for those who were on bedrest

Do you feel it has changed you and everything? How?
I was on bedrest due to an incompetent cervix from week 20 to week 37. I think it was such a scary, traumatic experience that I feel I will never be the same.
On the physical side after the babies arrived for the first 6 months I was constantly in pain. My knees, wrists, back . Now it's mostly my back I started seein a massage therapist. She said my spine is compacted and there are deposits on my shoulders and neck.
On the mental/ emotional side I feel I am more at peace with the demands of motherhood since I didn't think I would manage to cook the babies long enough so it is very clear to me what a great blessing this is, but also I might be overprotective of the girls.
Socially things are totally different. The people I thought were my friends I feel bitter toward, same thing with my parents. THey did not support me at all. Luckily, I have new friends and am closer to my brother who was great. But I spent hours and hours alone and lonely which changed my outlook forever.
Professionally, I had to shut down my very sucessful private practice as a therapist. Now I will return to my civil servant post when the babies are 1 year old but probably not start up the private practice again.
It's not having the babies as much as the bedrest that made everything different. Also, not having been out of the house for almost 5 months before the babies arrived being at home with them now is different than if I had had an uneventful pregnancy.
Finally, if I had had an uneventful pregnancy I don't think I would even think of having another baby. Now I think part of why I want it is for the chance of a happy carefree pregnancy.
Do you think bedrest was a big deal for you? Am I exaggerating?

 

QUOTE(axpan @ Apr 15 2007, 02:23 AM) [snapback]220542[/snapback]
Do you feel it has changed you and everything? How?
I was on bedrest due to an incompetent cervix from week 20 to week 37. I think it was such a scary, traumatic experience that I feel I will never be the same.
On the physical side after the babies arrived for the first 6 months I was constantly in pain. My knees, wrists, back . Now it's mostly my back I started seein a massage therapist. She said my spine is compacted and there are deposits on my shoulders and neck.
On the mental/ emotional side I feel I am more at peace with the demands of motherhood since I didn't think I would manage to cook the babies long enough so it is very clear to me what a great blessing this is, but also I might be overprotective of the girls.
Socially things are totally different. The people I thought were my friends I feel bitter toward, same thing with my parents. THey did not support me at all. Luckily, I have new friends and am closer to my brother who was great. But I spent hours and hours alone and lonely which changed my outlook forever.
Professionally, I had to shut down my very sucessful private practice as a therapist. Now I will return to my civil servant post when the babies are 1 year old but probably not start up the private practice again.
It's not having the babies as much as the bedrest that made everything different. Also, not having been out of the house for almost 5 months before the babies arrived being at home with them now is different than if I had had an uneventful pregnancy.
Finally, if I had had an uneventful pregnancy I don't think I would even think of having another baby. Now I think part of why I want it is for the chance of a happy carefree pregnancy.
Do you think bedrest was a big deal for you? Am I exaggerating?

 

I was on houserest (taken out of work, but not on 'strict' bedrest) from week 22 till week 37. I don't think it really changed me, but then again, I've become more of an intravert over the last 5 years anyways, so not having much social activity really didn't bother me much. The one way in which it did affect me though, is that I don't talk much at all anymore, including to my babies. I was alone for so many hours during the day - I just became quiet. I have to force myself to talk to my babies to help their development. A lot of times I won't even realize it until DH starts talking to them, or says something to the one I happen to be holding, then I'll look down and see her cooing/smiling at me.

Physically?? Yea I definetly changed. I used to run 3 miles every other day before becoming pregnant. Once I got pregnant I stopped running and was walking, up until about 19 weeks when the PTL started. So I've been inactive for 7 months now, and I'm having the HARDEST time getting back into an exercise routine. I also gained 76lbs. while pregnant, I'm guessing a lot of it due to being on bed/houserest. THAT'S hard to contend with too. I ran 2 miles a week or so ago, and if not for the extra weight, I'd have been fine. My lungs were good with the run, but my feet/knees just couldn't carry the extra weight, so it ended up being a run/walk rather than straight running.....

 

QUOTE(axpan @ Apr 15 2007, 02:23 AM) [snapback]220542[/snapback]
Do you feel it has changed you and everything? How?
I was on bedrest due to an incompetent cervix from week 20 to week 37. I think it was such a scary, traumatic experience that I feel I will never be the same.
On the physical side after the babies arrived for the first 6 months I was constantly in pain. My knees, wrists, back . Now it's mostly my back I started seein a massage therapist. She said my spine is compacted and there are deposits on my shoulders and neck.
On the mental/ emotional side I feel I am more at peace with the demands of motherhood since I didn't think I would manage to cook the babies long enough so it is very clear to me what a great blessing this is, but also I might be overprotective of the girls.
Socially things are totally different. The people I thought were my friends I feel bitter toward, same thing with my parents. THey did not support me at all. Luckily, I have new friends and am closer to my brother who was great. But I spent hours and hours alone and lonely which changed my outlook forever.
Professionally, I had to shut down my very sucessful private practice as a therapist. Now I will return to my civil servant post when the babies are 1 year old but probably not start up the private practice again.
It's not having the babies as much as the bedrest that made everything different. Also, not having been out of the house for almost 5 months before the babies arrived being at home with them now is different than if I had had an uneventful pregnancy.
Finally, if I had had an uneventful pregnancy I don't think I would even think of having another baby. Now I think part of why I want it is for the chance of a happy carefree pregnancy.
Do you think bedrest was a big deal for you? Am I exaggerating?

YES! I was on bedrest from 28-37 weeks. It was physically and emotionally the hardest thing I have ever done. It is very difficult to watch your life go on around you...without you. I am a do-it-myself kind of girl, and pride myself in being that way...that is completely torn away from you when you are put on bedrest. So it's almost as if you are losing "yourself" if that makes sense. It is so hard to watch your friends and family cleaning your house(I know I was lucky in that way)and taking your kids to sports and activities that YOU should be doing.

So scary to lay there every day and count contractions, measure the amount of water that you drink, worry that you are getting up to go to the bathroom too much. Wondering if tonight, you will be making another trip to L/D, and will this be the time that you have the babies.

And getting up every morning, knowing that your 5 minute shower is your "big plans" for the day, and then you are back on the couch laying in the same position for rest of the day.

Physically, my body turned to mush in 9 weeks of laying there. I too had/have the aches and pains, and my back has really been bothering me lately. I think I need to see a chiropractor.

I am done having kids, but there is NO WAY, that I would ever want to go through that experience again.

So, no, I don't think you are exaggerating, I have the same feelings, and it was a HUGE deal for me.

But....I will say this....I am also so proud to say that I made it to full term with these babies, and I know it is due to how strict I was being on bedrest!

:hug99:s, I am glad you brought this topic up, it was nice to get it out to someone who has been there and understands exactly how you feel! :hug99:

 

I was on bedrest in the antinatal unit at the hospital from 28-35 weeks about 2 hours from where we lived. It was traumatic for me. I missed me husband and family. My husband came to the hospital a lot but also had to keep working so there were days I was all by myself. I had a hard time of it personally and was exhausted when the kids were finally born since I hadn't been up in so long.

 

I was on bedrest my whole pregnancy except two weeks. The first part of my pregnancy I could go and sit at my desk at work...but that was it. Midway through I was limited to showers and how often I could go to the bathroom. I must add that I have four other kids 11 and up. I just figured that I needed to stay in bed for the health of the babies. They were born over 9 weeks early and were in the NICU 39 very long days. I would have done anything to keep them in longer.

I didn't have very many visitors when I was on bedrest and was surprised how much our town had changed. Nobody sat with me long hours, etc. I watched tv, played Gameboy, crocheted, whatever I needed to do. Plus with being on bedrest (for bleeding and preterm labor), I had to be on a Zofran pump for hyperemesis. I love being pregnant and didn't really care I was puking all the time or couldn't do anything. I figured it was a very small amount of time to put into the babies...9 months...well less than 7 for me...compared to 18 years. No biggy. We tried for 5 years to get pregnant and they ended up costing half of a million dollars by the time we were done with invitro and NICU, etc. We are hoping to do it again.

I think if these were my first maybe I would have a different view...or maybe my miscarriage with twins made me not care about the bedrest. People just handle things in different ways. I am always surprised when people won't even take out their twins on their own. I am always running around with them. I love it. I hope you feel better. I know I need a bit of Zoloft to be nice and deal with my life.

By the way...we are planning another invitro next year...can't wait! I have already planned out how to deal with the twins if I am on bedrest.

 

I was on bedrest for about 6-7 weeks and, yes, it was emotionally very difficult. I think the hardest part was that I was constantly thinking about the contractions, drinking water, having to get up to go to the bathroom, etc. I had so many contractions that it made for long days wondering what was my threshold # of contractions for calling into L/D. The doctors could never give me a straight answer on how many I should have before I called L/D because my uterus was so irritable. I went into the pregnancy in very good shape, physically. After pregnancy I'm definitely not in as good of shape as before, but I haven't had any major physical problems...I think maybe it's because I got a good start physically. Who knows though.

I had my girls at 30.5 weeks. They did and are doing so well and we are so very thankful for that!! I feel a lot of guilt about not being able to "hold on" longer, but I listened to my bedrest instructions and I think that sometimes they are just ready to come, no matter how strict you are about listening to the doctor's orders. I never thought I would think about having a 3rd baby, but when the twins were 2 months old (they're 5 now) I actually started to think about it. I suppose my biggest hesitation is that I don't want to worry about having problems again, not necessarily out of fear of bedrest, but out of fear for having another baby who has to spend time in the NICU working so hard to be in this world too early!

 

It was a big deal and I think anyone that spent a good amount of time confined to a bed (or a couch) will tell you the same thing.

I was on complete bedrest from 28 weeks to 36 weeks for constant contractions.

For me the biggest part was being robbed of those last few weeks to do stuff with my older daughter. And horribly, I kept telling her that I could do stuff with her once the babies arrived but we all know that life is way different once the babies arrive. The one on one time is practically non-existent and I think I fooled myself into believing that life would go back to normal once they were born and in doing so, that's the impression I gave to my older daughter.

The constant monitoring, trying to get enough fluids, meds and just general stress (physically and emotionally) were also really difficult, not to mention we don't really get to nest like normal pregnant women so anything we needed to get done had to be handed over to someone else.

 

I was on bedrest from weeks 20 to 33. When it was all done, it made me realize that you can do anything you put your mind to. I am a bit of a perfectionist, everything has to be just so. I had to put it all into someone elses hands, and at first it really bugged me that things weren't as I always had them. But it was a good lesson learned, because as you all know, when you have twins, you cannot ever have things exactly the way you want them. So by the time they arrived I had become much easier and relaxed about everything. We had a very difficult year last year. First my father passed away, then the whole IVF procedure, then bedrest, and then the twins were born, it almost feels as if I missed a whole year of my life. One thing is that throught it all I have no regrets about anything, I feel I did my best even though the girls were born 7 weeks early. And even though there were complications, God has been incredibly good to us.

 

I did modified bedrest from 10 weeks on, strict started around 22 weeks and hospital bedrest at 29 weeks. Bedrest stinks! I was so lonely, an hour and a half away from home once in the hosptial. I couldnt play with my son, and had such a hard time when I would only see him 2-3 times a week. I only saw dh on the weekends. It made me appreciate so much more what I have, my little miracles. With bedrest I managed to keep two babies in longer than I could my two singletons.

My body ached so bad, especially after I lost so much blood, my body was just tired and not used to moving around again. I realized who my real friends were and it seems my only real friends were from the internet. Those are the people who sent me cards and called. No one else called or anything.

I totally understnad trying for a carefree pregnancy. I keep trying for that but so far hasnt happened