Rib Pain

October 21, 2009
There was a period of about three weeks or so when I actually enjoyed being pregnant. Now, I'm not so sure. I started having pretty bad pain in the side of my ribs recently, right under the bra strap. The only things that helped were taking off my bra and laying down. I've had minor pains for a while, just at short bursts, but they never bothered me that much. These pains are definitely troubling. It even got so bad that I had to unsnap my bra at work and just work with it unsnapped. I knew I had to do something after that.

What do I do? I google it, of course! Pretty much all of the information I found talked about the ribcage expanding to make room for my organs since the baby is growing and taking up more room. They also said there really isn't anything you can do for it, besides stretching and yoga-type activities (therefore I took up prenatal yoga. Guess what? It works!) and getting a larger bra.

The morning before I was going to get a new bra, my ribs were really hurting. So much so that I did not want to put my bra on for any reason, even though we were scheduled to go out. I tried no bra, but things were too visible. I tried layering a tank top with a shirt, but I was still too visible. If I had Band-Aids, I would have used those. I didn't have any, but I did have packing tape. Yes, I taped myself down with packing tape. The only problem was that you could see the outline of the packing tape through my shirt. I tried larger pieces. I tried smaller pieces. Husband tried making an X with the pieces. No luck, but I was still determined not to wear a bra. In the end I layered my Bella Band (pulled up extra high), with a tank top and my shirt. It was still a pretty warm day or I would have been able to wear a sweater as well. I was still slightly visible through the shirt, but I passed it off OK. Husband said he could notice, but I don't think I received any odd looks from people. Some of you might be thinking that I should have been fine through all those layers, but I gotta tell you that I am going to be excellent at nursing.

That afternoon we went bra shopping. First of all, I hate bra shopping. I feel so self-conscious. I know it's natural, but that's how I feel. I tried on a bunch of different sizes and found an ugly one that fit the best (not perfectly, but better than any of the others). I needed something to help me out. The problem, though, is that my cup size really hasn't increased. I don't happen to be one of those females who miraculously gets a larger chest. I've always been on the small side, and I was hoping for the larger chest, but maybe I'll get one when my milk comes in... Anyway, it's my ribcage that has expanded, making my bra too tight. I made husband measure, and it's rounded itself out to be an extra four to five inches in circumference. No wonder I hurt!

I also discovered bra extenders that you can add on to the band. That solves the problem of increasing the band size without increasing the cup size. I was getting pretty frustrated trying bras on and not finding anything that fit. It even says on the package that they are good for maternity wear. Since buying them, I have been much better. I still hurt at times, but I try not to wear my bra when at home and to do my yoga exercises to help. Thank you, company with the pretty pink packaging.