BED-REST or DREAD-REST?

Well I've reached 23 weeks and every time another week goes by I celebrate!

Some of you have wondered what bed-rest is really like. As most people know it is bliss for about 1 week, then your body begins to twitch and crave movement. Once you reach this state it is really a matter of occupying your mind.

There are different kinds of bed-rest that doctors recommend depending on your situation, and so the type of bed-rest I'm on is "complete bed-rest with bathroom and shower privileges". This means that I literally have to lay with my feet up all day to keep weight off so I don't go into preterm labour.

The transition into bed-rest was quite abrupt. At 18 weeks, the OB noticed some things were going awry and so put me on partial bed-rest and had me quit work that day. This meant I could still putter around the house, but wasn't allowed to do much. 2 weeks later I went in for my 20 week scan where the radiologist noticed that things were getting rapidly worse, and as my OB was away on holidays, his back-up OB had me admitted to the hospital immediately, to have a stitch put in the following day. I wasn't even allowed to go home and get a bag ready for the hospital. So the last time I left the house I was thinking I was going to an appointment and instead spent the next 4 days in hospital.

That night was awful as they had me lay with my feet above my head all night - and the worry/stress of losing the kids kept me awake most of the night. However, God was working in the midst of it. The night I was admitted was the night that a lady from our church was on duty as head nurse. She allowed Leigh to stay overnight with me to help keep me calm. She also prayed with us and that just meant everything to me.

The following day, she just happened to be back on duty just before I went into surgery and was able to spend time praying with us again before I went in. It helped calm my nerves and give me courage.

The stitch seemed to take, and I began recovery, which is when complete bed-rest kicked in. At 20 weeks I couldn't possibly get my brain around the fact that I would need to lay still with my feet up for the next 3-4 months! Not getting out of bed, not making any meals, not driving anywhere, not doing ANYTHING! This also meant a heap more work for Leigh. And I began to feel like I was a restless lion stuck in a cage. How do I clean the house, do laundry, make meals for myself??? Leigh had to go back to work (especially since I had to leave my work early) which meant I had to be home alone. I was scared what that was going to do with my mind. In the first week alone, I cried almost every day which could have been hormonal as well as emotional. Eventually I pulled myself together, and was able to work through a plan that helped save us.

The best thing I did for myself was set up a routine schedule that helped make my days seem shorter. I also stopped looking at how long I needed to be here and instead focused on the day that was before me. We bought a TV for the bedroom and borrowed some books from the library.

BUT Perhaps one of the best things a pregnant lady on bed-rest needs is an electric hospital bed! My family and close friends from back home wanted to help us out in this time, and offered to rent a bed for me at home to make bed-rest that much easier! At this point, Leigh was sleeping on some blankets on the floor as he didn't want to leave me at night, but also didn't want to sleep with me in case he disturbed me while I slept. So, the electric bed was a great solution. Now there were 2 beds in our room, which meant Leigh had a bed to sleep in, and I could be comfortable all day with good support. Propping myself up with pillows in a regular bed, instantly killed my back and neck so having the support of raising and lowering the bedhead in an electric bed was more than beneficial!

Another perk we've been able to implement is setting a house cleaner in place. We've had family in Canada offer to help by paying for a cleaner to come in once a week and help out with cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, dusting, etc - which definitely helps to ease the load on Leigh. We are super excited about this added help and know it is such a gift!


ROUTINE DAYS
I am blessed to be married to a man that loves to serve and that loves to work hard. After working all day, Leigh comes home, and begins the housework chores, as well as buy groceries, runs errands, and makes meals. His job is literally never done, but he is happy to do it - as he feels anything he can do to help will ease things for me.

For the first while, Leigh struggled coming home not knowing what to cook. So to help him out, I wrote him a meal plan. This also helped when it came to shopping for groceries, as then we didn't over-shop (or over-buy) and he didn't waste time wandering around the store wondering what else we might need.

In the mornings I get up when Leigh gets up, and bathe and get dressed - This has helped my mind tremendously to be ready for the day. Before Leigh goes to work, he sets out my breakfast for me (in bed), with my morning snack, and organises anything else I might need for the morning. I usually spend this time either reading, listening to music, checking out facebook or updating my blog, phoning my family in Canada, or doing puzzles - I try to engage my mind and keep it active.

Leigh's work has allowed him to come home and make me meals, so I look forward to lunchtime when I get to see Leigh rather briefly. We have lunch together and he gets me set up for the afternoon, and organises my snack. Usually during this time, I might have a nap, or watch some TV shows, finish off some puzzles, or continue reading my book. Sometimes if I'm up to it, I'll have visitors which does help to wile away the time.

By tea time (dinner/supper time) I'm usually ready for a change of pace, so we have a recliner in the living room that sits me right back with my feet up. I am able to lay there, in a different space than the 4 walls in my bedroom, and watch Leigh cook, as well as chat with him about our day. We will watch a few shows together, and then begin the getting-ready-for-bed routine- which means we've been victorious over another day again!

We are constantly amazed at God's goodness especially through others and I do know that even though some days/moments are hard, these babies must know how much they are loved already!

And so....
Here's to one less day of bed-rest!