Small victories over discomfort

When you are eight months pregnant it's sometimes -- what am I saying, often! -- hard to move your body in a way that is comfortable. I had heard plenty about the discomfort, but I thought it would come mostly from the weight of my belly. It does and it doesn't. I'm not directly aware of the weight of my belly (nor of its size, unless I look in the mirror), but I do get pain in the muscles that are holding it up. The main thing, however, is that turning in bed and getting out of bed have become acrobatic feats. Standing up can be too. I had no idea how much I use my abs to do these things and now I can't use them to stand up or sit up forward, I need to do everything sideways (the baby being at 0 station means that he's nicely nestled in my pelvis). I'm sure I'm pretty funny to look at.

I do not envy Brian sleeping next to my night time acrobatics. Pregnant women are "supposed" to sleep on their side, preferably the left (to relieve pressure on the liver). Sleeping on your back puts pressure on the artery that goes to your legs and can slow down the blood supply to the uterus and legs.

My doctor in PA said that this recommendation is based on just one study of women in labor and that it's only around 35 weeks that a pregnant woman should really try to stay on her side. I've been doing it since about 20 weeks just to get used to it and I have sometimes been worried that I am smashing poor Benjamin because I'll be on my side and suddenly feel him kicking or punching at the mattress as if to remind me that he is in there and he'd like a little more room.

When a pregnant woman (who has about as much flexibility in bed as a sea cow on land) sleeps on her side, she needs sleep aids -- in other words, lots of pillows. Thanks to the advice of a friend, I've been sleeping with a body pillow and a smaller pillow -- I know some women who use a bunch of pillows -- which makes moving the pillows around much easier. I had been sleeping with the body pillow in front of me, slightly tucked under my belly and between my knees (to relieve pressure on my hips) and the smaller pillow tucked behind my back to help me stay on my side. Even with just two pillows, turning over has been quite tiring because I've had to move the pillows. The other night I decided I really didn't have the energy to do that so I just slowly rotated myself between the pillows. And guess what? It's better to have the body pillow against my back and between my knees and the small pillow under my belly! I don't feel as sore when I wake up!

This may not seem like something to blog about, but even though I didn't quite get enough hours of sleep last night, I got up feeling refreshed and relaxed which is a big deal right now. When a pregnant woman goes to bed exhausted and sore and wakes up sore (and perhaps still tired) she is no fun to be around.

Now if only I could get the sciatica to go away...

-maman