Sleeping position question

How long is it safe for me to sleep on my stomach? I try to sleep on my side
but sometimes find that I wake up on my stomach (I am 9 weeks). I know it
won't happen when I start to show, but I am wondering if it is ok to be
sleeping on my stomach now?

My sister-in-law said her doctor recommended side-sleeping with a pillow
between your knees and told me that he actually told her that one side was
better for the baby- but she can't remember if it was right or left. (She
said there was a reason the doctor didn't recommend sleeping on your back
but again she can't remember)- I plan to ask my doctor what she tells
patients....

I can only sleep deeply on my stomach so I am hoping that I can adjust to
sleeping on my side.

How long is it safe for me to sleep on my stomach? I try to sleep on my side
but sometimes find that I wake up on my stomach (I am 9 weeks). I know it
won't happen when I start to show, but I am wondering if it is ok to be
sleeping on my stomach now?
the reason you shouldn't sleep on your stomach is to make sure the baby
gets enough oxygen, as the placenta is a very clever organ it will make
sure the baby gets enough and if there isn't enough total in the system
(i.e. you and baby) the first thing that will happen is you will get short
of breath, meaning you'll either move to a more comfortable position
without waking up, or you'll wake up and move to a better position. You
are doing the right thing, start out on your side but don't worry if you
end up somewhere else!


My sister-in-law said her doctor recommended side-sleeping with a pillow
between your knees and told me that he actually told her that one side was
better for the baby- but she can't remember if it was right or left. (She
said there was a reason the doctor didn't recommend sleeping on your back
but again she can't remember)- I plan to ask my doctor what she tells
patients....
on your left side is less stress for your heart, the pillow is just one
suggestion to make it more comfortable, I never found it useful.
My best solution was a v-shaped pillow, and a foam wedge, which I used
from the time my bump was big enough to need some support (about 28 weeks)
til it was big enough to support itself by touching the bed (about 36
weeks), I still use the v-shaped pillow now, so it was a very good buy.



I can only sleep deeply on my stomach so I am hoping that I can adjust to
sleeping on my side.




-----------
Anne Rogers

Jill wrote:
How long is it safe for me to sleep on my stomach? I try to sleep on
my side but sometimes find that I wake up on my stomach (I am 9
weeks). I know it won't happen when I start to show, but I am
wondering if it is ok to be sleeping on my stomach now?

My sister-in-law said her doctor recommended side-sleeping with a
pillow between your knees and told me that he actually told her that
one side was better for the baby- but she can't remember if it was
right or left. (She said there was a reason the doctor didn't
recommend sleeping on your back but again she can't remember)- I plan
to ask my doctor what she tells patients....

I can only sleep deeply on my stomach so I am hoping that I can
adjust to sleeping on my side.

You can sleep on your stomach as long as its comfortable for you. Baby is
well cushioned in the amniotic fluid and it won't be a problem for it. As
you get larger though, you may get more uncomfortable and wish to switch to
your side. I liked sleeping halfway on my stomach and I was able to extend
it a few more weeks by getting a body pillow and elevating one leg so I was
partly on my side and partly on my stomach. If you're comfortable enough to
switch to your stomach during the night, don't worry about it.

Lying on your left side is best for baby because it has the best
circulation, but I don't know many women who can stay on their left side all
night. You'll probably be flipping over from side to side due to hip or
shoulder discomfort. Lying on your left side is great to stop bloating. I
didn't sleep with a pillow between my knees until I started getting horrible
pubic pain a few weeks ago. It only lasted a couple of weeks, but the
pillow made a difference. Its a pain in the butt to switch sides with it,
though (every time I flipped - every hour or so - I had to rearrange the
covers it dragged off my legs or feet)

Sleeping on your back is not recommended because the weight of the baby will
compress blood vessels. You may not notice a difference now, but as you get
farther in pregnancy, laying on your back for any exam becomes more and more
uncomfortable. It's not so big of an issue now, but it helps to get into
the habit now.

As for sleeping deeply, I hate to inform you that this too shall pass. The
farther you get along in pregnancy, the less deep sleep you will get. This
is partly to hormone changes preparing you for having a baby wake you up at
all hours and partly because you'll be so darned uncomfortable some nights
(even without baby waking up at 2am which happened to me last night).
Sleeping longer and taking naps during the day will help.

And ask your doctor everything you're curious about, that's the reason they
make the big bucks. 8) I find it best to keep a list of questions that
come up between appointments, because you may also start suffering baby
brain (forgetting everything).

I also recommend _The Pregnancy Book_ by Sears & Sears. Its probably the
best one out of all the ones I've read for answering questions. You can
pick it up cheap on eBay or from a used bookstore (don't worry about buying
it new, it hasn't been updated in a few years and they only rereleased it
with a new cover).

- Joanne
#1 - 36w1d

How long is it safe for me to sleep on my stomach?

It's not unsafe to sleep on your stomach -- it just won't be comfortable, or
even possible, to do so once your belly starts to protrude to a certain point!

My sister-in-law said her doctor recommended side-sleeping with a pillow
between your knees and told me that he actually told her that one side was
better for the baby- but she can't remember if it was right or left. (She
said there was a reason the doctor didn't recommend sleeping on your back
but again she can't remember)- I plan to ask my doctor what she tells
patients....

I think it's the left side, because it's easier for the blood to flow to the
fetus that way. The reason for not sleeping on your back is that the uterus
can, when you're in that position, press hard enough on the vagus (which is
either a nerve or an artery, I can't recall) to block your oxygen flow. But
typically, long before that happens, you would get uncomfortable and move to a
different position (even in your sleep).

Sleep however you can. ;-)

Holly
Mom to Camden, 2.5 yrs

Jill wrote:
How long is it safe for me to sleep on my stomach? I try to sleep on my side
but sometimes find that I wake up on my stomach (I am 9 weeks). I know it
won't happen when I start to show, but I am wondering if it is ok to be
sleeping on my stomach now?

Don't worry about it. There is really no reason to sleep in any
particular position, unless your doctor explicitly tells you to
take care not to sleep in it for a good medical reason. Whenever
you fall asleep in a position that is 'not good' for the baby
(like on your back after 4m), you will rotate to another, since
you will be uncomfortable too. So sleep away while you can....

--
-- I
mommy to DS (14m)
guardian of DH
EDD 05-17-2004
War doesn't decide who's right - only who's left

"Jill" wrote in message
. ..
How long is it safe for me to sleep on my stomach? I try to sleep on my
side
but sometimes find that I wake up on my stomach (I am 9 weeks). I know it
won't happen when I start to show, but I am wondering if it is ok to be
sleeping on my stomach now?

My sister-in-law said her doctor recommended side-sleeping with a pillow
between your knees and told me that he actually told her that one side was
better for the baby- but she can't remember if it was right or left. (She
said there was a reason the doctor didn't recommend sleeping on your back
but again she can't remember)- I plan to ask my doctor what she tells
patients....

I can only sleep deeply on my stomach so I am hoping that I can adjust to
sleeping on my side.

I didn't sleep on my stomach too much in the first trimester because of sore
boobs and muscles -- got a softer bed around week 14 and slept on my stomach
or halfway onto my stomach through term.

Doctors and midwives all said this is fine. Won't hurt baby.

-- Dagny

"Anne Rogers" wrote
make sure the baby
gets enough oxygen, as the placenta is a very clever organ it will make
sure the baby gets enough and if there isn't enough total in the system
(i.e. you and baby) the first thing that will happen is you will get short
of breath,

This is good for the baby but for me is one of the most horrible side
effects of pregnancy. I am not overweight etc but I have been getting short
of breath a lot- and my nose stops up a lot from allergies so when I get
short of breath it feels really bad, breathing through my mouth and being
short of breath. I am going to try to start walking to see if that
helps.......IMO, being short of breath is much worse than morning sickness,
insomnia, heartburn, etc.

Jill wrote:
"Anne Rogers" wrote
make sure the baby
gets enough oxygen, as the placenta is a very clever organ it will
make sure the baby gets enough and if there isn't enough total in
the system (i.e. you and baby) the first thing that will happen is
you will get short of breath,

This is good for the baby but for me is one of the most horrible side
effects of pregnancy. I am not overweight etc but I have been getting
short of breath a lot- and my nose stops up a lot from allergies so
when I get short of breath it feels really bad, breathing through my
mouth and being short of breath. I am going to try to start walking
to see if that helps.......IMO, being short of breath is much worse
than morning sickness, insomnia, heartburn, etc.


Don't worry about it too much. The congestion won't go away but its very
likely that the shortness of breath will get better as you get into the
second trimester. Currently, its caused by hormones. It shouldn't come
back until later in the third trimester when your uterus is high enough for
baby to squish everything out of the way. I'm not sure if walking will
help, but any exercise you get is a good thing. And taking good, deep,
abdominal/diaphragmic breaths is good practice for the third trimester and
labor.

Talk to your doctor about allergy medicines if you're really troubled by
them. I took Claritin for short periods of time (dr approved) because I had
spurts where my allergies got worse. I only took them on days when I
couldn't stand it. I guess I've gotten used to the mild, chronic stuffiness
over the months.

Hang in there!

- Joanne
#1 - 36w2d