Bed rest, day 1

That title sounds more ominous than it ought to...

If you will recall, my doctor has put me on modified bed rest as a precaution, rather than because of anything that is wrong.  The basic idea is to recline as much as possible, sit for only 15 minutes at a time, and to minimize physical stress.  I am allowed to  go to a restaurant once a week and to a movie, but not on the same day. As you can imagine, I'm really looking forward to that!  Hopefully at our ultrasound on Wednesday we'll find that my cervix is nice and long and closed, and this can stay as precautionary bed rest!

Frankly, it has me a bit frantic.  The week I spent in the hospital, and the week I spent recovering from the hospital took a whole lot of my nesting time and threw it in the trash. Last weekend we finally chose a new mattress and found a love seat for our second floor (so I can nurse in the middle of the night). But, in my opinion, everything else is in chaos! Ok, that is a vast overstatement, but my maternal brain cannot tolerate that I will be bringing these boys home to a house that is less than perfectly organized.  Of course, I would have fallen short of that goal anyway, but I could have at least been pursuing it! I've got people willing to help, and I hope to enlist them, but it's just not the same...

I really need recommendations of books to read. I tend to like mysteries, and I like series. I've worked my way through the Outlander series a couple of time. The Maise Dobbs series is a favorite. In terms of regular novels, I'd prefer not to read anything too upsetting (child soldiers, lots of incest etc). Actually chick lit is probably a good bet. Also, TV series, please help! I'm planning on watching "In Treatment", maybe "Grey's Anatomy", but beyond that I'm drawing a blank.

To add insult to injury, my netbook, which is thankfully still under warrenty, has been having hard disk errors, so I may be laptop-less for a few weeks, which will make blogging interesting (15 minute increments?)

The boys are getting VERY big and thumpy. I can feel them from the outside and I need to leave my hands off my belly long enough to see if I can see them!  My belly is finally starting to catch up to my breasts. Really. I posted a belly pic on FB and both my mom and a friend thought it was more of a boob pic than a belly pic! Yes, I know, I owe you a belly pic. I'm working on it!

My baby shower is in two weeks. I'm going to be hogging a lot of the available seating by laying on one of the couches, but other than that, I'm looking so forward to it. I invited a huge rag tag bunch of people from all the different parts of my life, and it feels like a true celebration of how far we've come.

We have pretty much decided on names, but we aren't sharing them until the birth. It's driving my mother in law a little crazy to not know, but what's the fun in knowing EVERYTHING! 

Wish me luck on my gestational diabetes test...

 

Comments

[It is what it is]

Just take it one day at a time and before you know it, you'll be there!

In terms of reading material, I am a fan of Kristin Hannah books (Firefly Lane, True Colors, The Things we Do For Love, Between Sisters) as well as the series by Emily Griffin (Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Baby Proof, Love the One You're With, Heart of the Matter).

Good luck (I was only able to read magazines during my protracted bed rest and wish now that I'd had the attention span to read books).

[Sweet Georgia]

Hope the bed rest is not too boring and that it flies by. Oh, and good luck with your GD test.

I just read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and it was awesome... takes a little to get into it, but give it a chance (if you decide to read it) and then it's easy going.

[Annie]

Sarah-
When I read what you just wrote about bringing the babies home to a less than perfectly organized house, I had to laugh. Someday I should show you the video of Drew and I bringing Lola home to 1029 and what a disaster it was...Drew's piles of crap, drawers hanging open, things piled up. I think CPS would've written us up. Watching now, we are both horrified at how clueless we were. You are FAR MORE PREPARED and will be an awesome mommy!

[Good Egg Hatched]

You will do fine! Honestly you need the bare minimum when you bring those boys home anyway. Deciding on purchases of equipment (e.g. a stroller) once you're actually living with babies is not a bad idea either.

In terms of what to read: try Sloan Crossley's books of humorous essays. I wouldn't recommend Gray's, actually -- I found the medical stuff more upsetting while I was pregnant. If you want fluff try the Real Housewives series (the New York one and the current Beverly Hills one) on Bravo. Or there's always 30 Rock!

Oh, and btw, you didn't warn me about the second half of Baby Catcher! The births gone awry/lawsuits/etc. Odd thing was there was actually a little note in the book, which I bought secondhand, that said "don't read beyond here." I found it a little spooky but of course I kept reading and now I know why the note was there.

Anyway, good luck on your GD test. One tip: Regardless of whether your MD office tells you to do this, I would recommend making the appt for first thing in the a.m. and fasting the night before. I did not do this and failed my screen by one point (which several of my friends did as well), which then leads to the three-hour test, which you DO NOT WANT TO DO. I honestly think fasting could have saved me that one point.

[Sara]

Good luck! Bed rest doesn't sound fun, but hopefully it'll be a lovely time of rest and relaxation and long-overdue contemplation of your navel. (I wish I had contemplated my own more before pregnancy, because now I can no longer remember what it looked like pre-Eggbert.)

You really don't need that much stuff for newborns. Really. Car seats, a double snap & go, some clothes, and a shocking number of diapers and you're good to go. Also, you can do so much by internet these days. You'll be fine.

[a]

I second the test first thing in the morning and fast for the GD test idea. I would probably have passed if I hadn't had a bagel and orange juice for breakfast that morning.

Reading suggestions: I'm reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie right now - can't remember who wrote it, but it's pretty good. Set in the 1950s with a 10 year old girl chemist as the main character. Also, mysteries with a magic bent - Jim Butcher's Dresden Files is really entertaining. Plus there are 8 or so books, so that kind of series would keep you busy for a while. I also like the Emily Giffin books. I find Christopher Moore to be very hilarious - especially A Dirty Job and Lamb.

I hope bed rest doesn't leave you too bored and antsy. Have a great time at your shower!

[meinsideout]

I hear you - I did bed rest too but only for 5ish weeks....

Okay, some of my favorite reads - Jim Butcher - Dresden and Alera series (yes, I am a bit of a geek) and my ALL TIME favorite is Stephen King's Dark Tower series - Roland the gunslinger is my favorite character of all time - and the ending - but you must read in order - will blow your mind.

And I like the TV show Bones!

[LisaJane]

I knew there was more than one or now, two reasons I keep coming back here. Outlander series! :) It took me awhile to overcome my addiction to them! :)
Some recomendations:
The Girl With....books are great. I loved all three and just watched the Swedish movie version of two of the books...very good.
Widow's Walk by Marian Fontana first person account of 9/11 from the wife of a fire fighter who died when the towers fell. Has some surprisingly funny moments.
The Senator's Wife - sort of a Laura Bush fiction
On TV-Mad Men, Modern Family, and my guilty pleasures, Mike and Molly, Glee and The Big Bang Theory.
Embrace the bed rest (sounds like you will) you are doing something very important during that best rest! :)
Lisa