Pregnant at 36

Being pregnant at thirty six is not the walk in the park it was for me the first time I underwent this journey so long ago now. ( a decade and a half past) Though I still feel youthful, it is becoming apparent that when it comes to motherhood, I am not a spring chicken any longer.

The symptoms that are plaguing me are familiar to many women yet given the woes of the past month of this pregnancy like losing my mucus plug and the sudden on-set of contractions, the combination of it all is tiresome.


It is getting more painful and of course noticeable the swelling in my feet, calves and ankles. It is called "edema" and is made worse by the summer heat and my spending time not resting. This makes mobility a real issue and something that I need to consider when planning my activities, because I can only be on my feet for so long before they require to be elevated, and fast.

The heart burn sucks. Goodness me, I have never experienced this before. Ever. The burn in the back of my throat with no apparent rhyme or reason to it. Antacids supposedly work, but that has yet to be proven in my case thus far. It makes me really uncomfortable each time it boils up to a level of discontent right out of the blue. And yeah, smaller meals don't make me any more comfortable and I don't eat fatty or fried foods, so I am at a loss as to what to do.

Due to the fact that my uterus is now the size of a volleyball, my bladder has been displaced down to the size of a thimble. I pee so regularly that sometimes I get the feeling at night I should just sleep in the washroom to save my self the trouble of the trek back and forth. I pee more in the middle of the night than any other time. It is horrible as I stumble and shuffle to the toilet in a daze then climb back into bed hoping to resume sleep in fast order.

My lower back is in grave discontent, first thing in the morning and at days end. I bought a body pillow and I use it. I sleep on my left side, and on a firm mattress. I get massages. And still my back is bothering me. My frame does not like carrying extra weight, I was definitely not designed to be "heavy".

The cramps that are plaguing my left leg, calf and foot are crippling. Each time making my toes splay miserably, the muscle in my calf bulges and pops out. Every time this happens, I end up doubled over in pain. These episodes happen mostly in the middle of the night and rouse me from a deep sleep into extreme suffering all in a nano-second.