High-Risk Pregnancy
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Hospital bed rest ladies!
Hello, i joined your club this week and was told today i might be here for the long hull. today was a hard day, DH and DD tried to talk to me on the computer but DD did not care to talk to me, i miss her so much tis brought me to tears. I am sspoed to eat to gain weight for my triplets but the food here is yuck. So Please share what you have learned,
How do you stay busy?
How do you keep from being sooooo sore?
How do you keep your spirits up?
thanks!
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Re: Hospital bed rest ladies!
(((hugs))) it must be so hard to be away from your husband and daughter! I was only in the hospital for a few days but I can share a little advice.
After a couple of days I figured out what kinds of food were better - I started ordering a la carte instead of their daily entrees. I also asked for an Ensure high protein at every meal, along with ice cream to make my own little milkshake. That made me feel like I was getting more calories and protein. You can also see if your husband can bring you lots of high calorie snacks. The nurses on the unit had stashes of peanut butter and crackers, which were good between meals. Finally, you could ask if you can get double portions of your meals since you're eating for 4.
Soreness was tough. The nurse brought me a foam mattress topper which really helped. Maybe your husband could get a twin size topper if the hospital doesn't have them? And keep shifting positions hourly if necessary. Are you allowed to get up for bathroom and showers? That helped me.
As for keeping spirits up, I guess it was just the idea that every day I kept the babies in was a victory. But I was also lucky in that I was pretty sure I wouldn't have to stay too long.
hang in there sweetie!
Ive been in the hospital on strict bedrest for going on three and a half weeks now--and yes, it does suck and I cry on a regular basis lol but I'm a hormonal pregnant lady so what can I say ;-)
As for keeping busy, I have a TON of puzzle books/crossword books/word search books, a huge pile of books to read, magazines, knitting (if you dont know how to knit had DH buy you the Knifty Knitter--its like super easy--my DH even used it to knit a hat for our LO), I have an electronic sudoku game, I spend a TON of time on message boards like this, facebook, and I use netflix like its goin out of style--if you havent ever watched Lost, I recommend it as a good show to start w/--it is on netflix on demand so you can watch it directly on your laptop and there are 5 seasons w/ roughly 20 episodes a season at 45 mins an episode--needless to say I've been watching it for 3 weeks and am just now on season 5
As for the food--I agree w/ PP about ordering a la carte if possible (you cant go too wrong w/ pizza, grilled cheese, etc. but I tried to do grilled cheese & tomato soup one night and the soup was a disaster) ask the nurses which meals are edible they might have some tips, ask friends/family/DH to bring food in--I have a HUGE basket next to my bed w/ snacks (trail mix, different nut mixes, fruit, homemade muffins, pretzels w/ peanut butter, dark chocolate, hard candies, mints, etc.) Also most hospitals will have peanut butter, crackers, individually wrapped cheeses, and juice available for the nurses to give you 24/7--does your room have a mini fridge in it? once you get moved to your long term room it may--which is nice to keep yogurt in, cheese sticks, cut up veggies w/ ranch, etc. Also, request a nutrition consult if they arent already going to be giving you one--the nutritionist/dieticians are in the hospital for your disposal so you might as well use their advice
As for being sore--enjoy a hot shower, request hot/cold packs for specific muscle aches, and big one: REQUEST A PT CONSULT! They can give you some great ideas of what stretches you are allowed to do based on your bed rest restrictions--Ive even got a few mini massages from the PT for some really bad knots in my back--try and switch positions as often as possible and support yourself w/ tons of pillows and rolled up towels--the PT can show you how to make sure you are supported and aligned
As for keeping your spirits up--I pray, not everybody is into that, but it has helped me alot, reading uplifting books, talking to support people, crying--if you need to cry let it out whether its to DH, your nurses, dr's etc. they understand how hard this is for you and wont think anything of you bawling for no reason, I also keep a list of ridiculous websites to visit that inevitabley make me laugh out loud for when I'm by myself and feeling particularly down
www.peopleofwalmart.com
www.textsfromlastnight.com
www.passiveaggressivenotes.com
www.funnyordie.com
Those are some of my favs--Join in on the bedrest mama's check-ins and feel free to PM whenever! I hope this novel of a response gives you some good ideas! Hang in there--this wont last forever!