Conference moira::parenting_v3

    You want a suggestion, or a medical definition???  :-) !!
    
    What is actually happening, most likely, is that the baby is pushing UP
    on you diaphram, much like a man with a big (beer) belly. (I'm not
    trying insult, but rather make a little lite of this here!) which
    causes the snoring.  Don't give up yet, I literally spent many nights
    sleeping semi-upright on the couch.  Not only did I keep hubby awake,
    but I even woke ME up several times!!
    
    Consider sleeping on your LEFT side, if at all possible, and get one of
    those egg-crate pillows (Caldor, Ames etc sells them) which are
    designed for "side sleepers".  If all else fails, do you have a
    recliner that at least you could sleep in for a while? Have you had a
    cold recently, this too can increase any potential for snoring.
    
    Don't give up yet...the best is yet to come!
    Lyn
    
    ~ ~
     -
    \../
    

    I remember my hubby telling me about my increased snoring during my
    first pregnancy. I used to lie on my left side and snore into his ears.
    So he would sleep with his back to me most of the time - poor hubby.
    
    He has not mentioned it for my second pregnancy so far. Maybe he is
    just too tired running around with our 2.5 year old that he is too much
    of a deep sleep to realize that I am snoring.
    
    I must remember to ask him. 
    
    We did not need to sleep in separate bedrooms. Not sure if my snoring
    was not that bad or my hubby was tolerant to my snoring.
    
    It stopped after the baby was born.
    
    Shaila

    If you don't end up in separate bedrooms because of snoring you may
    because of your increased size! In both of my pregnancies, we ended up
    in separate beds by the end of the 8th month since there simply was not
    enough room for me, my belly, pillows and husband in a standard double
    bed.
    
    

    I 'whimpered', sort of like sighing in my sleep.  It really was 
    the equivalent of talking in my sleep.    We slept in separate rooms
    because all three (3.5 including babe) of us (dog) could not 
    all occupy the middle of the bed, which we all liked.      The snoring
    and whimpering stopped after Alexandra was born.  The dog passed away a
    week before I went on complete bed rest the month before the birth. 
    (God gives and God takes away...).
    
    The baby had 9 months of hearing my sighing and now SHE does it!
    
    I miss my own bed.......
    
    

    
    re. .4
    
    The same thing happened to me and my husband by the 8th month of my
    pregnancy, we went to separate beds, for the same reasons: I always had
    to sleep on my side, using 3 pillows, and we only had a full size bed,
    and more than anything it was just more comfortable when youare that
    far along and it takes all the room you can get to turn over inthe
    middle of the night.  
    
    We used to kid that we might not be able to sleep together again cause
    we got so used to it.   (But thats been no problem...)
    
    Chris
      

    I've always snored on the exhale, never on the inhale.  (Although my
    wife won't admit it, she snores on both.)  Sorry, but I don't go along
    with the "beer belly" theory - neither of us have beer bellies.
    Snoring is actually caused by the tongue obstructing the airway which
    is most apparent when a person is sleeping on their back.  The snoring
    sound is the air trying to get past the tongue which is blocking the 
    back of your throat.  My theory is that before you were pregnant, you
    probably slept on your side or your stomach which kept your tongue from
    blocking your airway.  Once pregnant, you probably began sleeping on 
    your back which cause the airway obstruction.
    
    As for solutions, here's a couple....
    	o  Start sleeping with someone else who snores
        o  Your husbands could get pregnant and fight fire with fire
        o  Have the baby imediately (although the snoring nights will be 
           replaced by the baby crying)
        o  All of the above            

    Yeah, it goes away after the baby is born...
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    			YOU'LL STOP SLEEPING!!!
    
    
    8^)
    

    One more comment --
    
    I'm three months pregnant now and already am having the
    snoring problem. I had this same problem when pregnant
    with my first child, so recognize it as a temporary.
    (I don't snore when not pregnant, generally.)
    
    For me, it's not a question of size stopping me from
    sleeping on my side. I've discovered the cause is
    the stuffy forced hot-air heating system in our house.
    You know how dehydrated and stuffed up you get from
    pregnancy? -- well, my snoring is all part and parcel of
    my clogged up nose and my waking up in the night with a painfully
    dry mouth. I've found a great solution, though:
    besides drinking water constantly, I keep a humidifier
    going at full blast in our bedroom (my side of the bed.)
    On the nights when I have the humidifier running, my
    husband happily sleeps through the night. On the occasions
    when I forgot to turn the humidifier on, I heard complaints
    in the morning, and twice my husband had disappeared to the
    guest bedroom. That's enough scientific proof for me.
    
      -Barbara

    
    My husband claimed that it was like sleeping with the 3 stooges.
    
    Yes I snored on both also, it does go away after the baby is
    born.  
    
    Good Luck
    
    Lisa
    

    I'm 8 months pregnant and find that I wake myself up at nite with this
    "weird" snorting. I've never done it before. My husband says that I
    snore also for the first time! Happy to hear it goes away! It doesn't
    bother me anyway!
    
    Good nite,

	I don't snore, but I do whimper and sigh in my sleep like Kathy 
	mentioned in .5

	I sometimes wake myself up with the sound.  I laugh about it, because
	it seems like such a strange "pregnancy symptom".

	Karen

    
    Now, in my second pregnancy, I again am having to deal with 
    a very big congestion problem (nose, sinuses, and throat). This,
    the doc says, is very typical because the mucous membranes do
    work overtime during pregnancy. 
    
    The snoring in our house, occurs (for either of us) when we either are
    congested (his allergy attacks, my pregnancies, or our colds), OR when
    winter hits and the heating makes the house unbearably dry (another
    reason to get all clogged up).
    
    I would suggest, as some of the others have, that sleeping with the 
    head up higher, or a humidifier, might work, as well, you should
    consider drinking or eating something acidic (fruit or fruit juices)
    shortly before going to bed (it helps cut congestion) or have a 
    good gargle with a mouth wash. 
    
    When my mother has a congestion problem, she snorts salt-water, but
    I wouldn't suggest that to anyone. 8-) 8-)
    
    Monica
    
    

    pf course, the suggestion about the fruit juice might be a problem if
    you have heartburn -- I never know whether to drink milk (which helps
    the heartburn but clogs my passages) or juice, which brings on my
    HB.
    
    decisions, decisions....
    
    Monica
    

I'm 3 months pregnant with year-round allergies (to my dog).  My nose is
*severely* congested.  I have found some relief in adding humidity to my
house, but I can't control the humidity here at work.  I've found that Nasal
(which is a saline spray -- *not* to be confused with sprays like Afrin)
helps me here at work.  Ocean is another saline nasal spray.

My doctor says the saline nasal sprays are fine, and I'm allowed to use Actifed 
when I'm really desperate.

But please check with your doctor before trying anything!

    
>>> but I can't control the humidity here at work.  I've found that Nasal
>>>(which is a saline spray -- *not* to be confused with sprays like Afrin)
    
    saline nasal spray? really?!? I have never heard of it. I will talk to
    the doctor. Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning the congestion  gets so
    bad (that's when the choking turns to heaving and that in turn
    usually means I've wasted my time having breakfast!). I was under the
    impression that Actifed, along with any other decongestant should be
    avoided because it will dry out the mucous membranes (which is not what
    we want during pregnancy). Well, its good news that some doctors may
    consider it not a bad idea if you are suffering.
    
    Monica
    
    
     

When my children have bad colds or we have sinusitus or whenever, our doctors
over here always prescribe Vibrocil which is simply saline solution.  This is
done even for newborns in the form of drops, the rest in a non-aerosol spray.
This has absolutely no decongestant in it.

It helps by keeping all the dry membranes moist and "washing" the little hairs 
in the nose to help the mucus flow freely.  In fact, it makes your nose run 
rather than dry it out.  It does not collapse the membranes as most nasal sprays
do.  I'd suggest trying one of the American brands that Monica mentioned in her
note (.16)

When I had really bad sinusitis, I also had to gargle saline solution through my
nose as mentioned in .15(?).  I COULD NOT do it.  I'm claustrophobic and it
made me panic because I felt I wasn't getting any air.

I used to snore through my pregnancies also but it always woke me up.  Then I
needed several operations where I was forced to learn to sleep on my back so
now I snore all night (unless my husband kicks me :-) and never wake up.

ccb

>>    saline nasal spray? really?!? I have never heard of it. I will talk to
>>    the doctor.

If you're in the New England area, CVS and Osco carry both Nasal and Ocean.
There may be other brands that I'm unaware of.  Just don't get a 
"vasoconstrictor" -- they work great, but overuse can make you worse.

>>  I was under the impression that Actifed, along with any other decongestant 
>>  should be avoided because it will dry out the mucous membranes (which is 
>>  not what we want during pregnancy).

I tried sudafed (which is only a decongestant; Actifed contains both an 
antihistamine and a decongestant) and it made my nose run constantly.  I 
can't remember if I could breathe easier or not -- but if I have to blow or 
wipe my nose every 5 minutes, I'm not gonna get much sleep :-)
I think Actifed does dry out the mucous membranes, but it's the only thing
that I've tried (so far) that allows me to sleep through the night.  And
so far, I haven't had any nosebleeds at least.

Good luck with finding some combination of things that work for you.  I also
find drinking warm drinks helps -- I heat water and add a little lemon juice
since I don't want lots of empty calories.  It's short-lived, but I don't 
want to be taking Actifed night and day.

    If you're having so much trouble breathing that you really aren't
    sleeping well, you should talk to your OB or one of your OB's
    nurses.   While you don't want to be taking anything you don't
    have to take,  it's not good for you or the baby if you aren't
    getting enough sleep to stay healthy.  
    
    --bonnie

    
    For some reason, my allergies got BETTER when I was pregnant....??!
    I was definatly thankful for that.  Occasionally, when I was suffering
    a bit though, the doctor told me I could take Sudafed.
    
    How about a cool mist humidifier in your room at night...??
    
    As far as the snoring goes, I've always snored, so it wasn't much of a
    change.  But for some reason I was really sensitive to my husbands
    snoring. What didn't bother me now, or before I was pregnant, seemed to
    be amplified when I was pregnant..?? It used to drive me nuts!
    
    Chris