Last Thursday I had what we’ll call The Worst Night of Sleep of My Entire Life. Shelton didn’t sleep a wink that night either because I was so restless. In fact, I probably disturbed the entire cul-de-sac. I had charlie horses, heartburn, muscle cramps, couldn’t find a comfortable position, tossed this way, tossed that way, nightmares… you name it. It was miserable.
I chalked it up to the fact that we’d finished a big Mexican meal at 9:00pm, and then went to bed at 10:00. A huge no-no under any circumstances. But when Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights played out similarly, although admittedly not nearly as bad, I started getting suspicious. I just kept saying to myself – I’m not far enough along to have this problem. All of my friends who’ve ever had babies didn’t reach the achy, sleepless stage until their due date was in sight. I’m 24 weeks away!
On Monday night I took a long soak in the tub trying to relax my muscles before bed, and that seemed to help a little bit. Tuesday night was another restless night.
And then last night was the icing on the cake. Usually my leg muscles don’t seize up until I’m comfortably asleep, ripping me from my slumber as I cautiously change positions to avoid a charlie horse. But last night, about 8:00, I can feel the achiness returning to my calves. By the time we got to bed I was already sore. So Shelton had me lay on the heating pad, which helped me drift right to sleep. I still tossed and turned all night long, at intervals that easily felt like half an hour. At 4am I was praying the sun would just come up so I could get out of bed and get on with it already. So when I finally woke at 7:30 this morning, my legs were still in knots.
Add to that yesterday my abdomen/pelvic region became very achy and crampy as well. So, I left my butt in bed today. It hurt to walk across the room, so I figured I’d just stay here and I’ve been on and off the heating pad all day. It’s now approaching evening and my legs are still so sore.
After a few attempts I was finally able to get in touch with my doctor’s nurse today. Given my symptoms, they told me it’s likely I’m really dehydrated. What started as cramps in my legs has proceeded to my abdomen. I’m under strict instructions to drink A LOT of water and Gatorade, take Tylenol, keep using the heating pad and/or soak in the tub. This all seems doable. And hopefully, it will be the fix.
We have several trips during the next few weeks, both by car and air, and she advised that I find a way to get up and walk around at least every hour to hour and a half during those trips. I’m going to continue to take it easy on myself and hopefully this little problem will go far, far away and let me get some sleep!