Taking care of the “normal” pregnancy woes

Since falling pregnant, it seems that every horrible thing I experience is “totally normal”. The aches and pains, the irritability, nausea and even carpal tunnel are all “typical” symptoms of pregnancy. I keep laughing about that video that compared pregnancy to a witch’s curse, but it really does seem like growing a human inside you can have some pretty unpleasant side effects.

For the most part, I’ve taken the “suck it up” approach. I know it’s not fun, but it’s a time limited experience and it will be worth it. In the same way that I can’t take my usual pain killers for migraines, I’ve figured that I can’t really do anything about most of my issues other than just deal with it and stop complaining. Well, I’ve now started a new approach, and it’s actually working so much better.

It’s funny, so many people kept telling me to take care of myself. And I really thought that I was doing just that. However, I realize now that while I was eating well and resting and trying to take it easy, I wasn’t really taking care of making myself feel better in my day to day complaints. That has officially ended. I present to you my latest and greatest purchase: a wrist brace.

Wrist brace
No more agony, I can work again pain free!

You see, I use only ergonomic stuff at my desk and everything is set up to avoid carpal tunnel despite my typing-heavy work. However, since getting knocked up, I have been in absolute agony, especially in my right hand. I wake up and my fingers are so stiff that I can’t even come close to making a fist. Yesterday, I actually had to stop working because I was in so much pain. So, I went out to buy this wrist brace, and I’m already feeling better. My hand doesn’t feel as stiff, my wrist feels about a million times better, and it’s even helped me emotionally.

See, I now feel like just because something is normal  doesn’t mean that I have to just deal with it and accept my unpleasant fate. Sure, there isn’t much that I can do about migraines, or sleeplessness, or the weird dreams that have come with pregnancy. I can’t make my food interests change and I still miss having a gin and tonic sometimes. However, I can make my wrist feel better, and I don’t have to just suffer and shut up. Just because it’s normal doesn’t mean it’s not real somehow, and by acknowledging and seeking to fix the stuff that was making me uncomfortable and unhappy, I’m feeling much more empowered.

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