As a result of complications at 28 weeks 4 days into my pregnancy, I was admitted to hospital due to a short cervix. The following a week I was discharged on bed rest. What that entails is no prolonged walking, moving, working, lifting, cooking or cleaning. Literally, rest!
Although some may perceive this as an extra vacation, it really isn’t. It can make some women feel isolated and depressed, perhaps defeated. It’s a double edged sword- although it is difficult not being able to do anything or go anywhere, its for the baby’s best interest.
Recent studies have shown that bed rest has no effect on pregnancy, despite the fact that many mothers with complications in pregnancy report that going on bed rest has indeed prolonged their pregnancies. In my own case, the doctors thought I would not make it to 32 weeks however here I am at 36 weeks 2 days. I have made it further along this pregnancy than I did with my son and I too believe it has to do with bed rest. As one doctor explained to me, placing restrictions on my activities (no cooking, no working, lifting or cleaning) takes off a huge stress from my body. Stress on a woman during pregnancy can cause complications such as pre term labour, so going on bed rest does make sense.
Despite all the ups and downs I have experienced with this pregnancy, going on bed rest was the best thing for the baby. Even though I can’t go anywhere or do anything, I basically had to find “simple things” to do within my restrictions. Here are some of my ideas I want to share with you if you are on bed rest:
- Netflix (or the equivalent to) – this is a great opportunity to catch up on some of your favourite shows or movies.
- Pinterest planning – despite the fact I can’t go out to stores and buy things for the new baby, I can certainly plan baby’s nursery or going home outfit with the help of Pinterest. I have created idea boards such as “nursery”, “hospital bag” and “post partum” wear on Pinterest. Thank goodness for online shopping and home delivery to help make these boards come to life!
- Online shopping – enough said. I have done a lot of online shopping since I have been on bed rest (sorry hubby!) So far I have purchased the following: new sleepers and onesies for the baby, going home outfit for baby and myself, toiletries, cosmetics, nursing bras and tops, a double stroller, even storage furniture and table and chairs for my son’s playroom (which hubby put together!)
- Organizing your washroom – Every now and then I tend to hoard beauty and bath products and sometimes they just accumulate in my washroom. I took a day and sat down in my washroom and went through all my cosmetics, beauty and bath products and organized them and things that were empty or not used I threw out.
- Read – since returning to work from my last mat leave, I haven’t had the time to pick up a book. Since I’ve been off I read the Nest and I am now starting The Girl on the Train. I have also gone through two editions of Vogue and In Style, 1 edition of Lou Lou, Elle US, Elle Canada, and Fashion magazine.
- Visitors! Its always nice to have visitors come by. People sometimes feel as if they are intruding. Believe me, you are not! I appreciated any visitor because I haven’t been in the outside world since mid-July and its feels better to socialize with people. From my experience thus far, any visitor that came by took away that feeling of isolation, which can make some women feel depressed. If you have a friend who is on bed rest, now is the time to visit them.
- Crafts – lots of women on bed rest take up some sort of craft while on bedrest (such as crocheting). I am not a crafty person though so I did not partake in this activity. I did create a tassel garland (thanks Pinterest) for my son’s second birthday! My husband went to the Dollar Store and picked up all the materials I needed to create that garland.
- Journal about the baby or start a baby book – as I did for my son, I created a baby book and planned to do the same with baby #2. This was the perfect opportunity to start it and in there I have all the baby’s ultrasounds thus far and even included my hospital tag from my recent hospital stay.
- Blog! I started this blog while on bed rest as I have a passion for writing. Perhaps this is a good time for you to blog about a topic you are passionate about.
- Home spa – If you can’t walk far to get your own mani/pedi, you can certainly do one at home. Take some time out of your day to pamper yourself and lay in a nice warm bath, or place a face mask on and give yourself a mani/pedi. Believe me, once the baby arrives you won’t have time to do this.
Stilettos and Espressos 