32 weeks with SPD and oedema - what position should I be sleeping/sitting in?

[digitalgirl]

The most comfortable for me when I sleep is on my back. Also it helps if my feet are raised on pillows overnight to reduce the swelling in my ginormous feet.

However, I know I'm supposed to sleep on my left side, so I've been trying to do this, which is comfortable for a while and I then my left hip really starts to hurt so I go to lie on my back which then starts all the pelvic crunching pain despite trying to keep my knees together.

And sitting at work is hard too. To put my feet up I have to sit back on my tail bone which hurts after a while. But if I sit forward for too long my feet get so puffy it hurts to walk on them.

At 32 weeks what should be my priority? Reducing my swollen feet? Keeping to SPD-safe positions? Or getting my baby into position?

What is your mattress like? Can you fold a spare duvet into 3, and put it on top of your mattress to lie on? That will allow your hips to be supported gently, not be pushed upwards by the mattress. An "egg-crate" style mattress topper can help.

If you can't settle on your left side I wouldn't worry too much. If you are concerned about postural hypotension due to pressure on the blood vessels from the uterus, simple tilting your body slightly to the left by putting a flattish pillow under you hips/back will do the trick.

A thin pillow between your knees will support your pelvis in alignment and be more comfortable. It is only opening your knees wide, as in climbing out of bed or car with knees apart that is risky.

You can buy a sacral cushion from all sorts of places including on-line. It is a flat seat pad with a hole just where your tail bone is - very helpful if this is tender.

many thanks 3littlefrogs, I'll give the mattress topper and duvet thing a go. we recently bought a new vi-spring bed which is lovely and soft and worked a treat during the 2nd trimester, but all of these aches and pains have started since I hit the 3rd.