The latest (and lengthy) health and wellness report

I wanted to give an update along the health line since that's what people seem to ask about the most...and thanks for caring, or for just plain old being polite! The second trimester has me feeling pretty much as well as the first thus far.

A big change I have noticed is that I find myself getting winded more easily and have some shortness of breath here and there. The winded part I attributed to my body telling me I should probably get more exercise, but wasn't sure what to make of the shortness of breath. Come to find out that much of both are actually due to my baby and uterus growing, leaving less room for my lungs to breathe, increased progesterone, causing me to take more breaths per minute and the rising demands on my circulatory and respiratory systems in general. Who knew? I didn't until recently. Whew. This news flash surely takes away that silly thought of getting more exercise, right? Ha! (Well, I did get my Pilates in over lunch today, so if you want to pat me on the back and give me a "Good for you!" who am I to stop you?)

Speaking of exercise though, how fantastic is this weather for getting outside? Seriously, mid 70s here in November? Keep it coming! It's Tuesday and I have to admit that I'm kind of sore from doing yard work (which I like to call exercise) on Sunday, but it was so nice just being out there. Plus, Jeff and I golfed at about 4:15 yesterday and we managed to sneak in seven holes before darkness prevailed just over an hour later (yuck to the getting dark way too early part). It was beautiful out and although walking the course was slightly more trying for me than it was back in September, it still felt really great. If only fall could last longer. No doubt I’d be running marathons (while on break from all the triathlons), waking up at dawn, having a gay ol’ time scrolling through my plethora of silky maternity running shorts, finding just the right color to wear each morning, training every day, five and a half months pregnant and all. Sounds fun! OK, totally lying. Anyway...

As for some of the negatives (keeping in mind when looking at the big picture, these things really aren't so horrible), here goes:

Three migraines have reared their ugly heads during my pregnancy, but fortunately I haven’t had one since the beginning of October. Also, none has been debilitating enough to get me to succumb to any prescription meds. My Relpax preference hasn't been studied enough to be deemed safe, but according to my doctor, Imitrex, which I used to take and still have, can be used. However, some sources say there isn't enough data on any of them to really consider them safe, which leaves me wanting to avoid them entirely. The fingers stay crossed hoping that continues to stay possible.

I've had around 20 bloody noses which I’ve said previously is fairly common in pregnancy .

I get this odd pain in my rump (always on the right side) somewhat regularly and I’m not entirely sure what that is all about. It could be due to the extra weight I'm carrying or the fact that I haven’t been able to give up wearing heels, or possibly a combo of the two. (Actually, I have found that wearing some kind of a high heel feels better than wearing a flat, but it may be time to put some of the stiletto types on hiatus until I pop the little one out.) Sometimes though, this pain arises seemingly out of the blue, so it continues to leave me puzzled. It comes and goes and is a nuisance, like an achy, sore or pulled muscle, but what makes it most annoying is that it’s in a tough spot to stretch out. I’ve tried some of my Pilates moves to remedy it, and although those look pretty sweet, they are getting less comfortable as my belly grows. Jeff has even had me rolling on a baseball sometimes which provides some temporary relief (and it also looks super cool), but nothing helps all that much until it randomly goes away.

My back has been sore lately (and it hadn't been since I had some lower back pain for a couple of weeks during my first trimester), mostly in one spot towards the middle on the right side. It doesn't always bother me, but when it does, it lasts for longer than frankly I am pleased with and is neither comfortable nor easily relieved. I imagine this gets more intense as the babe grows and the pound count increases. I would say this has been the greatest of the health bummers as of late, but thank goodness it doesn't remain constant.

Hey, if this is the worst of it right now, no real major complaints (after I have just completed a comprehensive listing of complaints!). That’s the basic health update; for the most part, besides these few ailments, all continues to go well! Oh and by the way, in the last week or so, my belly has gotten noticeably bigger. With four months from tomorrow until my due date, there's plenty of time to assign new meaning to the name Notorious B.I.G. (and I'll vow to "love it when you call me Big Mama").

Happy voting day.