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"In this tempestuous, havoc-ridden world of ours, all real communication comes from the heart."

- Etty Hillesum

November 11, 2006

The joys of the third trimester.

Another benefit of my relatively new fluid accumulation?

Pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome.

This is something that actually exists. Ask me how I know!

All of that waking up in the middle of the night with both hands totally asleep � not a good thing. Also not something to be ignored, which I had been doing. The extra fluid in my system is causing compression of the median nerve in both of my wrists. The result: varying amounts of numbness, tingling, pain, and weakness.

Joy!

I�ve been wearing wrist braces to sleep at night for about 4 nights now � which is doing some good. They are god-awful uncomfortable, but they keep my wrists in �neutral� positions so that my hands get maximal blood flow. So I don�t ever have both hands falling totally asleep.

The downside, of course, is my entire being doesn�t fall asleep, either, because I�m wearing god-awful wrist braces which are highly annoying and making it even harder to sleep than it had been when I only had the I-can�t-sleep-on-my-side-goddammit problem to contend with.

Throughout the day I am reminded at various times of the carpal tunnel problem when bolts of electricity shoot through my fingers and down through my wrist. Like today, when I was playing around with a car seat at the baby store. I squeezed the latch to remove the seat from the base and ZING! I dropped the seat because a bolt of pain raced through my left hand.

(�Hey, that pregnant lady over there is really clumsy. I saw her trip and nearly fall on the way into the store, and now she�s dropping things. Maybe she�s on drugs. That�s probably bad for the baby.�)

Interestingly enough, typing doesn�t cause pain � but it causes my fingers to get stiff really quickly.

I am quite certain that all of this bodily discomfort is God�s way of telling me, �You�d better snap out of the �I�m not ready� thing and get your ass ready to have a baby. Enough screwing around. Maybe puffy feet and lighting wrists will get your brain in gear.�

Thanks, God!

I�m suddenly inspired to get ready. I bought diapers and wipes at Target today (that was a very weird experience, choosing diapers). And ordered the car seat online ($50 cheaper than at the store, free shipping, no tax). And ordered some nursing pads for my soon-to-be-leaking-boobs. And did a few other baby-related things.

Now I�m going to go put on my wrist braces and attempt to take a little nap. Blue is at the office this afternoon but will be home in a few hours and I�d like to be awake and alert and sunshiney for him.


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Last Few Entries

Back? - November 10, 2007
Just a break. - June 19, 2007
Caddy day in the pool. - June 05, 2007
Sleep! And sleep, and sleep! - June 01, 2007
Happy days are here again ... - May 30, 2007

� More about Etty Hillesum, the woman in the photo.�