Pregnancy alone has many ups and down, and then to be put on bed rest, its like being tossed on to an never ending roller coaster. You are going to have good days and bad days while on bed rest. Just accept that today may be a bad day, but acknowledge it, get through the day, and know that tomorrow is a new day and you will most likely feel better.
Yeah, it SUCKS to be on bed rest and there isn't much that you can do about it, so just give in and follow your OB's orders. By staying on bed rest you are helping your baby grow and keeping both you and baby healthy. This is just a temporary situation. Every day the you stay pregnant is two less days baby would have to spend in the NICU.
Here are a few of my surviving hospital bed rest tips...
1. Come up with a daily Schedule for yourself... Get up at a the same time everyday {try to be up by 8am, you can always nap later if needed}. Try to keep some sense of consistency. This helps to breaks up the day .
2. If you can shower everyday... DO IT!! Get dressed in day clothes , style your hair, and put on a little make-up.
3. Make your bed each morning when you get up. I have the privilege of being able to sit in the recliner in my room, so I try to only be in my bed for NST monitoring, napping, and bedtime.
4. Open the blinds to get sun light in the room during the day.
5. Keep fresh flowers in your room ...a little color in the room is so nice!
6. Schedule visitors as often as you would like. It’s important to make sure to keep in touch with the outside world so you don’t feel so isolated . Face Time and Skype are great too, for those friends and family that are out of town.
7. Ask your OB for permission to have wheelchair rides. I am allowed one 30-45 minute wheelchair ride each day {with adult supervision ...haha!}, so I use it when Bellamy comes to visit each night. We head down to the cafeteria to get her dinner, which allows her to sit in a highchair and eat a normal dinner instead of her running around my hospital room, and us "trying" to feed her! Any ways, wheelchair rides are a MUST, because it is SO nice to get out of your room for a little bit.
8. Give in to the help. Your friends and family will all ask and want to be there for you, let them . You will need your laundry washed, hygiene products brought in, snacks brought in, Starbucks decaf coffee runs, etc. Not only will it help you but It will make them feel good to be able to do for you.
9. Ask the nurses if there is a massage therapist on staff you can see. If not give your Chiropractor a call and see if they cannot send a therapist out to work on your aches from sitting around. My massage therapist came out yesterday to work on my neck and it was wonderful!
10. If you are a new mom, this is a good time to read up on those parenting books because when the baby comes you mostly likely won’t have a lot of time. Otherwise have someone bring you in a few good books or order some on iBooks. I am currently reading the 3rd book in the Fifty Shades series, but I always get a hard time from the nurses and doctors, saying that the books are the reason why my BP is so high!
11. Thank goodness for on line shopping! If this is your first baby, you can manage you baby registry or buy those last few things you need for baby. I'm all set for baby Reese, so I have just ordered a few things like Easter dresses for the girls from Etsy, a few gifts for their Easter baskets, and BIG Sis/Lil Sis shirts.
12. This is a great time get crafty or learn something new. Start a new project or do some kind of arts and crafts. I have been busy making a few sets of magnetic felt alphabet sets. See
HERE.
13. Have delicious smelling Scentsy burning. It just adds a homey feeling to the room and the nurses love it too!
14. Organize bills, photos, and other stuff that you have been putting off. Later this week I am going to save all of our photos to disk, which is a project I have wanted to do for a long time!
15. Make a count down calendar or a paper chain leading up to your due date, to celebrate that you made it through another day and that your getting closer to your goal. This is very important because every day baby stays in you, is two less days they spend in NICU.
16. Make sure you have all the necessities {computer/charger, books/magazines, remote, phone/charger, snacks, lipstick/chap stick, and whatever that you use a lot} near your bed/recliner.
