My girls have a Barbie doll they lovingly refer to as “Wobbly Legs” (they also had a doll they called “Wobbly Head” but she suffered an untimely decapitation by little brother and was given a proper trash can burial, anywho…) Wobbly Legs is not broken, she came with a bike and so her hips, knees and ankles are hyper-mobile (for a Barbie, anyways!)
Unfortunately, my latest adventure in the ballet studio was more akin to Wobbly Legs than Anna Pavlova. Saturday morning, after donning my ballet slippers and skirt (which I can barely wrap around my belly still), I headed into the studio and began stretching. As I settled into my froggy stretch (bottoms of feet together, knees bent to the side), I noticed how much farther my knees were to the ground than previously. And how much closer my feet were to my body. Hello Relaxin!
I instantly thought of Wobbly Legs. It’s not that my legs were weak or unbalanced, it’s more that my hips are becoming hyper-mobile as they were with Doodle. I have way more flexibility than usual which causes a bit of instability.
I shouldn’t have been terribly surprised. One day last week after the kids’ nap, I sat at the bottom of the stairs in tears while I tried to direct the girls to find my shorts with the nice, wide elastic waist band. We had been to the pool that morning and I spent all day in just a sun dress. By the end of nap time, the weight of my belly was causing severe round ligament pain deep in my right hip. It doesn’t really look like it, but at only 29 weeks, this baby is already riding super low in my pelvis which is causing a lot of stress on my hip ligaments (Doodle dropped at 31 weeks so this is not terribly surprising). I knew just giving the tum a little support from underneath would help immensely but after 20 minutes of searching, the girls were unable to find my shorts (I ended up wearing hubby’s swim trunks with the drawstring pulled super tight instead).
So I started ballet class, adhering to my strict “no deep hip stretching” rules I set for myself weeks ago. And it started out ok. I felt a little hip instability right from the start but nothing unworkable. Until about 20 minutes into class and I did something (would be cool if I remember what, right?) and my pubic bone pinched. Now, I’ve become used to my hips popping which started months ago, and even popping in my pubic bone is no longer unheard of, both of which I had issues with during the last part of my pregnancy with Doodle. BUT, I never in my life have felt my pubic bone pinch together like it did then. A whole 20 whopping minutes out of a 90 minute class!!!
I continued on but a dull pain in the middle of my pubic bone persisted. And then my hips started getting sore as we began moving bigger and faster. And by the end of barre, I felt my pelvic floor which is usually a good thing, but my pelvic floor and I have a history during pregnancy.
So I left, after barre. Only about half way through class. With tears in my eyes. Not from the pain but from disappointment. I really want to continue dancing, I know it’s good for me and the baby. I really want to be able to get through an entire class without pain. I really want my body to LOVE dancing the way it used to.
But if I learned one thing from my time in the studio while pregnant with Doodle it is that it’s far better to walk out of the studio early than to not walk for a few days after.
Luckily the pain didn’t stick around. I wasn’t sore or unable to put my clothes on after class like I often was with Doodle. I completed all my normal tasks the next day. So I made the right decision, it’s just disappointing to know that I couldn’t finish class and that I won’t be able to go again for a whole month. But, I have to do what’s right for my body. I have to do what’s right for my kids (all of them!) and leaving was definitely the right answer this time.
