Pregnancy Complaint Department: Spider Veins

10w, 2d. Once upon a time, my legs were my favorite body part. Now they're just kind of a pain. Literally.

When I was pregnant with my first son, I developed some super sexy spider veins. Big ones--although apparently not big enough to qualify as varicose veins--but big enough that my ob sent me off from his office in search of some knee-high compression socks. Because I wasn't already feeling my lady mojo waning thanks to heaving around a huge belly... now I got to dress like a grandma. Fortunately, after giving birth and my blood volume returning to normal, the veins (mostly) disappeared.

Then, about 10 seconds after my second son was conceived, voila, they reappeared. And with a vengeance. Not only did they look gross--red and purple lines crisscrossing over my pasty legs--but they really hurt. My legs ached daily and the veins were throbbing by every evening. I was back in compression socks before the end of my first trimester. And really, I probably should have been in some full compression stockings (or at least some rockin' thigh-highs), but man, those things are H.O.T. (and not in a good way). I just couldn't bear the thought of an additional layer under my clothes when I was already sweating my way through the winter, so I stuck with the socks, which barely reached where I needed them to go.

Following the birth of my second son, I waited... and waited... and waited some more for the veins to disappear. And while some of them eventually faded, one giant purple wormy one did not. And it continued to throb. I finally lost my patience (and faced reality) and asked my primary care doctor about it. Long story short, he referred me to a vascular surgeon who removed the vein during an outpatient procedure. He did a great job (yay for no more pain!) but also warned me that if I were to get pregnant again, I might have the same trouble once again.

And here I am... or here my knee is, underlined by some fresh red and purple markings that seem to be expanding. Apologies for the pasty legs (I am incapable of ever getting tan--the options are merely white, pink or red). I'm not normally a very vain (or shall I say vein?) person, but the thought of wearing compression socks or stockings all summer long is--at the moment, at least--too much to bear. Also, too damn hot. For now, I'm just trying to put my feet up when I can.

Did you ever get spider veins or varicose veins during pregnancy? What was one of your biggest complaints about pregnancy?