A nightmare 13 weeks?

OK, so, pregnancy is still without a doubt the most beautiful thing i have ever put myself through, and i know that this tiny person will be worth every single ache and pain that will be put my way. I also know that there are a lot of ladies out there who have terrible pregnancies, with sickness and pain from the word go, and have much more reason to grumble than myself. I wouldn't change being pregnant for the world, but certain aspects of it have become a little tiresome over the past couple of weeks, so i am going to allow myself this one blog post to be a little more negative than my usual posts, just to get some things off of my chest.

So, i am 27 weeks today, some sources tell me that i have now entered the third trimester, some say that isn't for another week, so that's all a little confusing.

Over the past two weeks i have had a new problem to face, i have developed quite intense RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome). Its the weirdest thing to try to describe. It starts off with just the urge to stretch my limbs (a similar feeling to when you first wake up), not at all painful. The feeling then gets more intense and more uncomfortable and takes over my legs, arms, hands and shoulders. All of these muscles begin to feel tickley, then achy then tight, almost like they are all having individual contractions, and cramping. Literally the only thing that stops the pain is to move. Then, as soon as i stop the pain returns. Its the most frustrating thing in the world, especially as it happens mainly in the evenings, when I'm tired and wanting to sleep. I feel so exhausted, i am just not sleeping at all, and when i do, its not good quality deep sleep as I'm waking up every few minutes in pain and trying to get comfortable. The past few nights have had the exact same pattern, me in tears throughout the night, midnight walks round the block, 2am baths and 4am dancing and yoga sessions whilst talking to the cat downstairs. Adams been amazing. He's walked with me and cuddled me and rubbed my back, and hasn't gotten at all frustrated with the amount of tears he's had to put up with.
It worries me slightly though, I'm off work on holiday at the moment, and I'm wearing myself out. But at least while I'm off, when i can sleep and get exhausted in the early afternoon i can just lay down and try and get an hours rest where ever possible. When i go back to work next week its going to be so hard, to have around 2 hours sleep per night, and then have to get up and face a full day at work is going to prove difficult I'm sure. I just don't want to end up feeling shattered by the time the baby comes. Also, i have read that RLS can last for approximately 4 weeks after birth, this scares me immensely as i know that once the baby is here, i will need every precious second of sleep i can get.
On the rare occasion that i don't suffer with RLS in an evening, there always seems to be something to disrupt my sleep now, but i guess that's just part and parcel of the last trimester. Being woken 12-14 times a night by frequent toilet trips, immense thirst, leaking breasts, leg cramps, itching skin and backache is no ones idea of a good night in. Before pregnancy, if i woke up in the night with cramp in my legs, i would do one of two things, reach down and pull my foot backwards, or leap out of bed and stretch it out. Neither of these things are even remotely possible for me now, my feet have never felt so far away and i practically need a crane to get out of bed, and certainly cant do it at any speed!
I'm not the kind of person who insists they need their 7.5 hours per night in order to survive, i can wake at 7am on my days off and quite happily plod on with the day, but i think 2-3 hours a night would prove a little tough even on the liveliest of people.
I'm visiting the hospital again today, in fact, i will probably be there for the majority of the afternoon, as i have physio at 1, and my measurements with the midwife at 3. I'm going to mention the RLS at physio and hope that there is something they can suggest. We are then off for a couple of days at Norfolk with my dad, which i am so excited about. We can take Button to the seaside!
This blog post has probably not even been worth writing, i am even wondering whether to post it at all. I really don't want to seem like iv got a negative outlook on everything, i know some people would give anything to have what i have right now. I wanted it for long enough myself. No matter how bad things feel at any particular point, and how far away 13 weeks can feel when your sat in a bath at 3am with only a cat for company, there isn't a second that goes by when i don't know (be it deep down at times) how truly lucky i am.
The main purpose of today's blog was to help me shake my grumpiness of a bad night off, and be able to enjoy my day with my wriggling tummy and wonderful husband, and i feel that i have achieved that.
Every time i feel those little wiggles, everything just melts away and nothing else matters. One little kick makes every ache, pain, cramp and craving completely and utterly worth it, and every sleepless night is one closer to spending sleepless nights with my little pumpkin!

Apologies once again for the rant.

Love love love xxxx