complaints in pregnancy

i am 35 weeks pregnant with my first baby and very excited, but i am experiencing several discomforts, all of which my doctor has said are normal and ok,but still bother me!
Such as, i havnt slept in months because i cant get comfy! i get bad cramps in my legs when i lay down and suffer from swallon ankles in the day.
I also get lots of dizziness and nausea, ive passed out in public a few times now!
My baby is laying extremly low, and i get lots of pain in my lower tummy, right above the pubic bone where bub is pushing down into my pelvis, i get those braxton hix contractions and sometimes it gets so bad im on the floor in tears!
These are a few of mine, i am interested to hear if any one experienced anthing similar and how you helped it!?

Welcome to the joys of being pregnant! I suffered some of the same problems. For leg cramping my doctor put me on caltrate tablets which you can get over the counter at the chemist. These are just a calcium supplement but worked for me. As for your ankles try and rest with them on a chair or when in bed put a pillow under them. My feet were so big I couldn't fit my shoes on and used to wear my slippers at work. As for being dizzy try and lay down on your side, sorry I cant remember if it's your left or right side you are suppose to be on maybe another mum can help you out on that one. You have a large vein in your lower tummy which your bub or bowel could be pressing on slowing the flow of blood. If you are worried even after going to see your doctor then try a medical center and see what another doctor has to say. It will put your mind to rest. All the best.

I found the last month or so to be pretty much the same as you. My Ob suggested for the cramps to have a samll glass of tonic water at night a couple of time a week. It certainly helped me, but I forget what the ingrediant in it is but it works. Make sure you rest every day at some stage with you feet up. Sleep??? I wasn't able to sleep for the last two months with the discomfort, trust me, when you have your baby you will forget all this. I used to pass out as well from the Braxton Hicks which I always got when I went into town shopping. It's it quite common and it won't happen during labour. All the best

Try Raspberry leaf tea in the health food section of supermarkets, it is great to help you sleep and relax, cause soon you wont be doing much of either place a pillow under your bump and one between your legs i had a lovely 9 pound 14 ounce baby and was extremly huge swollen heavy and fed up dont worry to much you will miss all the kicks and movements after so concentrate on these wonderful things that only us mothers experiance do try and rest heaps dont be scared the worriness about labour , birth and baby will keep you awake for days just remember we all have or will do it and get through it and there is no going back . Goodluck with your birth best wishes for a healthy and beautiful baby.

Hi Ausmum I had a few of the discomforts that you are experiencing during my pregnancy. Sleeping I found having a pillow in between my legs was great and also if you can lay on your left hand side that was another way in which gave me some relief. If you have'nt alreay had your baby all the very best.

Hi ausmum,
you're probably to close to the end of your pregnancy to worry about relief methods now, but here are a few things that helped me.
for leg cramps i found magnesium phosphate to be of some use (also good for bloaty feelings in the stomach, upset stomach etc). Mag Phos is available from health food shops. they could also recommend other suitable natural treatments.

i suffered with several conditions over my 3 pregnanices, 1, a condition called symphysis pubis dysfunction. 2, weak sacro iliac joints, 3. Hyperemesis (severe morning sickness).

In my last pregnancy my baby also was very low, from about 32 weeks, which caused even more pain in the pubis area. My physio recommended the use of an elastic pelvic belt (for the symphysis pubis and the sacro iliac joints) but i found this to be very uncomfortable, and also rocking on my hands and knees to relieve the preassure of the baby on my pubic bone and pelvis. Unfortunately there was no other treatment available, and i had to persevere with it until after birth.

Have you tried jelly beans or something sugary for the dizziness and fainting. You could try carrying around a bag of jelly beans and a bottle of water. Whenever you feel yourself getting giddy, sit down, have a jelly bean or 2 and a couple of sips of water and see if it passes.

I think i'm allergic to pregnancy.
Unfortunately, after 3 pregnancies suffering with these things, i still haven't found any cures.

For anyone else reading this who is planning a pregnancy, or has just become pregnant, this is the best advise i can offer:

*if possible make sure you are fit (as in strong muscles - especially those required during pregnancy and birth) and healthy before you fall pregnant
*take those ante natal classes (i took one with my 3rd pregnancy and found it very informative),
*see a physiotherapist if you think you need to - as early as possible,
*Try not to gain to much weight during pregnancy (often easier said than done), this can lead to a multitude of problems, from muscular probs such as mine to gestational diabetes and high blood pressure.
*aqua aerobics can be great excercise throughout the pregnancy without putting to much strain on your bones and muscles (make sure your instructor is aware of your pregnancy if it isn't already obvious), and
*whilst its ok to eat junk food every now and then, try to follow a nutritious diet - not only for the development of your baby, but also for energy, strength and healing.
I think my 2nd and 3rd pregnancies could have been a lot more enjoyable and pain free if i'd done these things.

goodluck, and let us know how you go.

P.S An old wives tale is that if you suffer with painful Braxton Hicks your labour may be shorter and less painfull, because your body has been preparing for it over a period of time with the braxton hicks contractions.
Here's hoping.

I hope that old wives tale is true. I've been getting braxton hicks contractions for about 2weeks now, and one I got when I was driving the other day was so bad I nearly stopped the car in the middle of the road. My doctor was saying that sometimes braxton hicks can hurt more that labour pains. Hopefully these mean my bodies getting all ready for a quick labour, I'm due in less than 2 weeks, the only thing is that I want it to be quick but my husbands working about 2 hours away so he needs plenty of notice to get home. I'm also waiting for my mum to arrive so she can come to the labour with us, but she doesn't arrive until my due date. O'well everything else is going great and I finally packed my bag yesterday. Also does that raspberry leaf tea help labour at all?

the joys of prgnancy yet mke the mostof it its a special time i loved being prgant and woul love to do it agon i need to feel thta new life inside agin the kicking etc is great u would hve had the bub by now what did u hve name etc if you would ro email my adreess is virpikaarina@aol.com

hi mel,

i was just wondering what kind of symptoms you had with sumphisis pubis dysfunction?

i believe that i may have it. im 16 weeks and even doing my shoping is already getting painful.

i have 2 older boys 6 & 8, they are understanding enough but its hard when thier mum cant do much cause of the pain she keeps getting.

any advice on how to deal with this would be greatly appreciated.

with thanks
tanya

I often am very hot when I go to sleep and don't use any covers and sometimes even have the fan on - although it doesn't get as cold in winter in Far North QLD. However I am always getting very painful leg cramps that wake me up. I tried bananas, calcium, strtching, walking etc but nothing stopped them. I finally discovered after 2 or so harrowing months, that although from the bump up I felt very hot, my legs were actually quite cold and half an hour under the doona eased the cramps and they went away. I hope this might help someone else out there gasp)

i did hard physical labor (at work) the whole pregnancy which when i got home was to sore to do anything my back would seize up and it would be the worst pain i'd ever felt my fiance had to carry me to the toilet as i couldnt walk my back is screwed as of a huge baby for my frame and from the hard work during pregnancy now it simply hurts to walk, i used to throw up from 4in the morning until 12:30 in the afternoon every day at work. sometimes with 30 minute intervals. used to get dizzyness and nausea all the time, swallon ankles, knees, wrists, pain in my hips which used to dislocate when i walked, sat, or layed down, i got braxton hicks contractions for 4 or 5 weeks which were so bad i had to give up work 3 weeks or 4 before i gave birth. cant think of anything else except i went through 16 hours of labour to have an emergency cesearian and go through another 9 weeks of hell.

CONTINUED

forgot to mention scaring the crap outta my fiance each night when we were sleeping. i used to wake up screaming in agony as for the leg cramps and then found it hard to walk for the next few days cuz of the pain had stiffened my muscles or did something nasty to them...

joys of pregnancy.. i never had any.

i do miss eilish kicking though. thats about all that didnt hurt to much