I have a very dear friend who has just been put on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy (you know who you are, and if you are reading this, stop and go get back into bed!). Fortunately, her due date is very soon, so she shouldn’t be confined to her bed for too terribly long. I never had to go on bed rest with my pregnancy, but at the very end, I pretty much just sat all day, except for those walking excursions I took daily to try to get the baby to come on out. Right about now, bed rest actually sounds kind of nice. This tells me two things: 1. I need to try to relax a little bit more and go to bed earlier so that I’m not as tired, and 2. I have no idea what bed rest is really like, and how boring it can probably be. So with that in mind, I’d love to hear from anyone out there who has ever been on bed rest…what did you do to pass the time? Here are the suggestions I made to my friend for what to do while on bed rest during pregnancy:
1. Eat chocolate
2. Watch reality tv, the more ridiculous the better
3. Sleep while you still can!
4. Do crossword puzzles, or some other fun activity like word searches or coloring
Other bed rest tips for my friend?
1. Prepare the birth announcements if you are planning on sending those out.
2. Write a blog!!
3. Have friends come over for girlfriend bed dates…I still do this with gal pals- movies, girltalk, chocolate…so fun and very nourishing
Good luck with the bed rest!!
I wasn't on bed rest, exactly, but I did have a preterm labor scare, so from week 32 (I think…) to week 37, I had to lie down or sit any time I started having contractions again.
Some more ideas – take a shower or bath and get dressed in decent looking clothes, even if you can't go anywhere, just so you don't feel so 'blah'
use plenty of light when you aren't trying to sleep (helps ward of depression…)
rent some classic movies that you've never seen before… or watch some of your childhood favorites!
read a book about breastfeeding (if you're planning to do that) so that you're even more prepared
start reading some other book that you've always wanted to read 'some day'.