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Monday, April 02, 2007

Baby Update

Rachel and I are right on track. We went to the doctor this morning and everything is fine. I've put on nearly 10 pounds so far, and my fundal height is just right. Today the doctor even whipped out his tape measure and measured, in inches, the size of my uterus. I'm not really sure how he does this. Before he'd just poke around and say, "Yup, right on track." This time he poked around, pulled out his tape measure and took some numbers down.

Andrew and I have tried to figure out how he does this. We're still puzzled. Everything just seems to blend in to one semi-mushy lump.

Anyway, Rachel's heartbeat is strong and she moves often enough, so chances are she's nice and healthy.

The doctor told us to try to not worry about the choroid plexus cyst because there were no other signs of abnormality. That's what we've been trying to do for quite some time now, but it was nice to hear our doctor tell us that we had very little to worry about.

I think this doctor should write a pregnancy book. Most pregnancy books (okay, so I only have two) tend to scare the wits out of poor innocent mothers. My doctor is pretty relaxed about the whole thing, which is nice.

For example, most pregnancy sites I have visited, as well as both of the books I have say that pregnant women should avoid sleeping on their right side and/or back. Sleeping on your stomach eventually becomes rather uncomfortable, so you're left with only one option: your left side. That's great, except who can really sleep on their left side all night long...and I really do prefer my right side...or back...and then the left side. To be honest, I rarely stay in the same spot for long and usually end up sprawling all over the bed leaving Andrew very little room. He's a pretty sound sleeper though, so he doesn't ever seem to mind too much.

I asked my doctor about this and he said that it can compress the
inferior vena cava that runs down your right side of the body and into the umbilical cord, but that it really isn't anything to worry about. Since the baby seems healthy, and since there isn't a whole lot of extra weight, it doesn't really matter how I sleep. The more important thing, he said, was that I sleep, however and whenever I can. Plus, he mentioned that my baby doesn't weigh that much anyway, so the "full weight" of my uterus really isn't a whole lot to worry about.

For some reason though, every site/book mentions that sleeping on your left side is best and cautions against any other position.

Anyway, my doctor is good at discrediting a lot of the myths out there, which is nice because there certainly are a lot of them!

4 comments:

  1. Nancy, the best advise is to listen to your body! Or call grandma....
    I figured that she's raised 7 kids, and they have all reached adulthood........well some........
    How many years have women been having babies? I think that in the early 1900's what side a woman slept on was the least of the problem.....ew! I just thought of how nice it is to have indoor plumbing while pregnant! Or anytime.

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  2. I am glad that everything is going good. I wouldn't listen to the books too much on those things. IN fact, I was only comfortable sleeping on my stomach until I got too big to do so. I think only when you are pretty far along and heavier that you do need to watch a little more about sleeping on your back.

    But, things will work out, and women have been having babies for a lot longer then there has been advice to give (well...by doctors and books-- mothers' advice has always been given like since the beginning of time:))

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  3. Two words Body Pillow! When you're sharp and bony... this is the only thing that will save you! Plus... I found when I put it under my right hip... I slept very comfortably throughout the night... with Kai that is!

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  4. Yeah, I often sleep on my pillow (Andrew got me a body pillow for Christmas for just this very reason). I actually sleep with a body pillow and two regular pillows and a blanket all to myself in addition to Andrew, his pillow, and our comforter.

    Poor Andrew...there really just isn't much room left over for him!

    (Drat all those bones!)

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