We all know, pregnancy is not an easy thing to deal with. The thoughts of the upcoming baby, taking care of your health and making preparations can be stressful and exhausting. During these times, doctors may recommend bed rest. Many people think bed rest is something to be alarmed about. However, Bed rest is completely normal during high risk pregnancy. There are many reasons for your doctor to recommend you having bed rest. They might catch something during a routine check-up, or have complications, or medical history which is beyond your control.

Nonetheless, we’re here to tell you that being confined to your bed doesn’t have to be boring or sad for you. Here are a few ways bed rest help you and what you can do to make it worth your while.

How Does It Help?

• In many cases, bed rest is usually prescribed to normalize the complication you’re facing.
• Taking a break is a good idea to let your body and mind rest. Too much work activity, heavy lifting or any kind of lifting, or even exercise can bring up some complications if not done correctly.
• Bed rest helps to increase blood flow to the placenta and give your body a break from whatever it may be facing. It helps to lower stress levels and high blood pressure in pregnant moms.
• You may not need to be confined to your bed for the remainder of your pregnancy. However, it helps to take the load off once in a while.

How To Deal With Bed Rest Discomforts

Bed rest can come with some serious discomforts if not taken care of diligently. Your muscles will lose their tone, joints will start to ache, and your blood circulation will be reduced. What you can do to ease yourself of some discomfort is to keep changing sides from time to time. This will help you to stimulate the sore muscles and relieve some pressure off of them. You can also do some exercises right from your bed. Turn your arms and feet in circles, press your hands and feet against the bed, tense your arm and leg muscles, or squeeze some stress balls. However, make sure you’re not using or stressing your abdominal muscle when you’re exercising. Consult with your doctor before you attempt to do any of these exercises on your own. They will provide you with all the right instructions about bed rest exercising options.

What To Do & What Not To Do

Every pregnancy is different from one to the other. There’s a reason bed rest was recommended to you. Consult with your doctor and figure out what your limitations are.

The basic things you shouldn’t do are very common and are for all pregnant women. Like heavy lifting or any kind of activity that causes you to stress out. Also, make sure you don’t sleep in an awkward position. A pregnancy pillow can help you sleep and rest comfortably. However, if your complication is serious you can ask your doctor if you can do some light chores or not. For example, cooking, taking a bath or shower, driving, exercise, or sexual intercourse are a few things you can talk to your doctor about. They’ll help you nail down what you can and can’t do. It’s important to keep yourself and your baby healthy. So don’t try anything before consulting with your doctor!

Make The Best Out Of Your Bed Rest

There is no fun in being restricted to your bed. But you can make it fun for yourself. During bed rest, all you have is time to yourself. You can have fun, do some research, or organize things for when the baby comes. Here are a few ways you can start making your bed rest more fun and meaningful for yourself.

1. Start A Journal Or A Blog

You can log your pregnancy during your bed rest. Keep a journal and try to write on it every day. Write down your thoughts, how you feel, worries or joyful moments. Many studies show that writing down our thoughts help up to eliminate unnecessary thoughts and worries. Keeping a journal, whether private or not, can be therapeutic as well. Same with having a blog of your own. Talk about your interests or what you’re going through the bed rest. Document yourself, you may connect with some other pregnant moms who have met the same fate as you. The possibilities with keeping a journal or starting your own blog are endless. You can look back at them, feel nostalgic, or share them with your kids someday when they’re old enough.

2. Create A Vision Board, Set Life Goals

During your bed rest, it’s important you don’t lose sight of your goals. What better way to do that than create your very own vision board. If you’re unsure about setting goals, don’t worry too much about it. Start with small things and get to bigger goals step by step. It can be about the career you want to have, things you want to see, places you want to visit etc. Keeping a vision board set with your goals and aspirations will help you be in a more positive mood. That’s the key to all of this. Being happy, stress-free, and having a healthy pregnancy.

3. Pinterest? Pinterest!

If you’re not familiar with Pinterest, we’d suggest you get familiar with it right away. Set up an account and start pinning! Pinterest has everything in it, recipes, art projects, DIY project ideas, interior design ideas, and even nursery ideas you can use for your own baby’s nursery. You can post your own ideas on it, spread your own energy, and also connect with people who match with your interests. Pinterest is also another way to get rid of boredom. Being in bed all day and pinning ideas on interest can keep your mind refreshed and keep you inspired!

4. Join Pregnancy Communities

Being connected to different communities is a smart choice you can make during this time. There are lots of pregnancy communities online you can join and share your thoughts in. It will be nice to connect with someone who is going through the same ordeal as you. You can bond over with them, share your part of the experience and keep each other focused on being positive. Being connected to other moms who can understand your pain, know what you go through can be of great help to you. So, join pregnancy communities and keep yourself well connected. With the aid of technology, anything is possible these days!

5. Get Organized

You can do lots of things when you’re confined to your bed. You can establish a routine for yourself, get yourself organized, and get other important things organized as well. Like when you didn’t have enough time to fill in your photo album, you can do that during your bed rest. Update your address book, learn recipes and add them to your collection, create project ideas, or make a routine for household chores for your partner or family. There are endless things that can be organized once you set your mind to it. Keep important things near your bed at all times. For example, water and snacks, your smartphone, charger, mirror, makeup items, books, journals, pens and pencils, laptop etc. Only keep what you need immediately during your bed rest close to yourself.

6. Preparations

As we mentioned before, getting things organized will pave the way for the preparations you’ll need to make when your baby comes. Deciding on names, financial issues, baby announcements, guardianship decisions, and having a baby registry are things that need to be taken care of before your baby comes into this world. You can order what you need for the nursery through online shopping, order books or magazines, and send thank you notes to those who’ve helped you through this time. Having things organized will help you plan for the future better. So, start preparing for your little munchkin’s arrival!

7. Ask For Help

One thing you should always remember is that there are people around you who are always willing to help. Whether it’s your partner, your parents, or your friends, they’re always there by your side. Don’t feel hesitant to ask for their help whenever you need it. Starting from prepping meals, doing household chores, to going out for running errands for you. Have a list of things to do by your side when someone asks to help out. There’s no shame in asking for help while you’re on strict bed rest.

Final Thoughts

Bed rest comes with a lot of opportunities for you to take advantage of. Surf the internet, read books and read up on parenting materials. Keep yourself informed and updated. Even though bed rest can mean you won’t be able to go out and meet up with your friends, what you can do is call them up and catch up with them. Use your Smartphone, make video calls and keep yourself and those around you updated.

Even you are on bed rest, don’t let life stop you there. We hope the ideas we’ve provided keep you inspired and in a positive and healthy mood!