Whew, It's Not a Hernia...

Yesterday, after having a day of work with lots of walking, my belly was killing me. And not like the "I really need to go to the bathroom but I'll say my 'belly' is hurting me way" and not a cramping way, but pain/pressure near my belly button. Pain/pressure that hurt more when I laughed, sneezed, coughed, but generally has caused me much discomfort. My belly button has also been looking strange so I was scared it was a hernia. I did some research online and found that pregnant woman get something called an umbilical hernia and a lot of the symptoms that I read about were what I was (and still am) feeling.

At work today, I showed my belly to my co-worker and she thought the strange lump near my belly button looked quite a bit like her daughter's pregnancy related hernia. Great. Not really what I wanted to hear! Unfortunately, as the day progressed, my aching belly also continued to hurt. My only thought has been, 'how am I going to get through another 5 months with this pain?" I called and made an appointment with the OB.

I went into the OB's office and talked to the doctor. I showed her where the pain was and she looked perplexed. She started poking and pushing and it hurt so bad my eyes started tearing up. I can't even explain it - it tickles a bit, it hurts a lot more. She told me it's not a hernia (thank god) but she has no clue what it is instead. She said my belly button and skin around it is extremely sensitive and she has never seen anything like it and didn't know what to tell me. She said to keep watching for a rash since it could be the beginning of shingles, but didn't think so. Unfortunately, because she didn't know what it was, she also doesn't know how to stop the pain/discomfort for me, which makes me want to cry too because really, I can't handle it if I have to deal with this until the baby is born!

I did get to hear the baby's heartbeat again. A nice, reassuring sound, especially since I haven't felt it move in a few days - probably because I'm too busy feeling my "issue". The big ultrasound is Friday and I must say I am dreading the full bladder AND the painful belly - I can't even imagine how uncomfortable this little procedure is going to be.