Not sure you can tell from the picture, but I thought I would give an update on my swelling/pain. In the picture above is my right hand and right leg. On my right hand, there are weird bumps in addition to finger/knuckle swelling. My ankles are swollen to the size of baseballs.
The positives are…the swelling all over my body has gone down. My calves are starting to feel better which helps with things like walking to warm a bottle. I’ve lost four pounds which I think was water swelling weight. The best news is my blood pressure is down. That finally rules out Pre-Eclampsia. Having that post pregnancy is so rare that my OB said in her 20 years she has never seen anyone with it post-pregnancy.
The bad news is my hands (wrists and fingers) are still swollen and it hurts to carry or hold pumpkin for too long. That is why I’m looking into better carriers. OMG is it hard to lift pumpkin’s car seat! It’s so heavy that I have to use both hands.
But thankfully the pain has died down to a point where I’m not crying every day. I feel like at leaset I can do things with pumpkin now, but I also know when I overdo it because I’ll throb for the rest of the night. But it’s nice to be able to move around with the other moms and dads at gymboree class. But I have to explain when I get up and pick up pumpkin awkwardly that I have arthritis that makes it difficult.
Post-pregnancy arthritis is actually quite common. I’ll be seeing a Rheumatoid Arthritis doctor soon for help with the remaining joint pain/swelling. Right now, I can take Aleve or Advil for the pain/swelling without affecting my breastmilk and Pumpkin. We’ll see what the Dr has to say about my swelling. Hopefully I will find the carrier that works for me so I can pick up pumpkin (as she is getting heavier!) with ease and we can get back to having fun mommy and me time.
