Me and the grannies

I attended my first "aquathenics" class last night - water aerobics, basically. The class is through the city's Parks & Rec department, so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but based on the one water aerobics class I took when I still belonged to a gym with a pool, I was picturing older, heavier women. While the class was all female, I was impressed with the range of women there. Some definitely fit the image I had in my head, but there were women my age, as well as an obvious range of fitness levels. There was also the woman who looked a little bit like Jane Fonda's character in 9 to 5, who did the whole class in full makeup.

It was amazing being in the water. Almost all the awkwardness I've been developing was gone (ok, I had difficultly with the move where I brought my knee diagonally across my body), and I actually felt like I was getting a good workout without getting super winded or overheated. And I'm actually a little sore this morning.

In addition to the joy of feeling weightless for a little while and the satisfaction of getting a good workout that doesn't kill me, there are actual benefits to spending time in the pool. I've read in several places that swimming can help reduce swelling, which I'm starting to experience.* I also recently read about a study where the majority of women who participated in water aerobics during their pregnancy opted for less pain medication/epidurals during pregnancy. Since I'm hoping for a drug free childbirth, I'm taking this to heart.

So, we're up to week 25. The froglet is approximately 1.5 pounds and is about 13 inches long. I'm feeling him everyday now; initially I could only feel him when I was lying down, but now I'm getting little jabs throughout the day.

I had a doctor appointment yesterday and was told that the boy is riding a little higher than might be expected at this point. I asked if that might explain why I get completely winded walking up a flight of stairs (my office is on the second floor); he said that was probably an indicator that it might be time to slow down. I assured him that I take the stairs very slowly. I also asked him about my numb hands. At first I was only getting this when I was asleep, but lately its crept into the mornings as well. Annoying, especially since I associate numb hands with the onset of a migraine. He confirmed what I had determined on my own, that its related to carpal tunnel and is incredibly common during pregnancy.* He suggested wearing wrist splints if it started really bothering me. Hmph. He also added a test for anemia to my next set of blood work when I asked about the sudden severe fatigue and bouts of dizziness I've been getting, although he did remind my that my early pregnancy blood work showed no signs of anemia and that these things could just be a sign that, yep, its time for me to slow down. Really, how much slower can I go? I'm slow!

* One of the sets of reasonings I've read for pregnancy induced carpal tunnel numbness, specifically at night, is that during the day, all the extra fluid in one's body sinks to the feet, but during the night, gravity redistributes fluid throughout the body, thus blocking the wrists and causing the numbness. That whole reducing swelling thing I was talking about? Last night, after having spent an hour in the pool, I didn't wake up with numb hands until about 5am (not to say I didn't wake up before then!). Normally, they wake me up every few hours starting at around 1am. Win!