Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Bed Rest...What's that?
So I am now 32 weeks prego and have been put on bed rest, not to be mean, but yeah right! What really is bed rest, is there such a thing, and in a 12 hour day just how many are we actually supposed to rest. I mean if kids, the house, food , and the husband all take care of them selves, then yeah maybe, but those are just dreams right? any suggestions?
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11 comments:
I have a friend who has triplets and was on strict bedrest for several months. She could get up to use the toilet a few times a day but had to be reclined or full on lying down the rest of the day. She even had to buy a stool to use in the shower. Her husband had to bring her food and do everything around the house. She was bored out of her skull and pretty uncomfortable.
Good news is most pregnant women on bed rest don't have to be so strict. Lounge on the couch or in bed- feet up- as much as possible and have other people do all of the chores. Just take it very very easy.
She was on bedrest while pregnant with the triplets.
It could be worse, you could be on "bedrest" in the hospital. I say, get a project like scrapbooking or something you can do sitting down. When I was stuck at the hospital for weeks my mom sent me crossword and wordsearch books and my sweet cousins (Kate and Kirsten) would bring me magazines. I say go to the mall and rent the wheelchair and get pushed around. You could go to the WallMart and use one or the motorized carts and just get out for a while.
All I have to say is use your best judgement. I was put on bed rest at 30 weeks and was faithful and ended up delivering a 31 week old baby boy. He was in the hospital for 8 weeks. The hardest thing I have ever had to do--and I really did do bed rest. My husband cooked and I had friends bringing dinner over. The house was a bit dirty but that was okay. So just be very careful. Bedrest is better than a preemie. We are still working on getting him all caught up and he is now 3. Not to scare you but just letting you know what happened to me.
I was going to say the same thing. If lying down all day can keep the baby in there longer, then do it. It's better than a preemie. My daughter was also born at 31-ish weeks and it sure hasn't been a cakewalk. She's had a physical therapist, and RSV shots that cost up to $2,700 every 28 days for six months, and she finally learned to walk at 18 months, and she's coming up on 2 years old now and nobody would suspect she's older than 15 months, and she still spits up on a regular basis. She probably won't be caught up with her peers for another year still, and I don't know if the spitting up will ever fix itself. She might need surgery. If lying down can give your baby even just a couple more weeks in there, it will have been worth it. I'm not trying to scare you either, but having a messy house and letting your husband and daughter fend for themselves for meals, and having other people do the laundry for you is just a small (temporary) price to pay for the long-term health of your baby. You can do it!
Not to frighten you... but my friend Leonor lost her baby at 24 weeks. She should have been put on bed rest with a cervical cerclage, her Doctor wasn't that concerned (bad Doctor) but should have been, come to find out she had an Incompentent Cervix and went into premature labor and dialeted to 6 with no pain, no warning. She had the baby at 24 weeks (c-section) and he is in heaven now. So please take this very seriously and put your feet up and let people cater to your needs. Whatever it takes to give that baby the best chance at this new life please do it! I want to see pictures of this baby!
I absolutely agree with the other moms. Just do it. I got put on strict bed rest at 30 weeks. My doctor told me that bed rest wasn't PROVEN to prevent pre-term labor, but that it was the best shot I had at keeping that baby in there. I don't know how much good it did, but I do know that I carried my daughter to 37 weeks, so it was worth the piece of mind knowing I did all I could. That said, it was my first pregnancy so I had no other children to take care of. Thankfully, the doctor explained to my husband the seriousness of having a preemie, so he was totally good about cleaning and cooking and all that. I just hope your husband is as helpful. Did you have to have the steroid shots to help the babies lungs develop? Aren't those a treat? As if your butt isn't sore enough from laying in bed all day, then let's just poke a big fat needle in there too! Best of luck with it. You can do it.
Thank you all for your words... I'm on my second day and I am already stir crazy, with that said I am making a ton of FHE packets which normally I would never get to. I just have to find more projects...
Yeah, I'm sure it can get very boring. Stock up on movies or seasons of tv on dvd. You could learn how to crochet or knit if you know anyone who could teach you. Hopefully your friends and family that can will visit you often. You're what, 33 weeks? That's good and he'll be full term in no time. Lots of water and feet up and it'll be time to be up and moving in no time.
Are you on pelvic rest too? :)
I had a friend with a cerclage who was on bedrest for months and after the cerclage was removed and she was allowed to be up and about at 37 weeks she still went past her due date. Figures huh?
Um... Today is my 33 week mark. So my next appt is tues and then we are going to re-eval the contractions. I already know how to knit, well actuallt it is looming, and it just feels weird knitting scarfs in the summer heat, 100 degrees in cali! I was thinking something new, like cross stitching, my grandfather used to do that.
Heather, that was one of the first things I thought of after your grandpa died... the sweet, beautiful wall hangings he cross-stitched for his great-grandchildren. I've seen one or two, and they're treasures!
Good luck with the bed rest, Heather! Make sure you enlist the aid of your family to get you the things you need to keep yourself busy. Keep us all posted!
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