This weekend I went on vacation to Miami and walked and swam a ton. Everything was amazing except the consistent back pain I had 24/7. I told my husband I was so happy we took this vacation now instead of in another month when I would be bigger.
Our first plane flight was extremely uncomfortable and to top it off we took a redeye flight, which means I got zero sleep. A pregnant lady without sleep is like a tiger who hasn’t eaten in days–not a good mix. I was starved for sleep and I looked like I had just come from the set of a horror movie with those eye bags. Eventually, we made it to Miami and I slept on and off the whole day there for an hour at a time. So much for getting there early so we have the entire day to hang out and play. The only game I was interested in playing was checking my eyelids for holes. Anyway I made it through the first day on little sleep but my back was aching. I couldn’t really do much for this except pop some Tylenol every now and then and pray my lower back would find some relief. I have heard that back pain in pregnancy only gets worse the bigger you get so I am not looking forward to that.
We spent the rest of the weekend playing in the sun and having a blast. I did notice my ankles were hurting a lot but I ignored the pain as much as possible because I wanted to tour the Keys while I had time. However, when we landed at home I finally took a look at them and they where HUGE! They were incredibly swollen and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed. Yes, I felt the pain while I was walking but never bothered to look. I guess I had walked too much throughout the day and didn’t take enough time to rest my legs. After two days the pain and swelling have finally gone down. I am thankful I no longer have cankles…for now.
Lessons learned: When you are pregnant I would suggest you do as much traveling as possibly early on in your first or second trimester. Also, get a good pair of shoes with support. I wore my flip flops the entire time and I am sure this added to my back pain and swelling. Drink a ton of water: Finish a bottle, get another bottle out ASAP and start chugging. Traveling makes you dehydrated and you need to be extremely careful. Lastly, when riding in a car make sure you take bathroom trips whenever you feel even the slightest urge to go. If you don’t, you might end up in the middle of nowhere with a full bladder and no working bathrooms. In my case a quick run into the trees on the side of the road wasn’t my proudest moment but it got the job done.
Mommy's Wild West 