If your legs have started feeling like they belong to someone else, there are reasons for it, and none of them mean you are doing anything wrong.
What changes
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You are carrying more fluid. Blood and fluid volume rise substantially through pregnancy. There is simply more to move around.
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There is more pressure on the veins. A growing uterus presses on the vessels that return blood from your lower body, which slows that return.
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The day stacks up. Standing and sitting both let fluid settle downward. This is why your shoes fit at 9am and feel two sizes too small by 4pm.
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Heat makes it worse. Swelling that is manageable in April can be miserable in August.
Why the usual advice only half works
Elevate your legs. Drink more water. Cut the salt. Lie on your left side. All of it is reasonable and none of it is wrong, but it shares one problem: it works while you are stopped. It does nothing for you during a shift, a nine-hour desk day, an errand run or a flight.
Compression is the one option you can use while the day is happening, rather than trying to undo the day afterwards.
What a sock can realistically do
Graduated compression supports circulation and helps swollen, heavy-feeling legs feel lighter and more manageable through the day. Most women describe it as their legs feeling less like dead weight by evening, and their shoes feeling more like they did that morning.
What it will not do is make pregnancy swelling disappear, and any brand telling you otherwise is overselling. Gradual swelling in both legs is a common part of pregnancy. The goal here is to make the day more tolerable, not to make you a different person.
Common is not the same as always fine. Sudden swelling, swelling in one leg only, or swelling with headache, vision changes or pain under the ribs needs medical attention rather than a sock. Read the full list.
