Crying Over Spilt Water

I almost feel bad posting this. I feel like I shouldn't be complaining, but the point of this blog is to document the good and the bad of this pregnancy. Overall I have been blessed with a very easy pregnancy. Nothing serious has been wrong and I haven't even had too many of the annoying symptoms. I know that the last few weeks are supposed to be the toughest. Perhaps it works out that way on purpose to keep you from being sad you are no longer pregnant, because I have to admit that until this week I was feeling a little blue about the pregnancy part ending. I guess now I will be grateful that I only have four weeks left.

In the last week, I have had horrible pain in my right hand during the night. I talked with the midwife about it and she said it was pretty common for pregnant women to get carpal tunnel and advised wearing a brace. I've worn it the last three nights to no avail. It's pretty terrible during the night and the lack of sleep combined with starting back to work, is really making me exhausted. I know I can't take anti inflammatory and Tylenol doesn't do much to help it. I've also tried heat and cold on it before I go to bed, but it still starts to hurt after I've been asleep about an hour. I've tried elevating it and hanging it off the edge of the bed (which is the best, but still not great). It's so bad in the morning that I can't brush my teeth or hair with that hand. Luckily it does ease to just a tingling during the day, but my hand still feels numb and doesn't work well. It's driving me crazy!

Last night, this pain/annoyance/exhaustion reached the boiling point. Because I was too tired to cook Josh and I went to a local Mexican restaurant for a quick dinner. As the waitress handed us our waters, I tried to take it with my right hand, but it didn't quite work and I ended up spilling it all over our table and Josh's lap. Then, as we were cleaning it up, I started to cry. I'm sure it's part exhaustion and part hormones, but it was also embarrassing. I hate crying in public, but I couldn't stop. The waitress was very sweet, but I felt like I had made her feel bad, which I didn't want to do. And, to make it worse, I realized as we were leaving that there were two teachers from my school having dinner there who probably witnessed the whole thing! I spent the rest of our dinner battling tears only to burst into tears in the car and cry all the way home, through my bath, and until I fell asleep. What a mess I was.

Luckily, or perhaps due to shear exhaustion, I slept better last night and am feeling much more human this morning. Still. I have to find some solution to this pain and lack of sleep. I've had several friends suggest chiropractors or acupuncture, so I've contacted someone about that and have an appointment on Monday. If anyone has any other suggestions, I welcome them.