After 90 days I have just one more day of bedrest left!!! When I was first put on bedrest (this pregnancy) I did a search for blogs about bedrest and found many complaining, unhappy women. I'm not pretending that bedrest is great, (that feeling only lasts for the first 48 hours) I'm sure helpful blogs about bedrest exist but I couldn't find anything at the time that wasn’t depressing.
As this is my fourth pregnancy with bedrest I did much better at implementing the things that I have learned from previous bedrests that have helped me-- and it has been a much better experience. So I thought I would share some things that really made a difference for me. These things are really simple and common sense but sometimes hard to do when you have been laying down for weeks and weeks. Here are my 10 rules for staying sane on bedrest.
1) Don't watch TV (all day)
I know it sounds weird, this is your time to catch up on all those movies and sitcoms you've been wanting to watch. But don't do it! Bedrest is mind numbing as it is, watching tv only makes it worse. I was addicted to "friends" reruns my first go around on bedrest and I was supplied with tons of movies. That was my worst bedrest experience. I was super depressed and felt like my brain was mush. It wasn't until I was in the hospital for 2 weeks on bedrest with my 3rd pregnancy (having watched as many decorating shows as I could possible handle on hospital cable) when I read an article in a magazine that said 90% of people who watch more than 3 hours of tv a day are depressed. Duh, no wonder I felt so bad. My 4th and 5th bedrests I made it a point to not watch tv in my room and it has made all the difference. Notes* I would include any mind numbing activity: aimlessly surfing the internet or reading tons of pointless magazines had the same effect as watching hours of tv.
2) Write in your journal every day
Either that or call your sister and talk for hours--(my sister made up the phrase "ramblings of a bedrested woman" from all her hours of listening to me on my first bedrest experience) The reality is that everyone else still has a life while you are there in a weird kind of time warp. You most likely have many fears and concerns about your pregnancy or else there wouldn't be a reason you are on bedrest in the first place. You know that journal writing is therapeutic and it is a huge sanity saver. I’ve always had a hard time keeping a journal but I've been really good this time about writing every night, and when I think there is nothing to say because I didn't do anything that day, I can always think of some miracle or prayer that has been answered to record.
3) Read your scriptures everyday
You will have so much time to read and you will need the daily dose of uplifting that can only come from reading the scriptures. On a particularly difficult day I came across Philippians 4:13 which says "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" Wow, exactly what I needed to hear to keep on going.
4) Don't nap during the day
This is a hard one but so often when I would sleep during the day I would end up awake all night. Do that for a couple of days and you are on a vicious cycle that's really hard to break.
5) Eat healthy foods & drink water
Pretty much self explanatory. Processed foods have chemicals that really make it hard to deal with stress, (for me especially caffeine from chocolate) I always do better if I stay away from those things. However, being at the mercy of whoever is helping you sometimes doesn't give you many options for healthy foods. But if you choose when you can to eat fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grains and drink water, you are going to feel so much better laying around all day. You don't have that yucky "couch potato" feeling even though you are the ultimate couch potato. Besides of course it is soo much better for the baby.
6) Accept help
So hard to do but so necessary. My first baby was premature and after I had her someone offered to bring us dinner and I felt so bad that I didn’t want to put anybody out that I didn’t have her bring it even though it would have been very helpful. My outlook has changed 4 bedrests later. I realized that when I offer to help someone it is because I want to and people feel good when they are able to help others. As ultra humbling as it is bedrest is so much better when you let people help you. I have been so blessed to have neighbors and friends and family members who have helped me and my family through all of the time on bedrest.
7) Be Productive
It's easy to feel unproductive on bedrest because obviously many of the things that you do normally require being able to get up and move. One time I got up and made brownies not because I wanted brownies but because I was going crazy because I needed to do something, (I don’t advise this as I ended up in the hospital that night) But I've found that I can get that same sense of accomplishment by doing projects with my hands. Over the 4 bedrest time periods I've colored, cut and glued lots of file folders, made quiet books, put pictures in albums, made lap books, cut out laminated flash cards, made a recipe book, made chore charts, and recently made valentines and teacher gifts.
8) Serve others
When you aren't mobile you start feeling as though you can't make a contribution. Serving others always makes me happy but it is something I have struggled with on bedrest because there is not much you can physically do for people. But you can be a good listener, you can write letters and emails. When I was on bedrest in the hospital I made I spy worksheets, cards and letters for my kiddos. I have been able to design things on the computer for people that they couldn’t do for themselves.
9) Be Grateful
No matter how bad it is there is always something to be grateful for! For help that you receive, for friends, for the opportunity to learn patience and long suffering. For nice nurses , for the shot that actually doesn’t hurt that bad. When I focus on the things I’m grateful for I have a much easier time dealing with bedrest.
10) Pray
This would be the most important thing to do to remain at peace while on bedrest. Being on bedrest you often have nothing that you can do to fix anything except to pray. I have prayed for people to come over when I needed their help and couldn’t get a hold of them, and they have shown up. I have had a problem with figuring out how to schedule kids home from school or to and from activities and have prayed for help and had someone call and offer the exact thing I needed. You start to realize that He is the master in all of this and He will help you accept His will and provide a way for you to do this. Pray and watch Him answer in miraculous ways!
You can do this! Have faith that everything will work out according to how the Lord sees fit. And just like me tomorrow, someday it will all be over and you will be forever grateful for the things you learned while you had this time on bedrest.
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