And then Disney did Me In!

After what has felt like the longest pregnancy in all eternity, I have to admit that August snuck up on me!  What I expect to baby #4’s birth month is here long before we’re ready.

But I am also thankful that I nearly made it to full term without all the pain and problems I endured during my pregnancy with Doodle.  That is until this weekend.

Sure, maybe it wasn’t a good idea to spend three days wandering around Disney at 35 1/2 weeks pregnant or even to spend 2 nights in a foreign and uncomfortable hotel bed and those things certainly could have contributed to my current situation but I know exactly what did me in: a combination of rain, flip flops and slippery floors.

After a HUGE downpour Saturday afternoon (which we were thankfully inside having a nice lunch during), I spent the rest of the day at Animal Kingdom slipping and sliding around and complaining to hubby about Disney’s oversight in putting ground covering in that isn’t slippery when wet. Sure, I could blame myself for wearing flip flops that are often slippery when wet, but what else am I going to wear when trodding through inches of water?

It wasn’t until Buzz Lightyear, though, that things really went bad.  My first step into the building and my legs splayed out into a half-split.  Somehow I managed to stay on my feet and recovered myself without assistance (hubby and the kids didn’t even know it happened) but that was the end of my happy symphysis pubis.  After months of avoiding overstretching and taking it easy and being careful so I didn’t end up back where I was with Doodle is all for nothing.

Two nights now of not sleeping, two nights of excruciating pain every time I move, two nights of nearly crying every time I roll over.  I had hoped that being careful would prevent it.  I had hoped that this baby being smaller (at least in the head department) would help.  I had hoped that just maybe I would make it to the “other side” without this problem.  It seems I am back in the realm of Symphysis Pubis Disorder (SPD) that I suffered through with Doodle.

SPD is a disorder in which the symphysis pubis joint becomes hyper-mobile.  This is the spot where the two sides of your pubic bone come together (and also the bony spot where a pregnancy’s fundal height is measured from).  The two sides are held together by cartilage and during the end of pregnancy, the mother’s body begins to produce the hormone Relaxin which helps all the joints and ligaments throughout the pelvis to become more stretchy, mobile and ready for birth.

Some women, however, such as myself, get their Relaxin much earlier in their pregnancy which can cause different problems within the pelvic region, known collectively as “Pelvic Girdle Pain” (PGP) including sacroiliac pain in the back/butt area of the pelvis.  Luckily mine seems to stay centralized in the front, pubic area but that doesn’t make it any more fun to live with!

If you’ve never had SPD, it’s hard to imagine what it’s really like.  After two unaffected pregnancies, I never could have guessed what this kind of pain and discomfort would be like.  Even as a dancer, the symphsis pubis joint is not one that I ever really thought about.  It is designed to be stable and basically immobile with only a small 2-3 mm increase in separation during pregnancy but some women have much more than that causing the pain and other issues.

So what is SPD like?

For me, it starts with the pubic joint popping, usually when rolling over at night or getting into/out of a wide hipped position like a straddle or even criss-cross applesauce sitting.

In ballet class, I notice the instability of the joint throughout class and experience pain in the form of an ache, sharp pain or even pinching when closing quickly to 5th position (classic standing position with feet crossed).

Once the pain becomes severe, it is hard to get out of a low bed or off a deep couch and pain may centralize in the back making it hard to stand upright at first (for some reason, sitting on the toilet for a minute always seems to loosen things back up but groping the walls to get there in the dark of night is never fun!)

The pain usually doesn’t bother me during my regular daily activities but can mild discomfort anytime my legs are spread too far apart (both front to back, side to side and one leg lifted higher than the other) such as stepping over something tall or wide and putting on pants while standing.

Getting out of a sedan is hard because it not only requires spreading the legs apart to step out but also lifting oneself up after being immobile for even a short time.

The worst by far, though, is repositioning in bed at night.  I don’t know what it is about being in bed whether it’s the longer stretches of immobility or the laying down but changing position is completely unbearable at times.  I learned with Doodle that if I want to roll directly from one side to the other, the best way to do so is by squeezing a pillow between my knees, sitting up, then turning to the other side.  But it becomes trickier when I’m rolled more towards my back (which is where I often end up naturally when sleeping) as I can’t just roll over to the other side as usual and even getting back to a squared off position on one side before changing can be difficult and painful.  Just changing position at night is frustrating, time consuming and exhausting and rarely do I make it without some amount of pain.

All I can say is, I am lucky to have made it to almost 36 weeks before the pain started this time (Doodle was weeks earlier) and I am hoping that baby comes sooner than later and I only have to endure the pain a few weeks this time rather than to nearly full-term like with Doodle!