Pregnancy Bed Rest – How to Stay Happy, Positive and Connected
If you’re reading this, then a huge CONGRATULATIONS are in order! You’re probably expecting a baby in the coming months. Whether this is your first born or fifth, preparing for Baby is a beautiful experience.
I’m sorry that you may be facing (or currently experiencing) Gestational or Pregnancy bed rest. I promise, this too shall pass, and faster than you think! I know exactly how you feel. After experiencing complications at 25w5d, I was placed on bed rest until 37 weeks. It’s my hope that I can share some tips for staying sane, keeping positive and making the most of pregnancy bed rest.
I promise this: The days will drag on, but the weeks will FLY! Congratulations!
Say “Yes” to Help
To say that I’m an independent woman is an understatement! (I’m sure some of you can relate!) Pregnancy bed rest was the first time I had to truly ask for help and accept it, no matter what! It was humbling and I’m so grateful for the angels who showed up for me everyday, week and month.
Family and friends did my dishes, cleaned my house, changed my sheets, fed my dog, grocery shopped and brought me entertainment (like magazines and craving foods – always BUFFALO WINGS). Amazon Prime (free for 30 days) was also a godsend! I may or may not have done a little online shopping while on bed rest. 🙂
I followed doctor’s orders; that meant only getting up for five minutes per hour to pee, because I was also told to drink a gallon of water per day. I credit my partners’, family’s and friends’ help for my healthy baby’s delivery at 39w5d.
Stream Movies and TV Shows
Movies and TV saved my sanity. I’d like to say I spent all my time learning a new language or solving the world’s problems, but no. If you don’t already stream, I highly recommend it. I lived off of Amazon Prime Videos, Netflix, Hulu and PBS.
Watch series and get caught up in them! Some of my favorites were: Project Runway, The Great British Baking Show, Rick Steves’ Travels on PBS, Antiques Roadshow, How I Met Your Mother (watched the series twice), The Office (twice for this one, too!), and countless movies.
You may not be a big TV person in your normal life, but this is not normal life right now! Dive head-first into a great series and seriously, watch the days and weeks FLY!
Read Digital Books
At final count, I read 8 books while on pregnancy bed rest. All of them were digital, thanks to my Kindle membership. I tried using my library for digital books, but got frustrated that many of the books I wanted to read were buried with other people’s holds. Money well spent, in my opinion!
Join Support Forums
I joined an amazing forum for bedrest mammas called “Keep ‘Em Cookin.“ I can’t say enough about this incredible community. There are sweet forum moderators who keep us mammas talking and engaged while on pregnancy bed rest!
My go-to feature were the hundreds of archived posts. The Search Bar is your best friend, trust me! Everyday I would type the Week/Day I was on and read others’ experiences from that exact moment in their pregnancy. For example “30w2d”. I did this every. single. day. I learned so much about others! It was inspiring and a great passer of time.
Don’t do this alone, Mamma! Join a forum and get talking. The days can be very lonely, especially if your partner works or you’re on your own. Joining a community helps.
Count Down the Days and Weeks
We have a huge dry erase board on our wall. Everyday (on a trip to get water during my five minutes!), I’d change my week and day. Counting up really helped me have something to celebrate. “Wow, I’m so glad I’m past 28 weeks!” “32 weeks is only 4 days away!” It was refreshing to have a visible record of how far I’d come with Baby.
Have a Plan When Stress or Fear Creep Up
I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say I felt scared, sad, trapped and stressed at times while on pregnancy bed rest. These emotions are natural–not just during bed rest, but during pregnancy. Staying positive and distracted is good for you, and good for Baby. So have a plan for how you’ll cope when these feelings emerge.
It was very important that I stayed fear-free, because I would literally have Braxton Hicks contractions when I got stressed out. I would take deep breaths, play a round of solitaire on my phone, search for a new movie, post on my Forum, call my partner, or pray. Honestly, the best thing for my fears was to get distracted. It helped me stay out of my head and focused on Baby’s health.
Follow Doctor’s Orders
I had an awesome OB, whom trusted implicitly. Following her advice has helped me through two geriatric pregnancies (I resent that term!), one of which was complicated. When in doubt, call the doctor!
Even though bed rest was a hassle, I decided to trust my doctor and do what she said. That decision helped me in those moments where I really wanted to go for a drive, or get more active than she suggested. She didn’t steer me wrong!
Prepare For Baby
This is my favorite way to stay sane and happy during pregnancy bed rest – prepare for Baby! First, I worked on my Baby Registry, tracking what we needed and checking item reviews. I also filled in the Baby Book (there’s lots to fill in, like family history, our story of how we met, and more). During bed rest is when we landed on a name for the baby, and as you know, that’s no easy feat! I researched ways to keep my breastmilk supply up, and what not to do. I studied baby care and philosophies of parenting.
Did I mention online shopping? 🙂 I used my final weeks of bed rest to shop for those items that we didn’t get from the baby shower. I had plenty of time to compare prices, brands and stores.
Finally, take time to enjoy your life as it is now, as a couple, or a family of 3, or whatever! It will change soon enough and bed rest is a great time to savor life as it is, before Baby.
Congratulations, this will go quickly, I promise! 🙂 Take care!
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