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If you are about to lose your ever loving mind and have stumbled on this post out of desperation while looking for things to do on bed rest, I really hope I can help you out! I was put on bed rest for the last 3 weeks of my last pregnancy and got through it thanks to some of the tips I’ll be listing below. Hang in there, sister. We’ll find something fun for you!
1. Tame the Pinterest Beast
This tip is not about your blowing up your Pinterest boards with new content. In truth, I bet you’ve already done that! Now I want you to go back through your pins with a critical eye. What have you pinned in the past that doesn’t appeal to you anymore? Which recipes are absolutely gorgeous but have a zero percent chance of ever being made by you? Maybe you have 40 pins about a nursery design that you ultimately didn’t choose. Now’s the time to let it all go so that your Pinterest boards will only have things that you really and truly want to explore further. You might even find a project or two that you actually can complete while on bed rest, so win/win! And if we aren’t friends on Pinterest yet, why the heck not? Check out my pregnancy board, for sure!
2. Enter Sweepstakes
Before I was a blogger, I used to enter sweepstakes as a hobby. I’d spend 20-30 minutes per day entering contests. Mostly I won small things, but I did once win a trip for two to Peru (yes, it was AWESOME!). I never had much time for that pursuit after having a baby, but I returned to the hobby while on bed rest. And guess what? I got a phone call the day after I delivered my baby that I had won the grand prize in a local contest. The prize? A brand new crib (it was this beautiful 4-in-1 crib)!!! Here’s a post I wrote about my 5 favorite places to enter sweepstakes.
3. Get Your Groceries Delivered
Hopefully you are lucky (like me) and live in an area with a grocery delivery service (such as Pea Pod or Shipt). I use Shipt and I can order everything I need through the app or through the website. I can even shop from what’s on sale at Publix to keep my costs down. They charge a little bit higher prices than what you will pay in the store, but it is SOOOOOO worth it! 🙂 Go through my link above and you’ll get $10 off your bill. You don’t have to have cash on hand for a tip, or anything; you do it all through the app. The delivery person brings your groceries into your kitchen for you, too. Love it so much!
And as for the staples that are shelf-stable, definitely check out Thrive Market (see my review that I did on my own here) or VitaCost. For toiletries, cleaning products and personal care (not to mention diapers!), Honest Company is the way to go (I have done DOZENS of product reviews on my own that you can see here) and for beauty products, I really love Honest Beauty. All of these companies allow you to shop from your computer and will have what you need delivered within a week. You will appreciate them now and you will continue to appreciate them when you have that little bundle in your arms, and a trip to the store sounds like pretty much the worst thing ever.
4. Treat Yourself (to a GOOD maternity pillow!)
Oh heavens if you don’t have a good best rest pillow by now, then you are simply going to HAVE to get one! They are worth every single penny and then some because they will make a huge difference in your comfort level. For day time use, Amazon has a really excellent selection of bed rest pillows (the type to use while sitting up). They are affordable and much better than trying to bunch up random pillows behind your back. But when you are ready to nap or sleep for the night, you need something different. If your budget allows for it, go for a U-shaped pillow, like the Snoogle. It is a total game-changer and I can’t say enough great things about it. If you have a more limited budget (or just less room!) then a wedge pillow will at least help support your growing belly.
5. Podcast Time!
Go ahead and get hooked on podcasts, because this is a habit that will serve you well while you are breastfeeding later on. You can do some of that sifting work right now by subscribing to a lot of different things, and weeding out the content that didn’t work for you. Also pose the questions to your friends on social media to find out what they are listening to! Podcasts are free and easy to download on your phone. Typical podcast length can range from 15 minutes to an hour, so the commitment time isn’t as intense as audio books. My top picks: This American Life, StarTalk, Elise Gets Crafty, and Being Boss.
6. Coloring Book Time!
Coloring books for adults have absolutely exploded in the last two years. Take advantage of the great offerings out there by getting yourself some color pencils with gorgeous pigments and a book or two that has the types of patterns you like. Target has some cute stuff, and of course, Amazon does too!
7. Spend Time With Your (Words With) Friends
If ever there was a time to engage in some online games on Facebook with friends, that time is NOW. Several of my friends all over the world played Words with Friends with me while I was on bedrest. Sometimes we’d go 12 hours or more in between plays, but I had so many different games going that it kept me occupied. It was a simple way that people who cared about me could offer me some support
8. Pamper Your Computer with a Deep Cleaning
Another area of your life that probably requires some attention is your computer. Now is the absolute PERECT time to go through your files and delete like crazy. It’s a spring cleaning for your hard drive and it will help your computer run faster for you.
Now is also a great time to make a decision about how to organize and store your photos. You will have THOUSANDS of photos of your child in the very near future, so you might want to figure out where to safely store them (and the answer is NOT on your hard drive). I’m still trying to figure this out for myself, so I don’t have a specific recommendation for you just yet (I’ll come back and edit it when I find the best fit for our family!).
9. Audio Books from the Library
My public library has the ability to make requests online for all the available materials there. Someone will locate the book for you and bring it to the front of the library to hold for you. It’s AWESOME! Take advantage of this offering if it is available, and have friends go collect your materials for you. And be sure to take advantage of the audio book collections! This is such a great way to get your read on without wearing our your tired eyes. Sometimes you need to rest but not sleep. Audio books are the absolute perfect thing to do during that time, because you only need to use your ears. You’d be surprised by how many books you can plow through this way, so definitely try it, and do it the free way! Cracker Barrel also has an audio book lending program if you happen to live near one and can send someone over there for you to switch out your aduio books. I think you pay a small monthly fee.
10. Explore Cloth Diapering (You Know You’re Curious!)
If you spend any time on Pinterest or mom-focused blogs, you have surely been exposed to cloth diapering on some level. Why not take a moment to learn just a little bit about it? It’s more than fine to decide that it’s not a good choice for your family, but you might just find that it’s a surprisingly simple way to go that will save you BIG bucks! I’ve got a post that can help get you started on understanding all the different types of cloth diapers out there. I’m a big advocate of convenience, by the way, so for my family that meant part-time cloth diapering. No judging or finger-wagging from me!
11. Finally Watch the Show Everyone Else But You Already Watched
A variation on this idea is to finally revisit a series that you absolutely loved but haven’t watched in quite some time. Last year I slowly worked back through Friends, and I’m currently re-watching The Office. Think of a show that just rocked so hard for you and enjoy it all over again!
12. Select Important Cards for the Year
Go ahead and choose the birth announcement style you want, as well as the holiday card. You’ll be so glad to have that decision made! If you send out a holiday letter, work on it now (I always write out each month and try to remember a few notables for each month…not everything makes the final cut, but it helps me remember when I’m doing the write up). My favorite place for those special cards? Definitely Minted.com.
13. Invite Friends Over
You really need to not lose connection with your friends. There will be plenty of time for that after the baby arrives, I promise. Take the leap and invite friends over to hang out with you, even if all you can do is sit on the bed and talk. It will be good for you to have a little face time with people you love, I promise.
14. Research Something That Piques Your Curiosity
We all have things that we’d love to learn more about, but have never quite found the time to devote to the endeavor. Well sister, now’s the time. Maybe you have been curious about essential oils since everyone and their mama is going cray over them. Perhaps you want to figure out that whole nail wrap thing or practice your nail art skills. Heck, maybe you just want to learn how to properly whip and nae nae since you never could get the hang of it last summer (you’ll get major extra points from me for mastering this dance while seated!). Take some time to think for a bit about stuff you’d like to learn, and then get crackin’.
15. Accept Help
If someone offers to help you in some way during bed rest, take them up on the offer. Someone might be able to watch older children for you while you rest, or they might offer to come tidy up for you, or even send over a cleaning crew. Now is not the time to let your pride stand in your way, friend. Say yes, thank you! Sometimes people genuinely don’t know what you need, so they give that blanket, “let me know if I can help!” I promise you, most people mean it when they say that, so don’t hesitate to go back to them with a few specific ideas. Make a list of some practical things that might make life a little easier right now. The next time someone says, “How can I help?” you’ll know what to say!
I’d love to hear any other ideas you have for passing the time in a productive and/or enjoyable way while on bed rest!
I’m not pregnant, but am bedfast sometimes due to chronic illnesses. Many of these work well for that, too.
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