Wow, as of today I have spent the past three months on bed rest. Yup, 12 weeks in bed. It's hard to believe I've been living this way for three months. Although, whenever I get up to go down the hall or downstairs I am quickly reminded of the fact since I can't walk more than 10 steps before I'm short of breath and worn out. On days where I have doctor or lab appointments or other things happening that require more activity than a usual day on bed rest, I am totally worn out and led to wonder how in the world will I survive sleepless nights once Baby Olsen is home. Thank goodness my mom will be here to help out the first few weeks while I work on regaining my strength. I've been warned that I won't be back to normal for 6-9 months or longer in terms of physical strength and endurance - yikes!
Each week is harder than the last, presumably because I'm getting bigger every week while I progressively lose more and more muscle and strength from the inactivity. The hip and back pain, and the restless legs all keep me up at night and make it harder to focus and maintain any semblance of comfort during the day when I'm trying to stay stimulated by continuing to work (from bed, laying down) to help the time pass by keeping busy.
My quest to find an in-home prenatal massage therapist has been fruitless and incredibly frustrating as I know that is the only form of pain relief I will find. At my next OB appointment we'll ask Dr.N if he can approve for me to be taken to a spa or PT facility a couple times per week to get massage therapy since we can't find a certified therapist that will come to the house. I really hope he approves because it's becoming unbearable.
On a happier note - we're closer to the end of this difficult journey. In 7 weeks my cerclage will be removed and if I don't go into immediate labor at that point I'll be required to spend just a couple more days in bed and then will be permitted to slowly resume activity to begin regaining some strength and endurance before labor does set in. We want Baby Olsen to stay comfortably in my belly until he reaches full-term so we can avoid having him spend time in the NICU but it may not be avoidable once the cerclage is out. We won't know until we reach that point.
If he does stay put, we'll have the added bonus of me having some up and around time to prepare for his arrival. We aren't counting on that though and are trying to prepare as much as we can before we reach the cerclage removal by researching/shopping online, making lists of what needs to get done and then when my dad arrives he'll help us ensure things get done so we will feel somewhat ready no matter when Baby O makes his grand entrance.
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