I consider myself lucky. Bed rest for me started at 33 weeks pregnant. A lot of women are put on bed rest much earlier in pregnancy and have much more time to "do nothing."
Doctors prescribe bed rest for a variety of reasons, mine being signs of preterm labor. My first child was born 6 weeks early. This time around, my doctor wanted to keep a closer eye on things, in hopes to keep this baby in a little longer. The difficult piece, though, is that there is conflicting evidence as to whether or not bed rest truly helps. Of course, I will follow doctor's orders on this one.
Anyway!
Everything you need to know about surviving bed rest.
1. Continue with your regular day care routines for older children (or set up a care schedule). There is no way I would be able to follow my doctor's orders with a toddler here. If you don't have a regularly set daycare schedule, I suggest calling in all of the support people you have to take over at least some of the care of older children.
2. Plan easy meals for your partner to make. Maybe yours is a master chef. Mine is not. I sent him with a very thorough list to the grocery store with extremely simple crock pot meals in mind. My bed rest prescription allows me to get up to shower, use the bathroom, and eat meals. No cooking for me. Leaving simple directions for the hubs to throw a few ingredients into the crock pot has made his life much easier.
3. Make special time for your kiddos. I know I said to find them daycare while on bed rest. But, my little one has had a difficult time with his mama being on the couch all night when he is home. We have had to start a few new routines so he is sure to get his mama time in. I am also sure to wake up with the boys in the morning and get a few minutes of snuggles with Kid while Hubs gets ready. Not only is it beneficial for the toddler, it makes me feel like I am still needed.
4. Accept any and all help. My dad came by to pick up laundry yesterday. My mom picked Kid up for the day today and stuck around to clean the kitchen and bathroom. Friends have been swinging by with a warm lunch. Another girlfriend is dropping by with two freezer meals this afternoon. I have had friends drop of DVDs and books, others have come to just hang out. They've helped drive me to the doctor while the hubs has been at work. While I plan to make them each a little thank you gift, for now, I can only thank them.
Just beginning bed rest? Feel free to send me an email!
Are you a bed rest veteran yourself? What other tips do you have?
These are awesome tips! I used to have movie nights in bed with my kids too. I've been on bedrest with my 3 youngest children...each lasting at least 20 weeks or more. What really helped me was the website www.keepemcookin.com. Every week I looked forward to chatting with other mothers who were experiencing bedrest .
ReplyDeleteMy son was born 6 weeks early as well (preeclampsia) and this is my biggest fear with having another baby. I was on 3 days of complete "bed rest" just prior to having my son. No getting out of bed at all... it sucked! Then again I was also in the hospital so you know how that goes. I also had a week after he was born on partial hospital bed rest. I could get up to use the bathroom and transfer to the wheelchair to see baby in the NICU.
ReplyDeleteWhat will through a whole new wrench into the situation is that Hubby is military. We don't know where we will be located. We have yet to get a post near any family. So if or when we have another child immediate help won't necessarily be around. These tips and tricks are good things to keep in the back of my mind for the future.
What a great post! I wanted to share a couple of resources. Like Olivia said, keepemcookin.com is an excellent site with a forum and chat with other moms on bedrest plus lots of great tips and resources on how to manage life on bedrest!
ReplyDeleteFor any of your readers who need additional support, I work one on one with moms on bedrest, with high-risk pregnancies and parents of preemies. I was on bedrest for 18 weeks before my son was born extremely prematurely and I've designed programs to offer the emotional support that I wished I'd had while going through this.
Your point cannot be understated Lizzy. Accept help whenever you can and help is out there!