Is this much pain normal??

[rivermama]

I am pregnant with our second child.  Our daughter was born 3-11-09 so they are really close together.  I broke my back when I was 15 and always have back pain, but WOW.  I am 7 months pregnant and have only gained 14 pounds. My back hurts constantly, it is like this aching, burning pain.  It is hard to function sometimes.  I also have alot of cramping with the back pain.  My abdomen gets really tight and cramps alot.  It is different than the contractions that I had with our first child though.  Doesn't feel quite as sharp or intense.  

I hate to be whining, but I did not hurt this bad with our daughter and I am already miserable.  I do work full time and chase around our 1 year old when I get home.  I do drink plenty of fluids and try to take care of myself.  I went through dehydration with our daughter, so I have learned my lesson.  Any advice that you can give me on what to do would be great.  I have to work as long as I can and I have to take care of our lil girl.  

Thank You.

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
I'm sorry that you are feeling so poorly!  Most likely you are stressing your old injury with the combination of the new baby on the front and all of the heavy lifting a mother of a one year old does--I call it "car-seat-itis".  You can take Tylenol for discomfort, and you can use a heating pad.  Its OK to take a nice warm bath and jacuzzi jets in a bath tub are wonderful on your back,  Accupuncture and massage are also good remedies.  The FIRST thing I would want to do though, if I were your doctor, is to check to be sure that you are not having contractions that are causing the pain.  Early labor contractions often feel very different from term labor pains.
One more thing is that you can ask your doctor for a maternity binder--there are lots of different kinds--it is basically a velcro wrap that goes around the tummy and helps hold the baby up while taking some of the pressure off of your back.

Hope this helps!  Get a good cold shower for your husband so that you can rest a little after this baby!
Dr B

[L4Di_BUG]

Hi! I'm 5 weeks pregnant.A week ago I bleed for 1.5 days but it was heavy first day cramps but the second day woke up no blood but still feeling mild cramps.Is that a sign that i may have lost my baby or does that jus happen sometimes? PLEASE HELP I'M WORRIED!!!

[rivermama]

Thank you for your reply.  As you can imagine this baby was an oops!!  I was on BC, YAZ, and I made sure I took that lil pill everyday.  I guess this baby was just meant to be.  This time around I am getting Mirena and there will be no sex in our house until the Mirena is in and working.   Not that I don't love my children, but I DO NOT want to be preggo again for a while.  

Thank you for your help.