Heartburn, gas, & swelling feet...OH MY!

With all of the books and online websites I've read, I haven't experienced any of the bad symptoms...until now - YIKES! I'm not sure if you've ever experienced heartburn before, but if you have I am terribly sorry. For those of you who haven't, you should feel elated and very lucky as I used to be one of you. I decided that I was not going to be in the majority (they say 80% of pregnant women experience heartburn), I would fall within the 20% minority. Defined as, "a painful and burning sensation in your esophagus" - a symptom of pregnancy indeed. I have a strong liking to citrus fruits and fruity beverages, but it's not such a good choice when the baby is growing and consuming a lot of space - not much room for the stomach to expand. :( The pain often rises from my chest to the neck and throat. So I bought a large bottle of extra strength TUMS smoothies (they taste pretty good) and they relieve the pain for 1-3 seconds, but the problem returns. This sucks! I'm sticking to spinach leaves and corn for the rest of my pregnancy.

As for gas, I did not realize that flatulence was such an issue until this week. When you have to "toot," there's no getting around it. As for those that know me (excluding Keith), I would rather hold it in, especially in the office, until I can make it to the bathroom. I was talking to a client on the phone and suddenly had the urge, but I kindly waited for five extra LONG minutes until the call was over. I stood up and quickly walked to the restroom, opened the door...ahh, I'm there, AND, someone was already in the bathroom. I just could not let it out while a stranger was in the stall next to me. When you're pregnant, farting seems 100 times worse, so I wish there was something that I could do to make it stop. Any suggestions?

I heard it's been very nice in Seattle, but down in Dallas it has been hot and humid. And, you know what that means...swollen feet! My feet grow from a size 6 in the morning and become a size 6.5 by the evening news. Not only do I need to concentrate on buying clothes, but I guess shoes are in order. Maybe I'll go for the "extra wide" selection.