warning for all mums-to-be: what i wish someone had told me

[mgm]

i've just come back from the having my wedding ring cut off by a jeweller and thought i'd drop in to tell you all what i wish someone had told me: remove your rings BEFORE your fingers swell up and it's too late!

i wasn't in the habit of taking my rings off so didn't notice that my fingers were slowly swelling until this week, when my ob said my wedding ring would have to come off. people in the third trimester thread had all sorts of great ideas about ways to get rings off, but unfortunately none of them worked for me.

i was worried that it might be very unpleasant to have the ring cut, but in fact it was completely painless and took just a few seconds.

anyway, my advice to you is to check your rings regularly, or take them off early on, otherwise you may reach the stage where they're starting to cut off your circulation.

[Schmickers]

Good advice. I remember during our first pregnancy, DW's fingers went from normal to swollen overnight, and her wedding ring was well and truly stuck. We ended up presenting to emergency, where they actually made me cut off the ring! You can imagine I was impressed, cutting off my own wife's wedding ring...*sigh*

[Tobily]

Yep I came very close to this situation in my first pregnancy...fingers swelled up overnight and I had to try about 15 different things to get them off....finally got them off with hair conditioner and dental floss (!) but if that hadn't of worked the next option was a trip to hospital
I think it's so much worse if you're pregnant in summer too.

[Nelle]

Aww, no good!

I'm slightly different in that, my wedding rings are usually too big, and they start to fit during pregnancy! A good reminder to keep an eye on it though, especially towards the end!

[Visitor9]

DH cut mine off with tin snips at about 2am he wasnt kind to my finger nor my eternity ring but the sheer relief once it was off was good enough to take away the nasty words I was thinking I would like to say out loud but couldnt.

[Wombles]

I have a habit of playing with my ring lol... twisting it and pulling it half off etc... but that is good advice, i have fat fingers anyway, so i would certainly have to watch for them being swollen. With my first son i was admitted into hospital 6 week's before having him due to fluid etc... so something i definately have to watch with this pregnancy.

[mgm]

Yikes Bec G, tinsnips!! That was brave of you.

Just glad I don't have toe-rings as well, because my feet are that swollen, they'd have to be cut off too!

Schmickers, why did they make you cut your wife's ring off yourself? Not game to do it themselves? Or to teach you both a lesson maybe!

The funny thing is that I was going to have new ring made (DH's 'maternity gift' for me) but of course I realise now that it would be very bad timing, given the state of my fingers.

[Beanie]

THANK YOU! Great advice, I will make sure I take mine off. Last pregnancy I wore them on a gold chain around my neck.