Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

One hundred percent of my friends who have been on bed rest during a pregnancy for any length of time have said that it stinks. Completely, totally, utterly, absolutely rotten from beginning to end. I don’t think that there is any way or any reason to sugarcoat it. You’re on bed rest. You can’t do much but worry about your baby. And nothing I say here is going to keep you from worrying. But there are some things that you can do to make it just a little less rotten.

For a child, particularly a toddler or child under five or six years, understanding what bed rest means and why is a difficult proposition.  Small kids don’t know why mom can’t get out of bed and play, or get a new sippy cup, or find a toy is too much to understand.  For moms who go on bed rest in a difficult pregnancy, the incapacitation itself is hard enough- but to explain it- and STICK to it with a small child (or children!) in the house, the difficulty becomes doubly hard.

The first few days of bed rest were fine. I ordered countless items from infomercials that were guaranteed to make my life easier. I looked at a ton of designer nursery layouts, drooled over them, and passed them over as my money tree out back had yet to take root. I counted every dot, swirl, and swiggle in the wallpaper, carpet, bedspread, sheets, and pillowcases. And then I counted them again. It wasn’t long before I started to go a little nuts… and it was not a pretty sight.

You have heard the words that every pregnant woman dreads – you need to go on bed rest – and so, with much reluctance, you climb into your queen-sized bed and wait for the day when your baby will arrive. Bed rest offers some benefits to you and your baby but it may also lead to other issues that you did not know about.