34 weeks and very swollen feet and ankles. Any tips?

[nannyl]

Thats it really
Have had a busy couple of days and my feet / ankles have really swollen with fluid. Even my crocs are tight and i cant get on any other shoes.

I am having them up as much as possible but even after all night (8 hours) in bed, when i woke they were still swollen.

Is this just part of hot weather + 34 weeks pregnant = swollen feet = normal?

You need to do pilates "foot pedals". Stand up, feet apart, stand on the ball of one foot, then swap, and back again. Kind of like stepping on a stepper machine, but without taking your feet off the ground.

oh!
Ive never even herd of that before!
How long for (1 min / 15 mins etc?) does it really work?

well, my pg pilates/yoga teacher is always telling ladies with swollen ankles in my class to do them ! I think she says a couple of minutes an hour to start with.

When you're asleep do you prop your feet up on a couple of pillows? I found this helps. Also I heard swimming can help the swelling go down.

Are you using maternity support tights/stockings? (at least 30 dernier) I find it makes a massive difference to swelling if I use them every day - admittedly its very hard in the heat though!

Make sure you are drinking lots of water too, your body knows it doesnt need to store more fluid when there is a regular supply coming in.

Try burts bees mama bee mint foot cream. DH did the foot massage every night for last trimester. Worked! I had DS in June, Spent 4 hours a day commuting to work via tube for last 3 months. I know how you feel, burts bees worth a try along with the feet propped while in bed and water water water while you are close to a loo! Hth

thanks for all these helpful tips.

I will find my foot gel an raise my feet in bed.

I went for a pregnancy pamper treatment which included a foot massge, wheich helped them go from enourmouse to just quite big, and im trying not to let them get that big again.

I dont think i could drink any more water. I drink gallons of it a day lol!

The only thing I fond that got my swollen feet and legs to go down, was to walk.

On one hot summer day, when I was about 30w, huge, exhausted, and swollen, friends arranged to do all my school and nursery runs for me so that I could rest. By the time dh came home from work my legs were so swollen that my calves filled my big maternity trousers. I wedged my feet into unlaced trainers and a hobbled out went for a walk. By the end of the block I could lace my shoes up, and gradually I could walk better and felt more comfortable. 20minutes later my feet and legs looked 'pregnancy-normal' ie slightly puffy but not obscenely so.

Maybe standing a lot, sitting a lot, or walking and working in the heat makes things worse, but a regular walk in the cool of the evening did more for me than any other remedy.

Floating, and lying with my feet raised, helped me feel comfortable, but did not actively reduce the swelling.

Please go and get your bp checked, asap. Puffy feet can be a sign of pre-eclampsia. Saw my mate from antenatal classes on the train, we were both complaining about puffy feet, i'd had my mw appt a few days before and had a normal bp reading, she wasn't due to see her mw for about a week but i said she should really get herself checked over sooner, well the following day she did and was admitted to hospital at 32 weeks with pre eclampsia :( please please get yourself checked over. Oh and my feet took ten months to deflate after DD's arrival