks of having to test my blood sugar and watch my carbs? In the grand scheme of things, does it even matter?