Normally, I'm a pretty stationary sleeper. If I wake up in the middle of the night (which happens a lot, as I sleep pretty lightly), I will probably stretch a little, roll over to my other side, and get right back to snoozing.In the past week or so, every time I wake up (which is even more frequently now that Baby B demands a bathroom break once or twice a night), I stretch my legs, and realize that the muscles in my calf have mutinied.
They clench right up and leave me in need of a professional leg massage at 4:30 in the morning. A wee bit inconvenient.
However, my lovely husband graciously rubbed my legs for me last night before bed. It didn't keep me from cramping up, but it was delightful. There's a sweet sort of intimacy in laying on the couch after a long day, sharing our stories - with a massage being given and received. Mark is getting the short end of the stick lately, so I'll happily scratch his back whenever he asks.
In the meantime - if anyone has any great keep-me-from-getting-nasty-leg-cramps-in-the-wee-small-hours-of-the-morning tricks... I'm listening!
5 thoughts:
I too would get those cramps every night. Jamie was always a sweetheart and would yell "stretch it out! stretch it out!" while I screamed back "I can't! I can't!". Good times!
I found that it's related to the lack of some vitamin (can't remember which one), but if I ate one banana every day I pretty much never got the cramp.
Grr... I eat a banana almost every day, and definitely take my vitamin every day.
I guess my legs are just plain old mad at me.
It's nice to know I'm not alone though!! :)
Oh, so familiar! Those cramps were **Terrible** with my first pregnancy, and continued this time, though not quite as bad. (Everything seems that way this time around, tho...) I've tried the banana thing, but it didn't really help me. What I've noticed is that when I wake up and start to stretch my legs, I usually stretch them alllll the way out, pointing my toes. But if, instead, I pull my toes up, and then stretch my legs, it not only keeps me from getting that cramp, but actually stretches the correct muscles and helps keep it loose. I've actually "trained" myself so well, haha, that I don't even think about it and can go right back to sleep.
I'll have to try that one tonight, Ashleigh... it may take some mental energy for awhile, but I definitely stretch from the top of the leg right on down through the toes...
Maybe I'll try that AND eat TWO bananas each day.
Couldn't hurt...
do all you can before baby b comes, my mom had a charley horse in the middle of labor bringing my older brother into the world. YIKES!!!
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