Bed Rest - Detroit, MI

I was on bed rest with my daughter for awhile and I learned how to knit. It was great I made a blanket to take her home with. Then with my son I learned to crochet. It was great becasue I was doing something constructive. If you know anyone who knows how to do either see if they can teach you. I still love to do both and my kids fav blankets are the ones that I made for them. Good Luck!

I've never been on bed rest...and can't even image what it would be like.

Have you tried: pulling the shades and letting the sun in or tv watching, internet surfing or chating, calling or writing an old friend, cross word puzzles/word search, cross stiching/crosheaing, reading a book, journaling, etc.

i had 2 weeks of resting in the middle of my pregnancy and 1 week at the end. I did lots of crossword puzzles and soduko puzzles.

I read a book or two..

You might write a pregnancy journal.. I wish I had done one with my first pregnancy- with my second pregnancy I am just too busy with my toddler - to have time to write anything.

Get a head start on the baby book! Did you have a shower and have thank you notes to write? Maybe write a journal of the journey through your pregnancy for the baby, or make a scrapbook. I was never on bed rest, but I definitely did my fair share of laying on the couch! I thought it was fun to watch all of the baby shows on TLC or Discovery Health Channel!

Hi C.,

I too was put on bed rest (& I had to stay in the hospital) for a month before my 1st child was born. I shopped on the internet for baby things, read, watched tv, and taught myself how to knit. I made a blanket for the baby (it ended up being REALLY big since I was on bedrest for so long :) )but staying busy and making progess on something made me feel productive. Maybe catch up with old friends via internet,phone or letter. Watch some movies that you've been meaning to or start working on a baby book.

It is hard to keep your spirits up but when I was on bedrest I figured I'd just take that time for myself and relax since once the baby comes those days will be long gone! Plus, I figured everyday that past was one more day my baby was able to grow bigger & healther in utero.

Hope this helps & good luck to you.

I spent a lot of my last pregnancy journaling on a website I put together to update my family on the progress of my pregnancy. There are a lot of sites out there but I used www.babysites.com. It is EASY and FREE and you can journal, link to your registry, add photos and keep track of visitors through your guestbook. I still update it with photos of my daughter and keep track of her milestones. After she was born, I printed off all the journaling I did and placed it in her baby book. It is fun to go back and look at what I was thinking nearly every day. This will really help pass the time.
Good luck.

You could take up scrapbooking. If you don't all ready do it, they have some great kits out there that come with everything you need to make a whole album. You could get a baby kit and be ready for all the first pictures. You'd just set up the pages and leave the spaces for the pictures to be added later. Time really flies when I work on mine. Good Luck!

Hi C..
You have recieved many good ideas. I was on bed rest also, with my first baby. It made me have the blues too. I found that being in a room that recieved a large amount of sunshine or bright daylight helped. You may need a loved one to rearrange furniture for you , but it is helpful. Take Care. And Best Wishes to you.
Heidi

C.,

I was on bedrest for a month before my first child as well. It was so difficult especially since I felt so good, like I could walk for miles! My laptop and wireless internet was the best thing I could have asked for. I would also suggest scrapbooking. Even if you don't have the pictures yet, you can get the pages ready. I didn't actually do that, but I sure wish I did now! I also learned to knit. Making something for my child reminded me what I was going through it all for. Since you know the sex (and maybe the name too?), you could make some favors to pass our when she is born too. Otherwise, I am sure everyone tells you to take the rest now if you can, and it is true. Try to relax, read some books, and watch a bunch of junky TV. You probably won't get to do that much again, at least without feeling guilty. I promise, it is so worth it all though!

I wrote a lot in a journal, caught up on soaps (so bad LOL) crocheted, read books, slept A LOT, and was very very bored.