Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Surviving Bed Rest During Pregnancy
Since we received news from our OB-GYN last week that "Junior" may be born very prematurely, I have been put on strict bed rest. Today marks Day 5 of my bed rest and thanks to some very special people, bed rest hasn't been too horrible.Junior's been extremely active lately. His kicks are getting stronger and he seems to enjoy kicking me in the bladder.
Hubby has been a champ and has been taking really good care of us. I think the worst thing about bed rest is that I'm used to being very, very busy and on the go all the time. I also hate being dependent on others. It absolutely kills me to have to stay on my back or side for the remainder of this pregnancy. I'm not even permitted to sit because sitting puts too much pressure on the cervix.
My MIL has been a great help. For the past two days, she's been preparing our lunches and suppers. My SIL and my nieces came over last night to rearrange the furniture in our living room since I've had to move to the main floor. Our master bedroom is upstairs and I'm not allowed going up and down stairs because it can induce labour.
I can't even attend my prentatal classes, but the health unit is sending a nurse to our house instead. The only times I am allowed to leave my bed (other than for bathroom breaks) is for appointments with the OB-GYN, ultrasounds, and if my water breaks. If Junior is smart, he'd stay in there a little longer! It's nice and warm in there and it's getting cold outside! If I were Junior, I'd stay in for as long as I could! LOL!
Day 5 of bed rest and I haven't gone bonkers yet. These are some things that have been helping me keep my sanity while confined to my bed:
- Books...and LOTS of them! I'm currently reading Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance and will begin reading Atonement hopefully in a few days.
-TV...Although I haven't really watched much. I've caught a few cooking shows, but it makes me upset that I can't test out some of the recipes in my kitchen! I did end up watching the news and Gossip Girl last night while Hubby was at a meeting.
-The Internet!!! Thankfully, Rosie's hubby came over on the weekend to set me up with wireless on my laptop. I thought I'd be surfing the net more, but since I'm supposed to be as flat on my back as possible, it's a bit difficult to type! I'm hoping to figure out a more comfortable position so I can blog, e-mail, FB, do research and ESL work, etc.
-Phone calls. I've been on the phone A LOT in the past few days. It's been great getting calls from my friends and family. I've also been making quite a few long distance calls. That's one of the drawbacks living so far away from my loved ones. Oh! Canine Cologne, thanks for the chat today! Your phone call made bed rest go by a bit faster :) xo
-Journal writing. Just writing down my thoughts, concerns, and wishes seem to help a lot. I also think it would be great thing for Junior to read when he gets older. The journey to getting Junior here has definitely been full of excitement, adventure, and unexpected surprises.
-Text messaging. Mrs.Hollywood and a few others have been keeping up with me via text messages. Mrs. Hollywood and my mom's side of the family threw me an amazing surprise baby shower that I wasn't able to attend in Montreal on the weekend :( I'll post something on that later this week.
-Visitors. My MIL and my Dad have been taking turns getting our meals ready. It'll be nice spending time with my Dad while my Mom is in the Philippines with my grandmother. My SIL and her daughters have also been coming by in the evenings. BTW, if you live in our area, you are more than welcome to pop by!!! I welcome appreciate would love the company! Although, you may have to help youself to coffee or tea because I won't be able to get it for you! :)
-Positive thinking and encouragement from others. My doctors, friends and family, keep reminding me that every day that Junior stays in there makes a world of difference and will help improve Junior's survivability rate and lessen health risks.
Thanks again, everyone :) Your comments, prayers, thoughts, e-mail, and letters have are so appreciated. XOXO
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City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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22 comments:
Bed rest is so tough. Especially when you're used to being so independent and on-the-go.
Hang in there and stay positive. So glad to hear you're getting some great support from friends and family.
Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
ack, you can't even sit up? That would indeed be annoying as hell.
Did you see the newer version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Remember what Violet's mom said to her..."Eyes on the Prize" :) In this case, the prize is worth working for.
I noticed Atonement on our OnDemand service the other day. Might need to watch that, and see how it differs from the book.
You mean no bed cartwheels? No bed twister? No bed decathlon? What kind of world is this?
darn, doesn't that hurt your back, lying as flat as possible??? Sorry, that's not helping. I wish I were closer, I'd totally come by and make you something delicious and we could sit in bed and watch a nice travel or cooking show.
Momisodes:
Thank you :) I am really thankful to have the support of friends and family. It's made things a lot easier...though it still sucks being dependent on others! ;)
J:
Seriously! ;) I cannot tell you how annoying it is!
You are so right about the "Eyes on the prize" part :) Gotta keep telling myself that.
Oooooooh! I was curious to see Atonement too, but I really want to read the book first. I always read the book before seeing the movie...and I'm often disappointed by the movie after. I think there are only a few movies that have been based on books that have actually done the book justice.
VE:
Isn't it horrible!? ;)
BTW, sorry for being absent for a while (delinquent blogger that I am). I'll be checking your latest posts out soon :)
AM:
Awwww! Aren't you the sweetest?? That would be awesome :) Too bad you're a couple hours by plane from me! :( Thanks for your Twitter notes! You really cheer me up! :)
hi chris-glad i got to catck up with you today. sorry i had tp run though since the kids were getting off the bus. i'll talk to you again soon. you sound like your doing well. junior will be just great. rest now because it looks like you gys are going to be parents before you knoe it!
ps- remember i'm always just a phone call away
Glad you ahven't went on the deep end yet. Resting is tiring{heehee}, but it is necessary. Junior will appreciate your efforts. :)
If I go to your end of the province soon, I need to bring you Janet Evanovich's collection of Stephanie Plum book. The only problem is you might laugh so hard, you'll start contractions! {I'm am TOTALLY kidding, btw ~ not going to happen}
C... I love you. I love Junior. You are on my mind and in my prayers...
I announced my love for you today with the I LOVE YOUR BLOG award... because I do! Check out my post today!
I wish we're neighbors so I could visit and encourage you.
Glad you are hanging in. I know this is going to be tough, but enjoy this time when you don't have to get up as much as possible. Rent some movies, read books. And overall just rest. I am so sorry I don't live closer as I would certainly help pitch in on the dinner and company front. Absolutely every day that Junior stays put means huge, huge difference. You are doing great, try to enjoy it as much as possible :)
I so wish I could come keep you company while you're on bed rest!! At least you know you're doing it for the health and wellness of Junior... but I can imagine how difficult it is for such an active person like you! Know that I am sending you positive thoughts, love and encouragement all the time!!
xo,
Jane
Sounds like you're doing good. I;m sure it isn't fun but you've got a good attitude and I hope Junior listens. :) I'm glad you have all that support. :) XO Thinking about you all the time!
I second what J said! Can't even sit up is a total bummer.
I would say try propping yourself on your side with lots of pillows to be able to work the laptop on your side, but I can just feel the knots in my neck tightening from even thinking of suggesting it.
Any extra time cooking is good for everyone. And don't worry about not being able to cook in the kitchen. You are cooking right now, baby. HA! literally, you're cooking a baby!
Thinking of you lots!
HUGS!
Hot Mommy:
Thanks for that phone call yesterday! It was a good distraction :) You totally crack me up. Funny, before bed rest, I always said I'd try to call friends more and catch up more (and not just on FB or e-mail). I just never seemed to get the time in to pick up the phone and chat for hours. Now that I'm on bed rest, it really is a lot of fun catching up on the phone with friends and loved ones :) I think I should take advantage of this! ;)
Rosie:
LOL! The weirdest thing is that yesterday I was REALLY tired! I was thinking, "Why on earth am I tired??? I haven't done anything all day!!!" LOL! *sigh*
Funny you mentioned laughing so hard I'd get contractions! One of my best friends sent me a baby present from that surprise baby shower in Montreal last weekend (such a surprise that all the guests were surprised that the guest(s) of honour didn't attend!). My friend was going to write a funny joke in the card, but then said that I'd laugh so hard I'd get contractions and go into labour! LOL!
Sharon:
Thank you so much for that :) Totally made my day! I love you and your blog too! XO
Mrs. J:
Thanks so much! That really cheered me up! I'll be hopping over to your blog as soon as I finish commenting here :)
Beach Mama:
Awww :) Thanks for the support! You're awesome :) I was upset that I wasn't able to make it to Montreal on the weekend because we had scheduled a stop over in Ottawa! I was hoping we'd get to see you guys!!! :( Oh, well. I know that keeping Junior in here is the priority right now. One of these days we'll get to catch up in person :) xoxo
Do you have a subscription to Netflix? This might be a great opportunity to get caught up on movies or entire series of tv shows you wish you would have watched! Okay, you can read books and magazines, too! :)
Wow! I am sorry to hear that the pregnancy took this turn, but glad you seem to be handling it well. My prayers are with you and your hubby and Junior.
Dunno if you have them up North of the border or not, but there are internet book swapping clubs that are great. You post a certain number of your own books you want to get rid of and they give you a credit, then you can request books from other people.
All the best.