Crazy Symptoms Continue

If any of you ever have friends who have strange pregnancy symptoms, or if you have any yourself, feel free to contact me because I have had a slew of random unusual symptoms. Starting around week 11, my legs itched from my ankles to just above my knees, and it was maddening! My doctor had never heard of that happening during pregnancy, so she wasn't sure what the cause was (external or internal). I didn't have a rash or anything, and the itching was pretty sporadic, but it was really hard to pin down if it was something I was putting on my body or just hormones. I think it was a little bit of both (mainly laundry detergent and hormones). Once I got some 7th Generation Free & Clear laundry detergent, it really started subsiding a bit. In the meantime I had to stop using some of my natural products with essential oils and just use Dove Sensitive Skin soap and some really moisturizing Eucerin lotion. I have since found some natural cleansers and moisturizers that don't irritate my skin, and I will write a post about those another time. :)

I also started having a little tailbone pain around 12 weeks, which is not unusual during pregnancy but is a little unusual this early in pregnancy and makes exercising a little more challenging. Elliptical machines are my friends, and it seems that swimming laps has also helped without aggravating my tailbone, so praise God for that! :)

Another biggie that is very common that I did not know about was sun sensitivity! Pregnant women burn more easily (I believe because of hormone changes)!!! I was out for an hour and a half with SPF 30 on everything but my legs (where I had SPF 15), and my friends, it was not a fun experience. I had done this same thing earlier this summer (around 8 weeks), and barely got pink. I have since discussed it with my doctor, and she recommended using SPF 60 or higher on any area that is exposed to the sun. I really hope this information helps someone else avoid a painful sunburn during pregnancy.

I still refused to miss out on the fun just because I was burned,
so this is me prepared for an afternoon swim with my family! :)

Hormones are not to be trifled with, and they are doing some pretty crazy things to my body right now, but I am still so happy for the reason they are making those changes! It's hard to believe that in 3 short weeks, my pregnancy will be halfway over...and we will find out which set of bedding we are going to get...the forest animals for our new baby boy or the trees and birds for our new baby girl! :)