You are 26 weeks pregnant! Okay, you’re big and bloated and that bloat might be travelling down to your legs. Pregnancy swelling is normal. This is called “edema,” and it sounds scarier than it is. Before you swipe Grandma’s orthopaedic sandals and give all your skirts and dresses to charity, try a few of these tips to manage your pregnancy swelling. First, don’t stop drinking. Water, that is.It might seem counterintuitive to put more fluid in when it’s just pooling in an ugly mess over the tops of your black patent pumps, but proper hydration actually helps you to retain a normal amount of water. Like a person, not a walrus. Drink water, tea, juice and eat soups, veggies and fruits to get lots of fluid into your body. Be sure to put your feet up a few times a day and don’t spend hours in the same position when you can avoid it. Exercise regularly – even just walking for 10 minutes counts. This is the final week of your second trimester. The “honeymoon phase” is coming to a close and rocky waters may lie ahead. Okay, who are we kidding? They’re ahead. It’s just a matter of when.
That wrinkly little person in your tummy is filling out with baby fat and looking a little less like that bed you can’t bring yourself to make anymore (I mean, what is the point? You’re just going to get back into it. And it’s just so far to bend over. And why did it take you these many decades to figure this out?). The wrinkles are on their way out and the fine hair over her body, lanugo, is beginning to disappear as well. She’s around 14 inches in length (food reference: she’s a cucumber) and weighs close to 2 pounds, which means she can really kick you when she wants to. Things are starting to make a little more sense for her as she eavesdrops on your conversations, since her nervous system has developed so far that she can not only hear your voice but the voices of others as you chat. You and your partner, and any other children, might like to start a nice bedtime story ritual now with baby-to-be. Or make a Law & Order fan of your little one to come and crank the volume while you veg out.
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Our pregnancy calendar is researched & written by our Pregnancy Editor, Dara Duff-Bergeron. Although she rocks, she is not a health care professional. It’s just for entertainment purposes and any recommendations or information provided should not be used as a substitute for the real deal – a trained medical professional.
The post 26 Weeks Pregnant: Pregnancy Swelling appeared first on EverythingMom.
