Just when I thought I was done with the unfortunate symptoms of pregnancy, it happened–I got cankles!
As if morning sickness, sleeplessness, back pain, mood swings, and acne (and no, I’m not talking about just a few unsightly pimples on my face…) weren’t enough, towards the end of my second trimester, my ankles became unrecognizable. At first, I thought my ankles would reappear after a little rest and hydration, but that theory was quickly debunked after multiple days of cankles. It got so bad that I could literally poke my cankle and the indentation would stay for a few seconds! I even have photo proof:
For the first time in our marriage, I was even able to convince my husband to give me a foot/ankle massage because it was so bad! I was not about to go into the doctor for this, so I patiently waited for my next appointment and pointed it out to her then and she told me to go get some support hose. I’m sure you’re thinking the same thing I did at this point: “You mean the socks that old ladies wear?”
As instructed, I went to Walgreens and asked the Pharmacist for his recommendation on support hose and which size I needed. Of course, he had no sympathy and very rudely told me that he didn’t have a tape measure to measure my calf so my guess was good as his (not in so many words, but that’s how I took it at the time).
As I stood in front of the support hose display, bawling my eyes out (don’t judge–it had been a long day, I had an emotional breakdown with my doctor, I was hungry, and I was PREGNANT for goodness sake!), my husband helped me sort through the confusing options and we settled on one pair. Those were THE most expensive pantyhose stockings socks I have ever bought ($20 for one pair!), so I was only willing to invest in one pair until I knew they would work.
The next morning, I struggled to get the dang things on–support hose are not easy to get on in the first place, let alone when you have swollen ankles AND a pregnant belly (it reminded me of the few times I have tried to wear spanx). After about 5 minutes of struggling and my husband laughing in the background, I finally got them on!
They aren’t the most flattering article or clothing, but holy cow do they work! The 5 minute aerobic exercise of putting them on each morning is so worth the end result when I can see my ankles at the end of the day!
Pregnant women, heed my advice–if your ankles have turned into cankles, if you have developed varicose veins, if your feet are just unbearably sore, invest in some support hose! They are worth every penny and your feet will thank you!
Also, I have learned that the easiest way to wash them (since you have to hand wash them) is to wear them into the bathtub/shower at night, scrub them with soap and water, peal them off, and hang to dry!
Did you have to deal with cankles and/or varicose veins during pregnancy? What did you do to help ease the pain?
