Monday, December 8, 2008

Pregnancy ... the End Result

So aside from the weight gain, heightened anxiety, post-partum baby blues, and the constant feeling of having no clue what the hell I'm doing, there is one by-product of giving birth that I haven't been able to get rid of: sleeping on my left side.

I can't seem to shake this one and it's getting a bit irritating.

Before I got pregnant I pretty much fell asleep on my back or my right side. Then once you hit the middle of your 2nd trimester you start reading about the importance of sleeping on your left side, because that is best for the baby ... if you sleep on your back the extra weight you carry in your midsection can put too much pressure on some major artery ... or something ... and that might restrict blood flow to your heart or the baby. And for some reason your right side is off limits as well. So your left side is the preferred way of sleeping.

This wasn't as easy for me as it sounds. I fought it quite a bit at first, finally having to resort to using 45 pillows to prop me up and keep my comfortable. Fine, it was only 3 pillows but it felt like quite the process just to go to sleep. Never mind getting up 4 times a night to pee, only to have to get re-situated with the pillows each time I got back into bed. And if I did try to roll over to my back even in the slightest, I swear Joe had some form of all-knowing power because he would whisper, "left side" even if he had been in a sound sleep the minute before.

I managed to get through the remaining months of my pregnancy on my left side, but wouldn't you know it? I can't freaking STOP sleeping this way now. 22 months later.

1 comment:

Darna said...

LMAO! I too fought the left side thing because I was a dedicated stomach/right side sleeper. Now I find myself on my left side all the time, and I think it is so odd!