Want to sleep - but can't.
In addition to watching the first-ever stretchmark on my belly form before my eyes last night, the entire swatch of skin covering the top right side of my abdomen felt as if it were suffering the intense pain of an untreated sunburn. It felt as though the skin was slowly ripping.
And I've got five weeks to go.
Needless to say, with kid running out of room quickly enough to be damaging mom's skin, there is no traditional position I can sleep in that isn't incredibly painful. I can't sleep on my belly for obvioius reasons. I can't sleep on my back because it cuts off circulation. I can't sleep on my sides because it feels like the weight of my belly will cause my skin to crack like an egg shell, even with a pillow underneath.
That leaves only one position: sitting up straight. It took me a good 45 minutes on the sofa last night finding the one position that didn't cause some internal organ to throb, and I still woke up feeling like shit. I need to make friends with a neighbor with a recliner.
Posted by Tiffany at October 14, 2006 01:04 PM | TrackBackHave you tried support garments? You can get them through maternity stores, Penney's, Sears, etc. They have elastic straps that help support the belly weight by redistribution kind of like a bra. Perhaps this with pillows for support will help. I, of course, was huge going 34 weeks with triplets, and I found that if I had some support, and slept on my left side with a pillow under my belly, a pillow between my knees and one shoved up against my back by my husband that I slept pretty good. I still have to sleep with the knee pillow eight years later. My niece said that she still has to sleep with the knee pillow too and her youngest is almost 4. Something happens to your hip joints that never quite "goes back to normal" after birth. Also, liberally moisturize your belly before bed (and all day long) to help with the stretching, itching and burning. I was twice the size of a normal full term belly and I have very few stretch marks. I do have very elastic skin, though.
Hope some of that helps. Other than that, I would either purchase a large foam wedge or pile sofa cushions to make a wedge in your bed if you want to sleep reclining on your back. I couldn't sleep on my back because the weight of the babies felt like it would snap my spine if I didn't bend my knees up. It was side or nothing.
Sweet dreams.
Posted by: Momotrips at October 14, 2006 01:29 PM