Things I don't like about bed rest

Obviously, there are things I would not like about bed rest:

• Feeling helpless and lazy: We are usually more active, so being confined to home is hard!
• Not being able to get up and do something when I think of it
• Getting comfortable. This is VERY hard to accomplish at times.
• Not being able to get ready for our baby's arrival. Thankfully, I had already nested for months so there is not really anything that needs to be done.
• Not making meals: Now I know I listed not making meals under this I like about bed rest, but it belongs under both. There are some days when I long to cook. For example, Hubs birthday, came and went without a special meal. Thankfully, Crazy Auntie bought a cake for me, so that was a nice surprise for him.

Overall though, I have to admit, bed rest has been a good thing for me. It has really helped with my breathing difficulties that I have had for the entire pregnancy. I also know that I would never have forced myself to slow down, which I am sure in 5 short weeks I will look back on my bed rest time with envy. :-)

What I like about bed rest...

There are a few things that I do like about bed rest...

• Spending quality time with Puggie before Maddox arrives
• Scrapbooking from bed
• Having a cooler packed for me everyday with my food needs
• Not having to do the dishes!
• Afternoon naps, which unfortunately only seem to last 15 minutes
• Not making meals
• No prep work for the next day!
• Forced to rest, because otherwise I would never do it!

Come back soon to find out what I don't like about bed rest!

Graco Recall Alert

Was alerted to this through Twitter today. Thankfully not the Graco high chair we will be getting!

http://www.parenting.com/article/Mom/parenting-recalls/Graco-Recalls-12-Million-High-Chairs

I *HEART* Coupons!

I received a 10% off completion coupon from Target today for the baby registry. First off, the fact that this has arrived means that we are THAT close to having our little one join us. Secondly, I love to save money. I bought a little octopus Baby Einstein toy that I just know little Maddox will love :-) I also picked up ANOTHER diaper bag. One will be for baby, the other for my breast pump items.

I think I will add things to the Babies R US registry to use when they send their coupon. Is that wrong??For some reason, I have 15% off in my head for their coupon. I tend to make things up for the way I like or want them to be.

Like today, Crazy Auntie pointed out that Maddox could be a 10 pound baby. I said, "OH Dr H would never let me go past 8 pounds!" CA: "Why not, ours was 10 pounds!" (Mind you, Dr H delivered Crazy Auntie's baby as well.) It was then that we realized, my 8 pound mark was my own assumption, and not actually a FACT that I knew about Dr H.

Mumsy's first child was a 10 pounder. When she had me, I was 7 pounds. When she and my father saw me, they thought sometime was wrong with me, since they were comparing me to my brother!

Back to rest. I love Monday nights...good TV time :-)

IS THIS OK?

Is it ok for me to just have a post that says I am feeling grumpy and a little miserable today. I am having contractions again, I am tired, and my feet are sore and a little swollen. I feel a little bad complaining about my swollen feet because I know many pregnant women suffer from it worse than mine are right now.

Overall, I feel bad complaining at all because I feel so lucky and blessed to even have Maddox in my belly. My grumpiness more comes from the worry that I have now of him coming early. You're suppossed to take situations like this day-to-day from what I hear, but I can't help but setting a goal of wanting him to AT LEAST get to 36 weeks. Thursday marks the start of Week 34.

On a brighter note, Hubs turns 30 tomorrow! I am so lucky to have him in my life and he is going to make such an awesome dad. I have a secret mission in the works for Crazy Auntie to get a cake for me for him. I handmade a card, since I hadn't gotten one before the bed rest prescription. I think he will love it. He already got his present, so I was ahead of the game on that one.

Well, honestly, writing a little bit took my overall grumpiness away. Time to get back on my side and just watch some TV.

And it is true...

You can pass out while laying on your back while pregnant! A friend from high school posted a Facebook comment a couple months ago about how she had passed out during her ultrasound, seeing her beautiful twins. I had never heard of it, but now understand.

Yesterday, I was seen in the office for another non-stress test. I was hooked up to the monitors, laying on my back. Everything was going great. I was enjoying listening to Maddox's heartbeat, but suddenly felt "funny".

The room starting spinning and I broke out in a cold sweat. I felt sick to my stomach as well. I tried yelling for help, but apparently no one heard me. I am honestly not sure if I did in fact pass out, but it seems likely. I was in the room for at least 40+ minutes, yet it does not seem to me like I was aware at the time of just how long it had been. Rumor has it that Nurse Ratchet forgot about me.

When Nurse R came into the room, I told her what had happened. She explained that when pregnant, laying on your back can cause dizziness and faintness, resulting in passing out.

Still seems crazy to me. I felt a little off for the remainder of the day yesterday. Slipping in and out of sleep at no will of my own. Hubby pushed me full of liquids when he got home from work, which seemed to help me come back.

Upside to the appointment, my blood pressure was down to 128/78, which is still crazy to me. My blood pressure is ALWAYS 120/70, but still 128/78 is perfectly safe and normal. Looks like the prescription of bed rest worked for that. I am still having contractions though.

I've been hit with bed rest

I honestly had started to believe that my pregnancy was going to be smooth sailing. Mumsy kept joking with me about how I kept talking like the pregnancy was nearly over; however at that point still having 10 weeks to go.

Well here I am, 33 weeks pregnant and sentenced to bed rest. When I went into the office for an "emergency visit" for a rash I had developed on my hands/feet/legs/arms, I left with absolutely no diagnosis for the rash, but determination that I now had high blood pressure and was experiencing contractions. My blood pressure was 150/100 as of that day and my feet and hands were/are nicely swollen. Dr H said to me, "So you are having some swelling.", I said "No, not really right now." He then said that I was and pushed in on my cankle for me to see. Opps.

That day, I was honestly in shock. Complete bed rest... that was never something I envisioned for the pregnancy. I will do whatever is necessary to keep Maddox and myself healthy, but it is a huge adjustment on so many levels. I take care of a majority of things within our household, because I like to. It is a big change for me to not do laundry, wash dishes, make my hubby dinner, even just get the mail! Hubs is amazing though. He has certainly stepped up to the plate, even taking the opportunity to rearrange a few things to ways he likes them! He brings me a cooler in the morning filled with food and drinks to keep me supplied for the day while he is at work. He calls during the day to check in on me too, which I think is sweet. I have stopped calling him because I don't want him to think that something is wrong every time he sees my name come up on the phone.

I spoke with Dr H as well about still working on bed rest. He supports that, as long as I "listen to my body" and remain free of stress. When you factor in the high blood pressure, the elevated heart rate, and the "real" contractions, I run the risk of Maddox not going full term. I need to keep him cooking in my belly for as long as possible!!

A wonderful friend of mine did point out to me that she was born 7 weeks early and she turned out ok :-) I truly needed to hear that! Sometimes people say the right things at just the right times.

So at this point, I am at an overwhelmed stage of preparing for 7 weeks of bed rest. I worry foremost about the baby. Trying to work out working from home on bed rest has been less than thrilling, but we are working through it all and I am sure after a week of it, it will flow easily. I feel badly for Hubs working all day, then coming home and making dinner, doing dishes, and getting food ready for the next day. He seems happy though- I secretly think it makes him happy to take care of me and little Maddox. I am not necessarily bored yet, but anticipate that in a matter of weeks that could set in.

I have also determined, that for me at least, bed rest has not been restful. I was put on bed rest on Tuesday. Wednesday, I had to go for an ultrasound and Friday I had a doctors appointment. Then of course with my swirling mind of thoughts...I am going to refocus my energy this weekend though and hopefully start the next week in a better state of mind.

To top everything off my friends...I still have an itchy undiagnosed rash. I will be seeing the dermatologist though, so stay tuned.