Sentenced to Bed Rest!!!

I had weeks of bed rest with boh of my kids and it sucked but it was betterthan the alternative. i have to beautiful kids.

That doesnt make it easier. SO some of the things that helped keep me sane was friends visitng alot. movies were ok but you can only watch so much tv. I did alot of wordfinds, crosswords and sudoku and stole my sons video games.

keeping your daughter intearactive. Try having her dress up and do plays for you. you can be the audience and she can borrow mommies clothes and be a pretty princess or a pop star. Have high tea in bed. picnics in bed. read alot of books together and cuddle and watch a movie. you can write your own story books together. you do the writing she can draw the pictures.

Wish I had more to offer. but i know how much it sucks. I was allowed out of bed rest at 35 weeks. with my 2nd son I spent the last week in the hospital and was let go home at 35 weeks and the next day was back in the hospital having the baby so it is important to follow the ules completly. even getting a shower chair to use in the shower. stay off those feet as long as you can. Good luck and Ill say a prayer for you.

You poor thing! I did some bed rest in the last weeks of my pregnancy and it was really hard as you now know. Do you have any outside family/friend support? Hopefully you enjoy reading because that was how I passed the time. TV got old fast.

As for your 2.5 year old, I have a couple of ideas. When my family went through a really hard time, my eldest was 3 and got shuffled between home, daycare/preschool and Grandma's house with visits to the hospital mixed in. One thing that was really cool was co-workers of mine put together a toy/surprise box for my son. Periodically (daily) he got a surprise out of the box that not only made him feel special but also gave him somthing new to focus his attention on. Some of the surprises were larger and some smaller but he would get soooo excited and then was entertained for long stretches of time.

The surprises could be very inexpensive or even something you already have and just wrap it up or have a special box you pull them out of. My son had coloring books, reading books, trains, bubbles, blocks, playdough, silly putty and the "biggest" surprise was either a Leap Pad book/system with a couple books or PowerTouch by Fischer Price. They are the books you can touch and have sounds or stories read to them. At 2.5 there is an infant/toddler version too.

If money is an issue, find a dollar store or just dig in her closet for some neglected toys that she has forgotten about. Also getting her out of the house with a friend/family member daily even just for a walk will do a lot for her.

Good luck with it all!

If your daughter likes music, you could have her play it and sing "to your tummy"... I have a friend that did this and it really helped with the bonding between the two children when the baby came. It would also give her some special time as well.
Also... is she at the point of liking to entertain? I remember putting on plays in my parents bedroom when I was little... we used in front of the window as the stage so that we had the curtian to draw, etc. It would give you something to watch besides tv... and I'm sure laugh at, as well as make her the center of attention.

YIKES! How scary for you and hard on your daughter! I hope it's temporary. I haven't been in this situation, but during my pregnancy with my second, I needed A LOT of rest, and I too was in the middle of a move with a deployed husband. The movie time is a great idea. Is there someone who can be with her at all? Maybe someone could bring her to the library to check out books that are "mommy time" books and she can only look at them with you? or get a breakfast in bed tray so you can do art projects with her in bed (light ones of course, like coloring or pasting or cutting). Those markers that only write on special paper might be a good way to prevent ruining your favorite comforter.

How far away are you moving? Can someone bring her to the new house/apt and show her around? You could buy her a disposable camera and have her take pictures of the house for you, saying that since you can't go visit it, you need her to help you see it? (Don't expect masterpieces!). My duaghter would get a kick out of being helpful (again, don't expect too much here). She can bring you things from around the house...

Maybe you can go online with her and look for things to decorate her room with? If money is an issue (I know I wouldn't be able to afford that) then you could create a make believe perfect room and let her "shop" online for it, just pretending if you tons of money.

Computer games for her age group? I don't have suggestions there, but I'm sure there are some. Or google kid friendly websites. If she thinks watching movies on the laptop is cool, then maybe she'll like games on there.

I hope any of this is helpful to you and goooooood luck!

Just think about it this way: after your baby is born, you'll get absolutely no rest at all, so you're catching up in advance! What I wouldn't give for a doctor to assign me to bedrest now, lol!