This weekend I've been an especially proficient sleeper. I napped from 4-6 last night, then went to bed around 11 and only just woke up. Uh, it's 10am. The problem with all this sleep is that it is absolutely killing my back. Actually I'm not sure if the back ache is a result of the sleep or a cause of it, but either way the past few days my spine feels as if someone has wrenched it 3 inches out of alignment and the left side of my body is paying the price. My hip aches, my stomach muscles (such as they are) are pulling with the weight of this baby and my enormous boobs, and I can't find a comfortable position to sit in for more than 10 minutes or so, after which I must gruntingly heave myself into a new position and then spent the next few minutes panting from the effort.
I wouldn't say I'm ready to be done with this pregnancy, but let's just say I had a dream the other night that I was told I was starting to dilate and should be having the baby anytime now. Last night I had a dream that I gave birth to a baby girl...and then another one shortly after. People, if I find out that I'm having twins the day I give birth I just...well, I don't even know. That apparently happened to a friend of my mom's, as in the doctor asked the dad how many cribs they had at home, because if the answer was one he should probably go shopping. And this was less than 30 years ago! I know, I know, medical advancements and all but still! Can you even imagine?
In other all-pregnant-thoughts-all-the-time news I'm switching to the military hospital from my civilian doctor and my first appointment is on Tuesday so we'll see how that goes. I'll be meeting with a midwife, and I'm curious to see how she differs from the doctor I've been seeing (and like). The midwives at the hospital are all certified nurse midwives and work closely with obstetricians, and if at any point I should become high-risk I am automatically assigned to an OB only, so don't think I'm going all granola and setting up a birthing tub in my living room or anything. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just that I'm kind of a wuss about the whole pain thing and also I don't feel like having my rug shampooed. (that sounds kind of wrong) Although to be fair, any sort of tub larger than the crappy one I currently own would be a delight at this point. We went to pick up some of Joe's scuba gear yesterday and I found myself longing to be afloat just so the weight would be taken off of my joints for awhile. Never mind that that would require donning a bathing suit which: cannot fathom. Helllllo cellulite! But the idea of floating along semi-weightless is just dreamy. And I think I've been having enough time to dream lately.
So what do you think: is it a good idea to sleep as much as I can now, with the thought of many a sleepless night looming so close in the future, or am I just setting myself up for a worse transition to sleeplessness with all my liberal nap-taking? Because let's just say that I'm done working in a few weeks and haven't figured out exactly how to fill my days before the baby arrives. I'm thinking naps will feature prominently.
2 comments:
On one hand I hated the "sleep while you can" thing b/c I found it to be condescending. & it isn't like you can bank the extra sleep. On the other hand, I got so big and cumbersome that even though when I slept, it wasn't well, it was something to "do" that required minimal effort, so that was a bonus.
One of the best things we did was take a vacation when I was about 6 months along. The place had a pool and it was HEAVENLY to be weightless. Although I have to say the belly weight seemed to double each time I had to climb out of the water.
I'm so excited to hear about your midwife experience. I'm not totally granola either (LOVED my epidural) but I wish I'd had a midwife.
I say just do what your body tells you: don't take a nap because you feel like you're supposed to, but if you're actually sleepy and want to, then by all means! Same with eating and drinking. Just listen to the belly.
Water is amazing when you're pregnant. I took water aerobics with both pregnancies and loved it. I'm even considering a water birth whenever I get pregnant again, that's how great I think water is for baby bellies.
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