This is an explicit pregnancy post- body details and all...

I've been hesitant to talk about this, because it's not pleasant, and it's pretty personal, but I feel like at this point- what the heck. For over a month now I've been experiencing a side effect or symptom of pregnancy that has been extremely painful and this morning got so bad and extreme that from this point forward my Doctor has put me on bed rest until I have the baby. So if you're squeamish or don't want serious pregnancy details- turn back now.

I woke up about a month and a half ago and felt like I had been kicked in the crotch repeatedly. I was so sore, and it really didn't make any sense to me, but I chalked it up to my body growing and changing and wasn't too worried about it. After it lasted more than a week I got online and started searching for message boards- WebMD posts- anything I could find where people were experiencing the same feeling I was. It wasn't easy, but luckily you can find about anything on the web even if you type into the Google search bar "pregnant- feels like someone kicked my crotch". (I'm not joking, that's what I typed) I found a lot of useless information, and then a few things that I thought may be realistic- so I called my OB and talked to her nurse and told her exactly what I was feeling. Evidently this is something that happens a significant amount in pregnant women because she immediately knew what it was- vaginal varicose veins. WHAT THE HECK?! I was flabbergasted! No one in my family has varicose veins, I've never had them before, I'm searching all over my legs and none there, really...a few minor ones, but nothing I would get upset about. I checked myself and there were certainly some darkened more visible veins so the nurse's diagnosis was right, and I found myself unfortunately disappointed by being told that there wasn't much I could do about it. This was something I never even knew existed- or could physically happen but since then I've done a lot of research and a lot of women get this.

Over the past 4-6 weeks the pain hasn't gone away, in fact it's gotten increasingly worse. I tried ice packs, and found they didn't help, I tried Arnica gel on a maxi-pad put in the freezer and that didn't help either. Every day passed and every day it got worse. Things like rolling from my left side to right side in the middle of the night because impossible to do without screaming out in pain. The mornings were/are by far the worse. I'd have to slowly slide out of bed and cringe with the pain I'd feel when letting my weight down onto my feet. I'd waddle to the bathroom and get ready, hobble downstairs and make my way to work. In the car driving to work anytime I'd make a turn the weight shifting as my body leaned one way or the other would have me gritting my teeth. As the day would progress the pain would get more bearable but not disappear, standing up after sitting at my desk for a long period of time would have me experiencing the same painful feelings. Last week it got harder to get in and out of the car, and I found myself border-line stuck on the toilet a few times because it was so hard to stand back up. Every day it has gotten worse and this morning I couldn't get out of bed. I woke up really early 4 or 5 this morning and needed to go to the bathroom and when I tried to get up I realized I couldn't. The pain was excruciating and I couldn't fight through it to sit up. Chad was asleep downstairs on the couch so I chilled out and took some deep breaths and tried to relax a bit. I waited until a reasonable hour and got my phone and called him downstairs and asked him to come help me. We called my OB as soon as the practice opened at 8:30 to talk to the nurse. From that point on my morning just got worse. At my last appointment my OB noticed some swelling and was able to tell me that the majority of the veins, the ones that would be the real culprits of all this pain were internal- which would be why the ice packs were often used in vain (pun intended). This morning I was told I had to be on bed rest, the one thing I've been dreading for weeks with the swelling and Braxton Hicks contractions- and I end up stuck in the house indefinitely from Varicose Veins. Total bullcrap. I'm crying talking to the doctor- telling her I'm three weeks out from my due date- she couldn't possibly expect me to stay down that long, and was there really nothing that could be done? The answers were yes and no. Yes she expected me to stay put- in the bed or on the couch- I can walk around the house a bit to help prevent RLS, and no medically other than ice packs and Tylenol there was nothing that could be done- she said she had only had a handful of patients who ever had this severe of a case. Once I have Noah the veins should go away and the pain along with them.....awesome. There is nothing I can do about this other than follow what my Doctor has told me- so I'm here, at home and while I'm not happy about it, I'm going to do my best to stay preoccupied. Noah is moving around like a little monster in my stomach- I see elbows and knees and feet poking and stretching, it's very sci-fi. I'm just paying her all the attention and praying to God that literally the very second she is done cooking and ready to come out, that she will. I don't want her out until she's good and baked, but nothing would make me happier than not to be stuck at home in pain like this all the way until September 2nd. I'm lucky I have Chad here to help me, and that he's less than a few minutes away during the day- but the next few weeks will be rough. So please say some prayers for me and Noah- I'll be here hoping that the time flies...