August 31, 2009Apparently this week, my body decided it was time to be pregnant. I felt like it happened overnight - one day, my body's feeling pretty normal, belly has a little bit of a pooch, but nothing major; within 48 hours, I can actually feel my uterus below my navel (which is totally normal during pregnancy, and natural, too, but when I told Aaron about it, he got freaked out) and I look PREGNANT! Not, "Whoa, this lady is due any day," but I am definitely rocking a baby bump. Boom!
Now I just read that my uterus is supposed to be the size of a cantaloupe right now, so no friggin' wonder I have a baby bump! And the baby is almost 6 inches long. Sleeping has started being a little bit different over the last few days. I definitely can't sleep comfortably on my stomach anymore, and I had a major freak out this week over sleeping on my back. Apparently when the baby and uterus get bigger, if you lay on your back, their weight can cut off circulation to a major vein that pumps blood to the baby. I received an email from one of my baby website updates this week reminding me of this delightful fact, and the next night I woke up laying flat on my back. Panic commenced. I spent about an hour trying to get back to sleep while picturing my baby having permanent brain damage.
Thank goodness I have access to a great nurse and mommy of two, Ken's sister, Jessica, and she calmed my back-sleeping fears! Yes, you can cut off circulation to the baby while sleeping on your back, but chances are #1: you would also cut off circulation to your legs, which would make you roll over long before the baby suffered any damage. #2: by the time the baby is big enough to cut off the circulation, you won't be comfortable sleeping on your back anyway, so there won't be anything to worry about. Crisis averted. Thanks, Jess!!!
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