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| I can still fit into the head, but barely! |
I promise I won't turn this blog into a pregnancy/baby love fest. (Well, there might be a bit of a baby love fest.) The main focus will always be weird sailing stories, adventures in strange places and, of course, iguana photos, but just in case people are interested here's what boat life is like from the perspective of the third trimester. Thankfully, we have been completely stationary during this stage because I can't imagine trying to balance with the boat heeled over minus the use of core muscles.
Fitting in the head. My main concern when we returned from the U.S. was whether or not I could fit into the head. Our bathroom on the boat has a ridiculously small door, and I was imagining myself wedged in the doorframe while Vlad carefully jigsawed me out. Thankfully, I fit through the door just fine, though it is cutting it close when I turn sideways.
Getting on and off the boat. Vlad's new nickname for me is Tumbles, not that I have actually fallen anywhere, but let's just say I'm not nearly as graceful as I once was. So trying to get on and off the boat gives me a bit of pause and occasional visions of treading gross marina water while pounding frantically on the hull hoping Vlad hears me. So far, though, I've managed to not live up to my nickname and fall into the drink.
It's freaking hot. I could forever complain about the heat, about how my feet swell up every sticky afternoon and look like stuffed sausages or loaves of bread or canned hams (Vlad keeps joking about how we should stick cloves in them), about how when the temperature hits 95 in the boat I become utterly useless, but now that we're in Guadalajara, of course, my feet look like actual feet rather than Kleenex boxes. I can even walk in the afternoon! However, I have a new found appreciation for what 90 degree plus heat means while pregnant, and it is not pretty. See for yourself:
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| Not only does this look bad, it hurts too! |
It ain't all bad though. For one thing, being pregnant in Mexico allows you to release your inner fruit bat. Almost every morning, I have a delicious fruit smoothie with the obligatory banana and either pineapple, strawberries, plums or whatever fruit we've scored at the local market. And being stationed in tiny La Cruz means a lot of fun cooking for ourselves - pastas and thai soups and grilled fish and chicken. And then there's all the walking we do, which the locals are down with. They keep telling me that walking is muy bueno for the baby, and if I keep it up he'll just fall right out. We will see if they're right on that front.
Glad you're doing well and don't fall off the boat! =)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cheryl! I have been uber careful not to live up to my new nickname.
DeleteGet that boy out so we can all meet him! Plus so you feel better and start bounding around & climbing trees again.
ReplyDeleteOh, Mattie, I cannot wait, but he seems to be pretty content for now. Just a couple of weeks left though!
DeleteA guy I work with said the same thing about walking is good. He said his wife was told by doctors to walk around (during the labor time) and said something about being able to loosen the pelvis which makes it easier to give birth.
ReplyDeleteI hope everything goes well. Try to stay cool :-)
I really hope all these people are right because we have been walking fools for a while now. In Guadalajara we walk for sometimes two hours a day. With breaks for agua fresca of course!
DeleteOh no!!! Your poor little hams!!!
ReplyDeleteThey were really rough, dude, I'm telling you. I couldn't be on them at all in the afternoon because it hurt so much, but now that we are in Guadalajara where it's muy fresca life is much better. We miss you!
DeleteBettie We are enjoying your blog a lot but I usually don't enter comments. I gotta tell ya though that your pitting edema of the lower extremities, although probably just a product of a normal pregnancy in the environment you're in could be a signal of a more cardiovascular nature. Make sure your physician is reading your blog....Dr David Berg
DeleteHang in there! I think Nature makes the last trimester so uncomfortable so that women look forward to labor. I had pitting edema during my first pregnancy, make sure your Doc knows about it. As stated above, it can be nothing to worry about or it can be an indication of some possible things to watch out for. (Try to keep an eye on your blood pressure and keep hydrated!)
ReplyDeleteremember when you were a carni and your feet would hurt so bad..? does it hurt that much? lol it will all be over soon.. the best is for last of course. hang in there.
ReplyDeleteKeep an eye on those feet. You are probably fine but if one starts swelling more than the other or you get a cramping swollen calf that can be an indicator or something serious such as preeclampsia or a clot. I'm sure you've talked with your dr. about all this but it sounds like it is getting to crunch time so nesting, soaking in a swimming pool at a nice hotel if there is one, sleeping on your side, and just plain resting will get you through the next few weeks. Hang in there.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for everyone's concern for my swollen tootsies! But just to assuage anyone's fears about preeclampsia or heart problems, swollen feet are a normal part of pregnancy, and one of the things that causes swelling is heat, making the 90-plus degree temperatures in PV with no air conditioning on the boat just too much for me.
ReplyDeleteNow that we are in Guadalajara, which is at least 10 degrees cooler, my feet are soooooo much better, and the swelling has all but subsided. I still have a little bit depending on what we've been doing, but neither of the doctors I've seen were at all concerned. So, there's is no need to worry, and the baby and I are completely healthy.
I remember the swollen feet well. Rest up, mama!
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