To MOMs who were on extended hospital bedrest

MelleTX

Hi Ladies,

I mostly lurk on here because my niece and nephew are triplets and I like to read your stories and insight.

But, now I need your help, please. I have a friend who is 21 weeks with twin boys. She was just put on hospital bedrest due to cervical shortening. She had a cerclage last week and it's not working well. They hope she can hang on to at least 28 weeks.

I am going to see her and I want to take her a gift basket of things she can use while trapped in the hospital. If you had to spend an extended amount of time in the hospital, what were you really glad to have with you or what did you wish you had? What can I take her to help out?

Your thoughts and experience are greatly appreciated.

Thanks! 

LucyRicardo3

for me, it was my favorite junk food- oreos and doritos.the nurses only had graham crackers and lorna doone cookies. i hope to never see those things ever again lol. Also a milkshake or smoothie with takeout food that had real flavor would cheer me up. The hospital food was pretty bad.

a few times the wireless would go down and i was grateful for sudoku and People magazine, and something to do my nails and eyebrows with. My hubby brought me a cheapie universal tv remote so i wasnt stuck using those up or down channel buttons on the bed rail.

the best thing overall was my friends popping in for a visit, even for just a few minutes....

 

keg

I only did a couple weekends, but from that experience, here are my thoughts:

--Food:  Snacks, real food, anything that's not hospital food.  My hospital room had a mini-fridge so you may want to check if she has one too.  

--DVDs if she has the capability to play them.  

--Tissues:  I always had a stuffy nose when pg and the hospital tissues suck.  I remember bringing a box of soft tissues and it made things much nicer.

 

srh08.05.06

Having my friends visit always made my day - so I'm sure she'd appreciate if you could stop by once in awhile.  One of my friends made me homemade cookies and that was one of my favorite things I got while in the hospital!  Another friend would stop and bring me Chipotle every time she visited - it was so nice to have a break from the hospital food.  Other than that, I spent most of my time online.  I also liked reading gossip magazines, so if your friend is into that kind of thing, you could bring her US Weekly, People, etc. 

GL to your friend - I hope she can make it much farther along into her pregnancy!

preheatedoven

Food, the hospital food sucks.

If she crafts ask if you can pick up any supplies for her. A good friend of mine did a Michael's run for me so I could work on a few things for my LOs while I was on bedrest.

Otherwise, visit. I got so bored flipping through the same channels. I was always too worried about the babies to focus on movies or books, but a friendly conversation helped:)

sail123

The best things I got were: 

Food! Including some healthy food like fresh cut fruit. 

A manicure set.

Comfy pjs (that my friend washed so I could just put them on).

Magazines.

A nice blanket.

A framed photo of me and a bunch of my girlfriends.

Flowers.  

Lilystar82

I whole heartadly agree with everything everyone else said. A few more things:

- a really great hand lotion. My hands were so dry from the water and the washing. This will also come in handy if her babies are preemies.

- I was in the hospital last year for the holidays and I loved having small decorations to make my room more festive. It made me feel less like I was missing out.

 

Good Luck to your friend  

preheatedoven

Lilystar82:

- I was in the hospital last year for the holidays and I loved having small decorations to make my room more festive. It made me feel less like I was missing out.

Oh, I agree with this, too! I was there two years ago over the holidays. A friend brought me a little tree and a garland of hand cut snowflakes. It made the sterile room feel so much more comfortable:)

Kimmy08

I was on strict hospital bedrest for 10 weeks and the thing that saved me was my laptop, magazines, and arts and crafts. I painted the girls' wall letters and made some small stuff for their nursery.

I was also given Crayons and coloring books, nail polish, hand sanitizer, lotion, and books.

If she is going to be in for awhile, I recommend putting up a mural that she is able to add to daily to see her accomplishment. I had a farm theme and for each day I was there, I would get a new animal. Each week, I would get a different animal. By the end, I had a huge farm with a pond and a barn. Other long termers did a tree and would add a leaf each day, others did a garden and would add a flower. It is going to be neat to show my DDs the mural when they are older.

Good luck to your friend! I made it from 22wks5days with contractions, a 0.8 cervix with funneling, to 32wks1day.

MontyMrs

Beverages, especially if she has a fridge.  I begged anyone who came to visit for my favorite vitamin water.  Her favorite snacks, gum and mints, magazines or a fun trashy book or two.  My sister brought me the softest chenille robe and I used it daily.  If she has a laptop maybe an itunes gift card to download tv shows or movies.

Hope all works out for the best for your friend.   

ams8099

Everyone has given advice! I was in for two weeks and these were my favorite things!

Chapstick, and electric razor, a few fluffy towels (since hospital towels suck), her favorite shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

 

Glowconsin

The ladies have given great suggestions already.  I'm currently on hospital bedrest and the things I love and need most:

Comfy clothes - T-shirts, jammy pants, undies, slippers

I have a pillow with my own pillowcase from home

Snacks and drinks from home or just outside the hospital walls in general

I have one of those Clinique bonus sets and a few other items I like to use occasionally so I can "dress up" a bit and make myself feel better about myself

Visitors and knowing that I have someone I can count on to help take care of details at home that I can't attend to.  That's a huge thing to me.

mrsmacias2008

I went on bedrest at 13 weeks, home and only allowed dr. appt. At 23 weeks I was admitted to the hospital and delivered at 31 weeks. I was on complete bedrest there. i was glad to have my laptop, movies and books. honestly I would have so many people in and out that it was hard to rest. But DH would bring me pillows, nightgowns, and socks to make me comfy. I would not wear those damn gowns. Bring her plenty of snacks and drinks. 8 weeks of hospital food was no joke.

ardilla

Ditto some of what the PPs have said: universal remote, my own shampoo and regular toothbrush, good tissues (the hospital ones were awful), good toilet paper (same problem!), a water bottle that could be refilled (I couldn't reach a side table and that way I could stay hydrated), snacks, and drinks. If she doesn't have streaming Netflix or something like it, see if she has a DVD player in her room or a laptop she could play movies on, and if so, bring some movies. Back then I did not have a smartphone, Netflix, or a laptop, so the TV and DVD player were lifesavers! Best wishes for your friend.

flutepharm87

My family brought me a latchwork rug to work on. It was nice because it was a time-sucker and it made me feel like I was contributing to their nursery in some way. If she's into knitting (or could be), you could get her some knitting essentials (and a teach yourself book if she needs it) so she could make baby clothes.

Also, movies, books, puzzles, anything that you would love to do if only you had the time to do it. Or anything that you could do to mindlessly pass the time. Good luck to your friend, I hope she hangs on to her boys as long as possible!

MelleTX

Thank you so much for all your suggestions and advice. I really appreciate it. You have given me some great ideas. I especially like the idea of Christmas decorations, knitting set and some sort of mural she can add to for every day she is there. 

Thank you so much!