Sunday, February 17, 2008

Advice for the Expecting #3: Long Socks

The other day I went to the doctor's for my two-week check up. Everything was going just fine until she asked me if I had been having any heartburn. I told her that I had it twice so far in my pregnancy, the first time almost killed me, and the second time was not too bad. However, it had been a long time since the last one. And of course, that very night, I had heartburn. (Apparently broccoli is not my friend.) Isn't it strange though, how once the doctor asks you about a weird symptom, even if you have never had it before, the chances that you will experience that symptom that very day seems to hover at about 99.9%?

During my first pregnancy I definitely noticed this phenomenon. and I remember it accutely happening when my doctor asked me if I had been having leg cramps. Apparently that is common for pregnant women to have. I hadn't had any before my doctor asked me about it, but lo and behold- that night, I had my first leg cramp. And it nearly killed me. I thought maybe the baby was trying to come out of my calf. I just lay in bed grabbing my leg and praying for the pain to go away. It eventually did, but not before some scary thoughts ran through my mind- namely, how was I ever going to survive child birth if I couldn't handle leg cramps?

My next doctor's appointment I asked the doctor what I should do about these pesky leg cramps. He gave me the standard text book answer- "Well, it has to do with a deficiency in your diet, as well as circulation. You can eat more bananas, tomatos, etc. etc... But the practical answer to your question is- wear long socks, or leg warmers when you go to bed." It was as if the heavens had opened up. Finally, a practical remedy for a very serious, and annoying and painful problem!

Although going to bed wearing long socks is not the sexiest look ever, guess what? It beats screaming and crying in the middle of the night and giving your husband a near heart attack because he thinks you are having the baby, or you are being robbed, or that the apocolypse has in fact just occured.

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