Anyone who’s been on pregnancy bed rest would agree that it’s not restful. It’s not the breather you’d expect from ordinarily lying around in bed, because you’re stressed out. You’re worried about the well-being of your baby, you’re anxious about dropping your job in mid-task, and you’re wondering how on earth you’re going to run a household from your bed. You can’t do it all and the sooner you accept that, the better. Your priority is to stay in bed and wait until that baby is baked to perfection. The multi-tasker in you wants to tell you that you can do it all, but don’t listen! For once, she’s just plain wrong. Last week, we talked about practical ways to relieve bed rest boredom . Now let’s look at three tips that will help you not only survive, but also enjoy bed rest.
Accept Help
I know, it’s difficult. Hell, I found it almost impossible
at first. When friends offered to fetch my kids from school every day, my instinct
was to say: “No, thanks, I’ll be fine.” But exactly where did that get me? I
climbed in my car everyday, knowing full well I wasn’t supposed to be doing it,
and worried over every bump in the road that I was jeopardizing my pregnancy.
Eventually, sense got the better of me and I relented.
When you’re in a situation like this, people want to help. Be daring and… let them! They’ll
offer to cook meals. Let them! Lumbering around the kitchen isn’t what your
doctor ordered – he wants you in bed. They’ll offer to help clean the house.
Let them! Even if you have to close your eyes and count to ten to block out the
horror of someone else scrubbing your toilet, just do it. Because a toilet
cleaned by someone else is way better than a trip to the emergency room because
you overdid it with the cleaning.
The more you relent, the easier it’ll get. And who knows: one
day, maybe you’ll get to return the favour in some way.
Routine Matters
I’m really not a routine kind of girl. Tell me to drive the
same route to work every morning and I’ll start feeling claustrophobic and
panicky after a few weeks. Yet having some sort of routine during my bed rest
had definite advantages. Like getting up at the same time my husband did, having
a bath and getting dressed. Even though I was going straight back to bed, it
helped psychologically to know that my greatest achievement for the day wasn’t
just rolling from one side of the bed to the other.
Another ‘routine’ I created was to have my meals at the same
time each day. Rather than feeling as though I was lying around in bed eating
all day, I trained myself to have set meal-times and felt good that I was
sticking to a fairly healthy diet.
I didn’t always get it right. I always promised myself that
I’d switch off the tv after a certain amount of time, but somehow, there were
times when I’d find myself watching those groan-worthy infomercials, just to
hear another voice in the house. Regardless, routine is a good thing to aim
for, if only to break up the feeling of endless, 24 hour days.
Set boundaries
If you’re the gregarious type who loves having people around,
this might not suit you, but listen in anyway, because boundaries are always
good.
Just because you’re at home all day doesn’t mean that you
have to be available 24/7. Let your friends and family know that they can
contact you at certain times of the day, rather than at all hours. Or try
scheduling a visiting time, like visiting hour in hospitals. What about asking
people to call before they arrive? Setting boundaries like these will help you
to feel that you’re in control of what might seem like a very out-of-control situation.
Not only that, but you might just be able to avert an awkward situation like
your gynaecologist arriving for a visit at the same time as your boss!
