Category Archives: back pain

Labor is a Tricky, Tricky Thing

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I really thought that today was the day.  I woke up at 6am with severe back pain and contractions.  They continued to come every 6 minutes for the next 8 hours.  We went for a walk, I drank a lot of water, ate some food, rested…everything that they always tell you to do to make sure they’re not Braxton Hicks contractions.  They were the real deal.

And after 8 hours of consistency, they stopped.

ARGH!

Not only is it physically exhausting, it’s mentally taxing as well.  We packed all the last-minute items in the labor bag and I was ready to go as soon as the contractions were to get down to 5 minutes apart.  I was mentally ready for labor and meeting our baby.  And now it’s back to the guessing game.  Boo.  It will be a very early night for me…hopefully I’ll get some sleep and hopefully I’ll be woken up by contractions again – this time 5 minutes apart and NOT stopping!

Why Every Pregnant Woman Needs an Exercise Ball

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About a year ago when Hubster wanted to get an exercise ball, I was against it.  I pictured this big ol’ ball taking up what precious little floor space we had.  I pictured it sitting there collecting dust because neither of us would ever use it.

Then I got pregnant.

Toward the end of my second trimester when the aches and pains starting to really set in, I begged him to pull that deflated exercise ball (which, I was correct, had never been used) out of the closet and pump some life into it.  I had heard the benefits of an exercise ball for labor (aka a birthing ball).  If it helped ease pain in labor, it had to help during pregnancy, right?!

It. Is. Wonderful.

I bounce on that thing almost every day.  Unlike sitting in a chair, laying down or standing, the exercise ball takes all pressure off of my lower back and pelvis.  Last night, I think it saved me from a trip to labor & delivery.  Cramping and back pain set in and my doctor suggested that it might be the baby’s position on a nerve.  If I had an exercise ball, I could move my hips around to try and put baby in a different position.  That’s when that little light above my head (you know, the cartoon light that pops on when you have a fabulous idea) sputtered to life.  ”Yes, I have an exercise ball!”  If the pain didn’t subside, I’d have to take a trip into the hospital to get checked out.

I proceeded to bounce my little heart out on that exercise ball and – alas! – Baby C must have been sitting on a nerve, because the pain started to subside.  Hooray!

I strongly recommend an exercise ball for every pregnant woman!  Whether you have issues with back pain or just for a strange instance such as the one I had last night, it could save you from popping pills for your pain, suffering in silence, or even from a trip to labor & delivery.

Tips to Relieve 7 Pregnancy Aches and Pains

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In BabyCenter’s latest email blast, they sent out a link to this article on how to relieve a list of 7 pregnancy aches and pains.  I was happy to look at the list and realize I do NOT have several of the problems. :)

And if you’re struggling from severe low back pain like I am, here is a link on how to help relieve that.

What Was I Thinking?!

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The bathroom in our apartment has tile on part of the walls and a tile floor.  The amount of dust that was starting to collect on the edges of the floor and the bottom part of the tile wall was really starting to get on my nerves.  Of course, the greatest build-up was located in hard-to-reach corners and behind the toilet.  I couldn’t take it anymore and decided to get on my hands and knees and scrub off all of the dust this afternoon.

After spending about 30 minutes scrubbing various parts of the walls and floor, I was finally finished and feeling really accomplished.  Then I stood up…

The lower back spasms started in immediately.  What was I thinking?!  This will definitely be the last time that anyone will find me scrubbing the floor for a while.

Preterm Labor Scare

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At about 1:00 this morning, I suddenly had menstrual cramps and low back pain reminiscent of a bad period.  I was already laying in bed, so I figured I’d just keep trying to fall asleep and maybe they’d go away.  An hour later, they still were bad and keeping me awake so I decided to call my clinic’s 24-hour nurse line.  Their concern scared me a bit and they gave me the number of the birth center at the local hospital.  The nurse that I spoke with really freaked me out when she said that her gut reaction is that I need to come in immediately, but that I should consult the OBGYN on-call before doing so.  I was patched through to her shortly after 2am and she instructed me to drink lots of water and lay down to see if it would go away.  If it didn’t, I would need to come into the hospital.

I was able to get a few hours of sleep, but when I awoke at 6am, the cramping and back pain were still there.  I hemmed and hawed for a little while before waking up the hubster and telling him we’d better drive to the hospital.

It was a hard decision for me.  I’m typically the one to shrug off my own pain thinking that it will pass; but I realized that I wasn’t making the decision for me, I was now making the decision for my baby.  What a weird thought – it was the first time I had to make a decision solely for my baby…and he’s not even here with us yet!

A few hours, some lab tests and a fetal monitor watch later, I was cleared to go home.  Everything looked fine, baby is super active and healthy.  The fetal monitor was not picking up on any contractions and my lab tests came back clear.

I’m hoping that this doesn’t send me into a frenzy of washing all of his clothes and linens!  I was definitely freaking out a bit last night, thinking about how it’s too early and none of his things are ready for him yet.

If you have any of the following symptoms of preterm labor, please consult your physician!

  • An increase in vaginal discharge
  • A change in the type of discharge — if it becomes watery, mucus-like, or bloody (even if it’s pink or just tinged with blood)
  • Any vaginal bleeding or spotting
  • Abdominal pain, menstrual-like cramping, or more than four contractions in one hour (even if they don’t hurt)
  • An increase in pressure in the pelvic area (a feeling that your baby is pushing down)
  • Low back pain, especially if you didn’t previously have back pain
You may read more about preterm labor here.