|
|
Bed-Rest with a Toddler?!?!?!?!Feb 16 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Some ways to help with your other children if you have been placed on bedrest due to pregnancy complications. It's every pregnant woman's worst fear. You are only 12 weeks pregnant and wake up at 4 am bleeding. A dash to the emergency room shows complications and you are put on bed rest. At home you have a small child who needs you. Now what? In my case, I was barely 12 weeks, and my complications were a low-lying placenta and a placental abruption. A placental abruption is a separation of the placenta from the uterine wall, usually with a blood clot. Although dangerous to the baby, my doctor thought I had a good chance of caring close to term and I was sent home on bedrest. The first thing I did was cry, a LOT! I couldn't believe that I was going to have to spend months not doing anything. That wasn't very effective though, and I did my best to get over it as quickly as possible so I could be a help to myself and my child to be, and my daughter. My biggest advice is to ask for help. Ask everyone you know. It will be one of the hardest things you will ever have to do if you are like me. Things like dishes sitting in the sink will probably drive you crazy but you will learn to live with it, and they will get done. I promise! I am writing this article to help you with ideas for you and your other children. I have plenty of articles to write about coping with an abruption and prenatal care so I won't turn this into one of those. These are NOT all my original ideas, some are, some aren't and some are ideas I have been given by other people on bedrest. I don't care if I get paid for this article, so feel free to not rate it if you so chose. I just want to be able to help anyone who might be in my situation or a similar one. Have someone gather the things you will need together. Baskets or Rubbermaid bins are great for this. I'll just type the whole list of ideas and you can decide what you would like to use from here. You could print this and keep in your basket for reference when your child seems to be getting bored with things you've already done: *First thing is try not to feel guilty that you are "neglecting" your child. You need to rest and time spent with Mom on bedrest is a very small portion of time out of their life in comparison to the rest of your unborn baby's life. I had a huge problem with this part. It's probably still my biggest obstacle. *Make the bedroom into a giant playpen. Put breakables out of reach and shut the door (or put up a baby gate) so you don't have to worry about where your child is. Have your spouse, your Mom or a good friend spend a few hours making sure that your bedrest area is completely child safe. I know that childproofing MY room was never a high priority before now. *Keep a roll of paper towels in your basket or near your bed for spills. Old towels work well too, but that just means more laundry piling up. *Keep a basket filled with nonperishable snacks near your bed for your child. Drinks might not be the coldest, but they will work. Juice boxes and cereal bars are a great choice. Another option is to have a small dorm size refrigerator in your room. *Use an old sheet or blanket as a playtime cover to spare your comforter or bedspread. *Time activities to your child's attention span, obviously some of these ideas are for older children and some are for younger children. *Send someone to the dollar store for a HUGE supply of coloring books and invest in the BIG BOX of crayolas. You know, the one with the sharpener on the back. *Have TV/VCR remote handy. You may be anti-TV for children during ideal circumstances, but trust me, there are good programs out there that you can watch together, and it is a restful activity. *Let your child play under the covers. Our favorite game is "hide from Daddy" which always results in tons of giggles. *Play "bed-bowling" with paper cups and a small ball *Play "bed-basketball" tossing rolled up socks into an empty basket. *Play cars following the design of the bedspread or comforter. *Use a mirror to make faces. This would be a good time to express feelings and show them on your faces in the mirror. *Make shadow puppets and put on puppet shows. *Read to your child. This has been invaluable to me. We love reading together and I strongly recommend it to everyone, even those NOT on bedrest. *Play video games *Work puzzles together *Have special "just talking time", I love to hear her tell me about her day. Even if I observed 90% of it myself! *Make a paper chain and have your child take one off for every day, you know the kind like you used to make in grade school for Christmas? *Play board games (Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land for younger children, Monopoly, LIFE, etc., for older kids) This would be a great time to invent "Game Night" at your house. This could be a tradition that continues after the baby has arrived. *Play with building blocks (***HINT*** They aren't comfy to sleep on, so make sure they are all picked up)! *Make an alphabet book by cutting up magazines and pasting in scrapbook or photo album, using a separate page for each letter. *Play "I Spy" *Play doh is fun, but messier. See if someone has an old shower curtain to use as a drape. *String Fruit Loops or Cheerios on a string necklace and then eat them. Make it into a picnic. *Make a homemade gift for someone who has been helping you. Children love to make cards! *Look through their baby book and photos together. Have them help you if you work on scrapbooks. *Have them help decide on patterns, etc., for the nursery. Like I said, some of these ideas have been shared with me by others, and I would like to thank them for that. I hope that if you are reading this that it helps you. And I hope that if you are having complications in your pregnancy, that you have a healthy and happy outcome.  |
| Read all comments (3)|Write your own comment |
|
Ads by Google
|
