|
|
How to Survive Bed Rest
If you have been told to stay in bed until the birth of your baby, you may welcome the idea at first. However, after about a week of bedrest, many pregnant women become bored, irritably and no longer excited about extended periods of resting in bed.
Tips to help make your bedrest an enjoyable experience:.
- Have a small refrigerator placed within easy reach of your bed. This will allow you to retrieve beverages and snacks without walking around. You can have ready-made salads and sandwiches in your refrigerator to tide you over until your partner arrives home.
- Get a laptop computer. A laptop has been the lifesaver to many women who are on bed rest. It allows them to feel they are still plugged into the world outside of their bedroom, while still abiding by the rules of bed rest. Many women use their computers as a means of communicating with friends and relatives, as well as household responsibilities such as banking and shopping. You can also spend your bed rest reading the latest baby articles, ordering baby items, or writing the next best selling novel. You can even go to message boards and correspond with other mothers who are on bed rest.
- Read some of the books you have always wanted to read. You can call your local library, or reserve the books online. Have a friend or family member go by to pick them up for you.
- Even though you are on bed rest, you should still try to maintain a schedule. A schedule can go far in making you feel productive. Set aside one day of the week to pay your bills, another day to write letters, another day to plan out a grocery list, etc.
- Use this time to go through all your photos and organize your photo albums.
- Just because you are on bed rest does not mean that you cannot socialize. Have special friends and family members over to drink a cup of tea with you, watch a movie, or just chat.
- Be easy on yourself and your partner. Bed rest is not only hard on you, but for other members of your family. Keep in mind that emotions can run high at times, but that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
- Realize that you may have to lean on others to do your shopping, clean your home and run errands. Friends and family members are usually happy to volunteer. You can also hire a cleaning service or pay to have your groceries delivered. Keep in mind that someone needs to be home to let the delivery person inside. If someone is not home to help you, have the delivery made to your neighbor. Give your neighbor a house key so he or she can come into your home.
|
|
