Some Thoughts on Bedrest, Part II

So, I went to the doctor, only to find out that I've gained another 4 lbs (making NINE in the last 2 weeks), which puts me over the 25-35 lbs recommended weight gain for the first time ever AND at the highest weight of my life, despite starting out lighter. And my uterus, which had been measuring right on with the 1 cm per week, jumped from 34 cm at 34 weeks to 37 cm at 35 weeks, and now to 39 cm at 36 weeks! So I'm as heavy & as big (making me as uncomfortable) as I should ever get...but not likely to deliver soon. The doctor actually said "I don't think you'll be having a baby this week." Waaaahhhhh!

It seems like everyone I talk to has a story about someone being on bedrest, then not having the baby for a while afterwards. Is there a sensitive period for pre-term labor or something? Like maybe I would've had the baby at 33 weeks if not for bedrest, but making it to 36 weeks means I'm stuck pregnant for another month? Or is this evidence that my bedrest was unnecessary? I know, I know, hindsight is 20-20, and it's FAR better to be overly cautious than have a 7+ week premie baby with major problems. But the whole experience has made me feel like the baby's going to come any day now, so I'm getting impatient already!

So, back to my thoughts on bedrest.

One of the other big challenges with bedrest was getting the errands run. I have a notebook where I wrote down everything I thought of that needed to be done, remembered, etc. I sorted the errands (mostly shopping) into things that could wait vs. things Dan had to do for me (then when my mom came I got to give her some of my things that could wait!). Any other time he's had to take care of me & the household, it's been just for a couple days max. So I think he was surprised by how necessary (see Honey, it isn't all "fun" shopping!) & exhausting errands are! He had to go grocery shopping several times - sometimes just for a few essentials like bread & milk, other times he had a much longer list. I sent him to the library a few times (thank goodness for being able to put things on hold from home!). He took Ryan to a doctor appointment, and the boys to the school library night. And there was some other shopping that couldn't wait, like paper plates.

For the most part Dan did very, very well! After his first trip I learned to organize my list so he wouldn't be walking back and forth across the store. And I felt the need to tell him what a good price was on the things we needed that weren't on sale, like cereal (low double digits per ounce), whether or not he appreciated it. There were only a couple issues, like getting the wrong kind of hot dogs which cost $4.49 a package instead of the ones on sale for $1.99 with a coupon to make them $0.99 (same brand even, just wrong variety). But I've made mistakes like that from time to time too...I'm overly sad about it when I do it, too! Also, I would not have gotten that large of plastic cups or paper bowls, they have lead to a lot of wasted food & drink by the little ones! And I just avoided having him buy things that we could survive without until I could go (like toilet paper - we were running low, but not out quite yet). Then my mom came and went on a big stocking up trip to Costco for us, which Dan appreciate far more than he usually would!

One of the things we did that was a really good thing for us was going whatever-the-opposite-of-green-is (brown?), and using disposable plates, bowls, cups, and silverware whenever possible. Practically eliminating dirty dishes sure helped keep the kitchen clean! Yes, I said in my last post that 3 different people did some dishes for us (and that didn't count my mom, so 4 people!)...we're just really that bad at dishes I guess!

One of the interesting things to see was how motivation waned in the 3.5 weeks I was on bedrest. At the beginning I was super on top of the kids picking up every single thing that belonged to them or that they got out (which is easier to do when you're lying on the couch than distracted doing something else!). And I really wanted to help, so I did whatever I felt like I could, like folding laundry (which is something I usually really struggle with). And Dan was SUPER amazing at doing the housework. Seriously, our house has never been as consistently clean as it was from a couple days in to about a week later, and stayed really good most of the following week or two. My dear sweet husband was even rather smug about how much better of a job he was doing than I usually do (love ya Honey!)! Then it slowly started to go back to usual. The kids did NOT develop the habit of picking up after themselves like I had hoped. I stopped searching so hard for ways to help. And Dan seems to have discovered how hard it is to keep up the motivation to do the same chores over and over again when they're just going to get undone in a few minutes and the computer is so enticing. So while I would've been nice to have a spotless house that entire time, I feel rather validated that he got to experience that aspect of homemakership (apparently not a word, but it should be)!

One more quick thing, then I should go attack the dishes (some of which have been soaking for a couple days :-\ ). One other thing I learned was how many productive things I could be doing on bedrest. It was rather disappointing, because it took away my feeling of "having" to relax. I found that I could do some mending by hand, I could call the insurance company to try and sort out stupid issues (nope, wasn't successful yet), write thank you notes (I have a LOT to do!), etc. That realization made it so I was procrastinating rather than just enjoying bedrest. Blah. I think that was about the point I stopped doing much help.

So, that was my bedrest experience. As I said several times (and thought very frequently!), it was much better in theory than in reality. :-P I'm glad to be done and back up on my feet. It was definitely not an experience I have any desire to relive.