Seriously, it looks like I suffered a severe sprain! And yes, my bare foot is propped on my work desk in this picture. Don't judge! I had to put my feet up!
According to babycenter.com, what I'm experiencing is edema - when excess fluid collects in your tissue.
So, I'm retaining more water and my growing uterus is also putting pressure on my pelvic veins and vena cava (the large vein on the right side of the body that carries blood from your lower limbs back to the heart). The pressure slows the return of blood from my legs, causing it to pool, which forces fluid from my veins into the tissues of my feet and ankles.
babycenter.com tells me that I can help relieve the increased pressure on my veins by lying on my side and that since the vena cava is on the right side of your body, left-sided rest works best.
The site also said the swelling will go down after Eleanor is born because I'll shed the excess water weight. Cool. Pregnancy is sweet, right?
I guess you'll have to hang up all of your sweet toe rings until the baby is born...huh?
ReplyDeleteLove,
Val.