I am so excited to post today.
I am a 24 year old wife and mother of 2 young boys.
I have an 18 month old and a 5 month old. Yep, they are 13 months apart. Yikes.
I am a softball pitching instructor, and an Usborne Books consultant (www.ubah.com/z2630).
I love what I do and it is perfect for my life with two young children.
I am a 24 year old wife and mother of 2 young boys.
I have an 18 month old and a 5 month old. Yep, they are 13 months apart. Yikes.
I am a softball pitching instructor, and an Usborne Books consultant (www.ubah.com/z2630).
I love what I do and it is perfect for my life with two young children.
When I was pregnant with my second boy (Will), my water broke when I was 25 weeks along.
That was a very stressful night. When I went to the hospital, things didn’t look to good for our baby.
We were warned about all of the complications that could take place. Surprisingly, my body did not go into labor and our little Will hung on for dear life, literally. Even though he didn’t come that early I had to stay in the hospital on bed rest until he was born. That lasted for 7 1/2 weeks. When I was going through this experience I found out that almost everyone has a similar experience whether it be because of pregnancy complications, recovering from surgery, or because they are ill.
I am going to let you know what I appreciated from my visitors.
They made my stay in the hospital so much better.
This is the night I was admitted.
Caring for those in the hospital or on bed rest:
Flowers
Hospital rooms are so boring and depressing at times. Flowers do wonders. You can never have enough.
Privacy Please
Privacy is unheard of in the hospital. I had nurses checking my temperature every 3-4 hours so they were constantly in my face. I even had nurses walk into my bathroom while I was doing my business.
My sister made these signs for me. They were much needed.
A Laptop
This puppy saved my life. This is your only contact with the outside world. Make sure they have one.
Beauty supplies
When you lay in bed all day you feel like crap, even if you dont look it, you feel like it.
New make-up or nail polish makes you feel a little bit more normal.
TV Series
Movies are good, but series are better.
Crocheting or Cross-stitch
Something to do with your hands when you are fidgity is a plus.
Books
Scrapbooking kits
This is the prefect time for the patient to get pages ready for when the baby comes.
I also had a million “thank you” cards to make so I was in need of supplies.
Food
Hospital food makes me gag now. The smell is enough to make me vommit.
The first couple of weeks fast food was wonderful but after that all I wanted was a home cooked meal.
Call before hand and ask what they really want.
The hospital lets you keep left overs in the fridge so you can never bring too much.
I loved Jamba Juices too.
New Pajamas
Other Tips:
-Call before you visit.
-Shorter visits are sometimes better.
-Don’t get offended if you dont get a call back when you leave a message. It is nice to know that people are thinking about you and a message is plenty (depends on the day)
-Dont check up on your patient’s projects. I had 20 big projects that people had given me and I was overloaded and obviously couldn’t do them all. I always felt bad when people would ask me if I finished the project they brought me.
– Flowers really are the best gift.
– Jani
ALL great ideas! I can’t imagine being cooped up for that long, yikes!
Thanks so much for the post, it was fun having you!
Mariel
I really appreciated your post. I know first hand what it’s like to be stuck in bed for months at a time, (due to an injury & surgery) and I’m headed there again today, for the next couple of weeks (surgery again on my injured leg).
The best thing for me was having a friend come and visit. Not to stay for hours on end, but just to have someone there to know that they cared. That was really important to me.
The books and movies helped as well. I’ll have a laptop with me in bed this time, so I can stay in touch with the blog world. Thank heavens for THAT!
Good post Jani!
Great post. I just spoke with someone who was on bed rest from week 13 – WEEK 13 out of 40!! How could you not go insane?! Great tips for all of us whether in that situation ourselves, or watching a loved one endure it.
Thanks for your post. I went through the same thing 4 yrs ago with my youngest son. My water broke at 23 weeks and I was in bedrest at the hospital for about 6-7 weeks and he was born at 29 weeks. So at that time i didn’t have a laptop and I know it would’ve been great to have one. I just know that I watched alot of TV, read books, slept, ect… Those are great ideas that you posted. I hope that when my kids are in school I can volunteer at the hospital and bring support for those moms that are in the bedrest.
Great Post!!! I have a friend in the hospital right now with high blood pressure!! I will take flowers and call before I go 🙂 Thanks again!
GREAT post! I went into labor at 28 weeks and was on bed rest also…. back massages were great too!