Confinement

[Needmorehands]

Reading too much Philippa Gregory at the moment and the ladies of the court going into confinement for, I think, 6 weeks before and after delivery.
Sounds blissful!
Finding my 4DC very loud and full on and I just don't have the energy to cope with them and their noise and SPD and heartburn. At least I can, and do have an afternoon nap while they are all at school (how did I do this when I had toddlers as well?)
I'm not sure I could spend 6 weeks in a darkened room without going stir crazy, and I would be VERY picky about who was shut in with me... but there must be a kind of half way house option? :D

I wrote an essay about this at university. You weren't shut in alone. You had your godsibs who were your good friend who would be godmother to the baby, and you got to scoff frumenty which was a sort of alcoholic fruity porridge. But you also had a fairly high chance of developing a fatal infection. And this was possibly only if you were rich in the first place.

And "godsibs" were also known as "gossips".

I remembers the end of my two previous pregnancies I thought confinement sounded great! I know the old classic “pregnancy is not an illness” but I do think we need to cut ourselves some slack. We’re expected to continue working, cleaning, shopping, looking after other children etc as if nothing was happening to our bodies. For 9 months! Then sail from that to birth to caring for a tiny demanding human.

I fully intend to have a self imposed confinement towards the end of this pregnancy. I’m sure DH will be supportive.

Moon - I'm sure he'll understand :) Or maybe you don't turn into a fearsome hormonal beast when I think he'd let me go into confinement to save tiptoe ing around me!