Even more cowbell ain't gonna help

Many of the symptoms I expected to experience with pregnancy - the ones that appear on every "Your Pregnancy This Week" email from 10 weeks onward - have not reared their semi-ugly heads at all, 32.5 weeks in.

For example, I've never been constipated. I've never had heartburn. I've never had Braxton-Hicks contractions. And I've never had food aversions.

On the other hand, there are some bizarre symptoms which don't even seem to relate to pregnancy which I've had in spades.

- Sweaty palms. So bad it's uncomfortable to use my computer's mouse.
- Swollen, achy joints. When I wake up in the morning I can't actually bend my fingers.
- Loss of flexibility in upper body. I can't scratch my back anymore.

The achy joints being the most inconvenient, painful, and life-affecting of the three, I brought it up with my midwife. She assures me that it is in fact a normal, common pregnancy symptom, and that the only cure is having a baby. That's the only thing that can cure my incessant hip pain, as well, and my chronic shortness of breath.

On the whole, I've got it pretty good. As I said to Chris the other night, it could be a lot worse. I could be experiencing HELLP syndrome, another problem for which the only cure is having a baby, which is the reason my sister was born via C-section 5 weeks early; my mom's life was in danger to the point where they had to get the baby out immediately. If all I have to deal with is stiff joints and an itchy back, I'm damned lucky and I know it.

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Bonus: Linda's journal is one I link to on my sidebar, but today's post is so incredible, so truthful, so raw, that I wanted to point it out specifically. Go check it out.