Baby Week 22 - Back Pain & Belly Support
September 11, 2008
With this pregnancy the back pain started much earlier than with the last one. I can remember people telling me that more back pain usually meant some painful back labor during delivery, which makes me even more glad that I’m skipping the whole “labor thing” ;-) I decided that this time I would spend the $30 and get a belly band of some sort to help with the back pain. After doing some research, I ended up purchasing the Mother-To-Be Maternity Support band. There are some great features about this support band. There are also some drawbacks. It provides great support when I wear it. But, the contraption comes with 3 separate pieces. The first piece you attach sort of underneath your belly, with a velcrow strap that wraps around your back. the second piece wraps around your back and velcrows to the first piece on your belly. Once these two pieces are in place, your belly is pretty securly wrapped up. This is where the great back support comes from. There is a third strap that you can affix over your belly for additional support, but I’ve found that either I ordered a size too large, or my belly isn’t big enough yet, because this strap just doesn’t fit right now.
Unfortunately, the piece that wraps around your back goes up pretty high, and it irritated my skin. I ended up getting some small tank tops to wear underneath the band, which works pretty well. Then I’ve got several layers of cloth on, and in the late summer it is a bit warm for that. I’ve also discovered that if I’m wearing maternity pants that do not have the full belly pocket, then the band tends to slip and slide around way too much. I actually gave up on wearing it the last time I was doing housework because of this problem.
This past week my back has been doing better, and for anyone who is curious (because I’ve been asked this question at least a dozen times this week) I’m feeling great! No more nausea, I’m sleeping pretty well, I’m feeling pretty energetic and I’m enjoying the good times while they last ;-) So I haven’t been wearing the support band this week, though I suspect as my belly grows and the weather gets cooler I will go back to wearing it…
If anyone else has any suggestions for good belly/back support systems, I’d love to hear about them!
I have been amazed in the past week or so how many people have first asked me when I’m due (not a new question - I’ve been getting that one for months) and then when I tell them I have over a month to go, they look shocked. So apparently, I’m looking overly pregnant already. The meter man in town (the guy who writes up tickets if your meter has expired - Frank), the cashier at the local market, other tennants in the building where I work, etc. Everyone seems surprised that I’m not due earlier. Should I be worried that I’m going to have a huge baby, since 5 weeks early I’m looking ready to pop? Ironically, my weight has been about the same for over a month now. I would assume that the baby is still growing, and my stomach certainly seems larger, but my weight is the same, which is weird to me. I’ll definitely ask my doctor about it during my next visit next week.