Charley Horse

I woke up with a really bad Charley Horse in my left leg.  At the Childbirth class, the presenter told us that early contractions are painful like a Charley Horse and then later in labor they are like a Charley Horse times ten.  This Charley Horse was really painful.  I decided to try out the breathing techniques I learned in class to try and use it for labor training.  It was really hard because it hurt so bad and lasted a really long time.  I woke Joe up with my breathing and he came over and massaged my back as if practicing for my labor himself.  The deep breaths helped but the quicker/shorter ones didn’t really help much at all.  You’re not supposed to take deep breaths except at the start and end of a contraction because you’re taking in a lot of oxygen and can get light headed.  The short breaths didn’t help much at all because it really freaking hurt and the Charley Horse seemed to last for freaking ever.  It was a good practice run but I really don’t feel confident in my ability to manage pain when I go into labor.  Especially since it’s likely going to last 12-18 hours.  My leg muscles were sore for the rest of the day because of it and I’m honestly not feeling to confident about this whole labor thing.