Tips on how to survive bedrest

[tripletsandtwins]

Hello all!

I'm 32 weeks pregnant with twins, and I've been put on strict bedrest. I only have bathroom privileges.

I think I'm going to go insane before this is all over, so does anyone have any tips on how to retain my sanity? Please?

[MamaG]

mumsnet

[Ellbell]

Hiya. I was in hospital from 27 weeks when I had dd1. This was before there was internet access in hospital, so I spent my time reading (I read a lot ), listening to the radio, doing a bit of knitting (very bad at it, but it kept me occupied). Visitors organised visits among themselves so different people came on different days and I was neither lonely nor overwhelmed by people. If you are in hospital, get them to bring decent food rather than flowers/chocolate. Try to have a routine (e.g. I always had a shower inthe morning, always listened to The Archers after lunch, watched a bit of telly in the evening but not during the day, that kind of thing) as it gives your day a structure and doesn't make you feel that the hours of the day are all the same. Likewise, have some sort of 'going to bed' routine, even if it doesn't feel that you've ever really got up. I always got dressed, even though I then just sat on my bed all day, because then I could get UNdressed at night and I felt as if I was going to bed, not just staying in the same place.

Hope some of this helps. Good luck.

[Ellbell]

Obviously, though, if you have internet access, mumsnet is the answer!

[PurlyQueen]

This is going to sound like a really dim question but...

does bedrest mean you are confined to bed all day? Can you migrate downstairs to the sofa or make yourself a sandwich?

[Sushipaws]

A friend of mine sorted all her photos into date order and put them in albums.

But then she didn't have internet access and mumsnet.

[fortyplus]

DS1 is 14 now but I had pre-eclampsia...

I even started watching Neighbours I was so desperate!

Seriously... call in every Brownie point you've ever earned and get a rota of friends to come round each day - make you lunch, play board games, ANYTHING!

Join Facebook and start playing Scrabulous!

[Sushipaws]

Scrabulous is so addictive I have 7 games going and I can't spell

[fortyplus]

Sushipaws - but that's what's great - it won't let you play a word unless it's a real one.

[slim22]

Make sure you open window regularly for fresh air and breathe in deeply.
Prop legs on pillows and do small leg movements and ankle rotations. Have someone massage your legs.

Can you sit in an armchair? with legs propped on a stool?
Write a journal . My mom was 9 mths in bed with me and I now have lovely depictions of all seasonal changes of the tree outside her window and some very personal stuff. She gave it to me for my 15th Bday.

[Naetha]

Hi T&T - sorry you've been confined to your bed, you must be going out of your head! I'm afraid I don't really have any great suggestions for you - when I was confined to my bed before for a week I just read my entire collection of Jilly Cooper books and loved it!

Keep talking to us on the Jan ante-natal thread and let us know how you're doing