Aching to Deliver

At week 32 I became so severely uncomfortable. For weeks I had been sleeping sitting up in an IKEA chair when over 4 pillows propped up in bed didn't help the enormous pressure on my chest caused by the babies and asthma flare ups. We had also tried a recliner and I often used that for a couple of hours when I needed something a bit more comfortable. I probably averaged about 4 hours of sleep a night with no more than a two hour stretch of sleep. To top it off, I could not cool down. The room temperature was set to 65 degrees and while Ed was walking around in flannel pajamas, I was still hot.

I was also swelling for weeks on end. My feet swelled so much that I had to buy size 9 flip flops when my size 7's refused to fit anymore. There were nights that even if I elevated my feet all day, they would still ache. Compression socks (rite aid) and ace bandages helped but not for very long. I felt the most immediate but temporary relief in soaking my feet in iced water.

My skin would itch. Calamine lotion, vitamin b oil, hydrocortisone and itch relief became essential but never took the itching away for very long. It was as if mosquitoes came for miles to feast on my poor swollen skin. Poor Ed became my mosquito and bug slayer but could never quite kill them all to satisfy me or my psyche.

For these and many more reasons, I would ask my OB to ok an earlier than 36 week delivery. He said he couldn't unless there was a compelling reason because the perinatologists had been brought in to care for me. The perinatologist would have to approve an earlier than 36 week delivery. This broke my heart when at 33 weeks, I was so swollen, exhausted, and miserable. Little did I know I would deliver my babes a week later in an emergency situation.