Bedrest Prep

With Micah’s pregnancy, I was on bedrest for about 3-4 weeks before he was born–early at week 32.

With Carissa’s pregnancy, I think I was so concerned about not having another 32-weeker, that I never fully comprehended what the alternative would be like: two-and-a-half months on bedrest as a stay-at-home-mom of two toddlers! Thanks to bedrest–along with 16 weeks of progesterone shots, procardia four times/day, steroid shots, and some terbutaline–Carissa did not come until her due date!  Forty lonnnnnng weeks!

With this pregnancy, I feel (cautiously) optimistic that we won’t have another preemie. I’m doing the progesterone shots again. Just like the last two pregnancies, I begin feeling Braxton Hicks contractions around week 20. I’m at week 24 now, and on very busy days I already feel enough contractions by the end of the day that I will lay down and rest. It’s around week 28 or 29 that I’ve gone to triage with contractions1-5 minutes apart (that won’t stop with rest) . . . I’m guessing that in about a month and a half I’ll be on procardia again and possibly on bedrest too.

So I’m planning. I’m calling it “bedrest prep.”

1) What things should we (or can we) “scale back” or eliminate from my life right now? Possibly things that I know caused contractions during the past two pregnancies.

Early on in the past two pregnancies, trips to the grocery store (with toddlers in tow) always brought lots of contractions. My mother-in-law graciously took over the grocery shopping this week. I will make the list–she will take one child and do the shopping. (Sounds like a good deal for me! 😉

2) What tasks need to be done before the baby gets here? or what things will I be unable to do once I go on bedrest?

• Sorting baby clothes. (I’m including preparing baby boy clothes, as well as giving away baby girl clothes.)
• Organizing summer clothes for Mara, Micah and Carissa. Making sure they have what they need for summer: clothes, shoes, swim, etc.
• Re-arranging Micah’s room to accommodate the baby (or at least planning how I’m going to do that).
• Making and freezing as many meals as I can to help our family while I’m on bedrest. The past two pregnancies we were very blessed by very giving, helpful friends in our church who provided meals for a couple of months! But knowing that it’s likely coming, I’m going to do all I can to be ready!

If I plan well during April and early May, we’re hoping that rather than bedrest, I can just do “modified life” from late May until the baby comes. (For example, limiting trips up and down stairs. Having Daniel help carry laundry baskets up and down the stairs.)

I’ve always wanted to try “once-a-month” cooking, and although that’s a little too ambitious for me at this stage, I am going to start “doubling” meals this month–we can eat one and freeze the other. If I do that all month, I should have a good stock of meals in the freezer. If the freezer is stocked with meals, I could pull something out and stick it in the oven, maybe along with a steam-in-the-bag vegetable or a salad kit–that way I’m not actually cooking, but still planning and arranging the meals without much physical exertion.

I’m excited to start “preparing.” (Of course, we will have to wait to see how everything turns out in the end.)

If you were at my house right now, you would see several baby clothes bins out in the living room–because I’ve been working on sorting all this stuff: baby stuff, summer stuff. . .

And on Saturday, I made two loaves of banana bread, three zitis, and two pans of enchiladas! (One of each goes into the freezer for “bedrest.”) It was a busy day, but I like having goals. . . I feel more purposeful with a deadline looming.