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JoyNChrist
05-04-2010, 08:58 AM
NOTHING'S WRONG! Just felt like I should clarify that from the beginning. ;)

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and at 19 weeks, everything and everyone's looking great (well, I don't look great, but that's just aesthetic, lol). He did however mention that I should prepare myself for the possibility of bedrest at some point. Not that there's anything wrong now, but he said that with my smaller frame and the issues we've had in the past (clotting disorder that resulted in 5 miscarriages), if anything starts to look problematic down the road that would be his first step. I think that's pretty much their "go to" fix with multiples anyway.

So I'm just trying to prepare myself (and DH, DS, etc) for that possibility. We have tons of family and friends around so I'm not terribly worried about finding help, it's more like knowing what kind of help I'll need. DS's preschool gets out for the summer at the end of this month, so I would definitely need to have some sort of childcare plan in place. And I'm trying to consider all the other things I would need to have taken care of...

Hopefully everything continues to go well and this isn't even an issue...just trying to prepare myself in case it becomes one.

JTsMom
05-04-2010, 09:08 AM
I was on bedrest the last 3 weeks of my pg with Jason. Of course, it was just me, no kids, so totally different. It is incredibly boring, so make sure you have plenty of entertainment. Do you have a laptop? Think about Netflix too. Send DH to the library for books.

You'll need someone to grocery shop, get any last minute baby things, clean, and cook. Childcare is obviously a big thing. I'd think about getting some board games, books, etc. that you can do with Avery in bed.

:hug: Hopefully, everything is going to continue along perfectly, and you'll never need any of these things.

Melaine
05-04-2010, 09:24 AM
What I have to say is, if there is any question of being on bedrest or not, DO IT. I'm saying that because, in retrospect, I really feel that I should have been on bedrest. If I could have kept them in for any longer it would have been worth it. Although they were healthy and had no serious complications, having preemie twins is SO hard. So if my being on bedrest for 2 weeks had kept them in for two more days, it would have been worth it. I would have put myself on bedrest if I had known then what I know now. I kind of blame my doctor for telling me to take it easy and rest a lot, rather than telling me to be on complete bed rest.

CharlotteMommy
05-04-2010, 09:34 AM
I was on bedrest for the last 2.5 weeks of my pregnancy. I was instructed by one doctor not to leave the bed/couch, other than to go to the bathroom. A second doctor in the practice said most of my time should be spent on the couch, but that it was ok to do something mild like walk to the car, drive to a restaurant, eat, walk back to the car, drive home, and then park myself back on the couch.

For the most part, bedrest was an extremely boring time, but totally worth it for the health of the baby. Like PP said, have plenty of things to do that don't require you to go anywhere -- TV, video games, books, puzzle book, laptop, etc. I hope everything goes well for you. While you may be bored, it is only a short blip of time in the long run, and the best thing for you and the little babes. Good luck!

gatorsmom
05-04-2010, 09:52 AM
With the twins pregnancy, I was on self-imposed bed rest from about 7 1/2 months on. I worked feverishly in the mornings to prepare for the twins and to take care of my older 2 kids and then after lunch I'd lay down and try to make phone calls and send emails if I had any energy left. LOL. We have no family nearby so we knew we would need to hire a nanny, especially while I was in the hospital having the c/section. Also, from doing my twins research, we knew there was a very good chance i could deliver early and that the twins would spend sometime inthe NICU. We got the nanny a bit early to help with keeping me rested and to get the boys used to her and incase I went into the hospital unexpectedly. My goal was to deliver big twins with no NICU time. I made to my c/s date, didn't go into labor early, and the twins were 6 lbs and 6 1/2 lbs with no NICU time. My OB thinks that a big reason for being able to carry them so long without going into preterm labor is the afternoon bedrest I put myself on. That and the OBSCENE amount of water I forced myself to drink. LOL.

tmarie
05-04-2010, 10:00 AM
I was on partial bedrest with both pregnancies for a couple of months. Every morning I would get up, get dressed and do makeup, and then head down to the couch for the rest of the day. It was very helpful for my mood to get out of my bedroom during the day. We kept a cooler with waters and snacks next to the couch, to limit how much I needed to get up. My goal was to only get up for bathroom breaks....which there were a ton of, because I was under strict orders to drink LOTs of water. Having a laptop was critical to maintaining my sanity! :) Friends brought over dinners and we did lots of takeout. (Dh doesn't really cook). It was most difficult the second time because I had a two year old who was in the midst of potty training. She and I spent lots of time on the couch reading and talking, which was really nice before dd#2 joined us. Oh, and did I mention cleaning help? That was SO important! We didn't have family close by, but it would have been extraordinarily helpful if we did. We also made a point of planning weekend dinners (friends came over and we ordered takeout, played games, etc....). I was craving social contact by Friday night.

GL and hopefully you won't need to worry about bedrest, but if you do, don't worry...you'll be fine!

tmarie

longamkl
05-04-2010, 10:18 AM
I echo the comments made about taking bedrest seriously. My doctor put me on bedrest for about the last three weeks of my pregnancy (at about 34 weeks) due to emerging pre-eclampsia. I did not take it seriously enough. I thought I felt fine. I had my Mom staying with us to "help" get ready for the babies but she was not very capable (she mostly just wanted to be there when they were born). I was still cooking etc. When I went for my 36 week doctor's appointment, I had pre-eclampsia and was put on hospital bedrest. I did that for another week before the pre-eclampsia got too severe.

If I had it to do again, I wish I had taken my bedrest more seriously. Preemie twins are soooooooo hard. Even though mine were born a decent size, we had feeding issues that made the next several months absolutely brutal (and we may still dealing with some of those issues). If I could have kept them in longer, I definitely would have.

I'm sorry that I can't offer more specific help - the twins are our first and second. I also have a very small frame and was 110 lbs pre-babies. I gained 40 lbs with the pregnancy - lots of water right at the end. I could not feel any of the contractions that they said I was having. Good luck and do all that you can to rest.

C99
05-04-2010, 11:17 AM
Childcare is the least of it, IME. There's also shopping, meal-planning, cooking, bathing (you, child), petcare if you have them, cleaning, laundry, driving, in short all of the tasks that you'd do at home and take for granted that you can perform normally -- because all you can do is sit/lie still. And then there is the worry and how bored you are.

TwinFoxes
05-04-2010, 11:41 AM
I was put on hospital bed rest after my water broke at 26 weeks. It's a lot different than home bed rest, so I won't go into my experience too much. But if, in the very unlikely case, you get put on hospital bed rest, I'd be happy to give you any advice/support. :)

hobie
05-04-2010, 11:49 AM
I have a little one tugging on me, but I did self imposed bed rest/sofa rest with my twins, and it is deffinantly worth it to keep the babies in as long as possible (i went to 36 weeks).

sunshine873
05-04-2010, 11:52 AM
I was put on hospital bed rest after my water broke at 26 weeks. It's a lot different than home bed rest, so I won't go into my experience too much. But if, in the very unlikely case, you get put on hospital bed rest, I'd be happy to give you any advice/support. :)

:yeahthat: except mine was at 22 weeks. :) I think in many ways hospital bed rest must be a little eaiser because you don't have the options and aren't tempted to get up & clean, answer the phone, just do this one little thing, etc. My dad was here visiting when my water broke and then stayed until a week after DD was born. That was so helpful, because it allowed DH to let-go of taking care of the house & our dogs, so he could spend all his free time at the hospital with me.

BeachBum
05-04-2010, 12:11 PM
I was on Doctor imposed "preemptive" bedrest from 23 weeks on. I moved around from sofa to bed, made lunch for DS and myself...but didn't do anything else or leave the house. It was hard, but so worth it.
My mom cooked dinner for us several times a week (life saver) and DH made some easy things the other nights. (I would find recipes in my "free" time and make very detailed grocery lists). He was so great about doing everything!

I had to get over the feeling that I was lazy, or over reacting etc. Many people made comments about my bedrest condition since I didn't have any problems. My doctor was very adamant that bed rest was the best path to full term babies (but obviously not the only way). I just knew that if my babies came early I would always blame myself (regardless of it was really my fault). While I b!tched and complained a lot, it was the right thing for us to do. I just had to ignore the feeling of being judged by others.
My boys were full term and 7lbs and 7lbs 6oz.

maestramommy
05-04-2010, 01:59 PM
One of my coworkers had twins, and it sounds like it started out the same way as you. Everything was A-ok, and she took each day as it came. She said that the bedrest could be anything from sitting more often to actually bedridden. She was a teacher which mean a certain amount of time on her feet, so I think she sat whenever possible. She finished the year without any problems (well almost, the twins were born shortly before the year ended), and I don't believe she was ever truly bedridden.

Everyone is different though. One of my friends developed preclampsia and was on modified bedrest for a month before the baby was induced at 36 weeks. Everything was fine after that.

mikeys_mom
05-04-2010, 02:23 PM
Similar to some of the PP's, I was never on strict bedrest. I actually worked up to around 34 weeks. However, I am an accountant and pretty much drove to work, and sat with my legs up all day. My coworkers used to come into my office and laugh at my setup. I had a recycling bin turned over with a pillow on it as a footrest and was able to recline backwards in my chair with my wireless keyboard on top of my ginourmous belly. So, sitting at work was not all that different than lying on the bed/couch at home. In fact my Dr encouraged me to work as long as I wanted because he assumed that with a 4 yo and an 18 month old to care for at home, it would be harder to rest than at work. Once I got home from work, I pretty much crashed on the couch or bed and let my nanny and DH take care of everything else.

Since you have lots of family nearby I would take whatever help you can get now with grocery shopping, errands, childcare, etc... so that you can just take it easy and possibly avoid strict bedrest or pre-term babies.

ged
05-04-2010, 05:29 PM
Bed rest is not fun. I was on modified bed rest beginning week 14, and after week 24, I had to go to strict bed rest. I also spent 3.5 weeks in hospital on bed rest. But, now, I am 39 weeks and 4 days...and no baby yet! I really believe bed rest works. I got off of bed rest at 37 weeks, after my cerclage was removed.

You are lucky, b/c you have friends and family nearby. Enlist their help for everything...childcare, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping. We had to hire someone to pick up my daughter from preschool, to do some light cleaning and to make my lunches. I could only get up to go use the bathroom. DH was basically a single parent. I ordered groceries on line and paid to have them delivered. We had some church friends bring dinner by a couple of times a week. Other nights, DH picked up take out.

My 4.5/5 year old did amazingly well, given how hard things were. She did however spend a lot of time watching DVDs/TV in the afternoon, after she came home from school. I used the laptop a ton. Did not read a lot b/c my arms would get tired holding the book up. Watched t.v. when I was in the hospital, but at home I do not have a t.v. in our bedroom, so I did not watch too much t.v. Would occasionally put a DVD into my laptop and watch it.

It is very dull, and very tiring, believe it or not. It is hard to lay in bed all day, and then try to go to sleep at night. Your body becomes very sore and achy. You may have constipation issues ( I certainly did). You may lose a lot of muscle tone, so be prepared for that. After you get off of bed rest, it will take some time to recover your stamina and energy.

Everything I am saying is more extreme than what you might go through, as you may not be on strict bed rest, and it won't be for as long as what I have been through. Nonetheless, just wanted to give you some idea of what it can be like.

Carrots
05-04-2010, 07:09 PM
I was put in the hospital at 28 weeks with DD because I was suddenly dilated 2 cm. Was there for a week then sent home for another 8 weeks of bed rest. I had bathroom/shower privalges and like another poster said, I would get up in the morning, shower, get dressed in clothing and move to the couch in our den. There, I would put on makeup and do my hair. I needed to feel pretty, like I was going to work, even though I wasn't going anywhere. I was also lucky because I have family close by, so my mom would help with laundry and make us dinner each night. (I love my mom!)

I will be honest with you..... there is nothing luxurious about bed rest. I had many people say to me "I would LOVE to lay on the couch all day and watch TV." It is not like that at all. I found the first week to be okay because I was still setting a pattern for myself. The second week was HELL as was the third, but by the fourth week I had developed a pattern for the day that was tolerable and I took resting very seriously.... I thought of it as my job. I came off of bed rest at 36 weeks and delivered DD at 38w6d!

I am currently on Dr. ordered "take it easy" rest because of my cervix again. It is very short and I know I will be back on bed rest at some point. I have an appointment tomorrow and am bringing my hospital bag with me in case I am admitted for steroid shots. I will be 30 weeks tomorrow.

Best of luck with your pg!!

AJP
05-04-2010, 08:43 PM
I was put on "modified" bedrest with my girls at around 2 weeks. For me this meant no "housework" (vacuming/mopping/carrying laundry), no work, no shopping, no walking the dog. My doc told me to hang out at home laying down as much as possible, but said that I was free to move about the house, make myself meals, shower, etc. My cervix was beginning to shorten and they watched me very carefully.
After the first 2 weeks of laying very low they told me I could get out and about but not to wander around the malls etc. I was lucky that my cervix never got worse, but I still went out more than I should have during this time. I think just the fact that I wasn't on my feet at work all day helped a ton. I never felt my contractions towards the end of my pg and I had a few hours in the hospital one night (at 33 wks) when they found me having contrax (during NST) that I never felt. They stopped them that time and my girls were born at 37w 5d. They were big healthy babies at 6lbs8oz and 6lbs 11oz. I was lucky that I went that far. I made it my "job" to keep these babies in there once I had the "scare" at 33 weeks.
Since my girls were my first I can't relate to bedrest with a DC at home. It's great that you have family/friends close by! Definitely start by having someone spend some time with your DS so he doesn't go stir crazy. Grocery delivery is a good idea as is having someone do laundry/housecleaning etc. The hardest part for me was staying comfortable...I'd go from the bed to the couch to the guest bed and back to my bed just to change it up and keep my hips from getting sore from laying on my side. I had my laptop with me by the couch or bed, plenty of books and dvd's. I spent lots of time sleeping during the day since I was awake a lot at night. My mom was 5 minutes from my doc & hospital so I'd visit her just to get a change of scenery while staying close enough to L&D!
Hope we don't scare you! I know as many twin moms never on bedrest as those who were. Good job at preparing from now for all the possibilities!