Coping with bed rest

It's not uncommon for expectant moms of multiples to be put on some form of bed rest. The words bed rest can sometimes be welcome leaving you thinking "some much needed sleep and rest before the little ones arrive" or they can leave you thinking "what do I do on bed rest all day, day after day?!" Rest assured, there is a plethora of advice from our multiple moms who have been down the bed rest road.

Below is a list of suggestions from our multiple moms who have been on bed rest:

• Read books. If you have books you have been meaning to read, read them now while you have the time. There are also a number of good (and funny) twin books out there, like "Ready or not, here we come."
• Organize photos.
• Have some bring you drawers or files to organize.
• Organize recipes.
• Update your address book.
• Watch movies.
• Do crosswords.
• Knit, cross stitch, crochet or some other crafty thing.
• Address baby announcement envelopes. Or Christmas cards (depending on when you are on bed rest).
• Shop for last minute items on the computer (for baby, for you, for birthdays, for holidays, etc).
• Catch up on your correspondence.
• Do some work from home if you have a laptop, a wireless connection and the desire.
• Journal.
• Arrange for help once the babies come. Don't be shy. Think of it this way, if you have help, you will have more time to enjoy your precious new bundles of joy. Trust me. If you can, arrange for some extra hands at least a few times a week. Besides, who can resist babies? People want to help! Take them up on it.
• SLEEP. SLEEP. Oh, and sleep some more. It will be a while before you get to do that again after the babies come.
• Did I say sleep? SLEEP.

A few other notes of importance were if you are on strict bed rest (meaning you can't move from the bed/sofa), make sure that your partner has a cooler with cold drinks and food for you to eat and drink during the day. It is important to stay hydrated and eat well. As well, have them line up anything you want to work on or read that day within arms reach. And if you have a laptop, have that ready to go too.

Here is a link to a website that has more helpful information on bed rest. http://www.twinslist.org/bedrest.htm

And if you still have questions or you just want to talk to someone who's been through it, you can find a contact list of the support people for bed rest moms on the CMOTC website. It is located in the "Quick Links" section on the home page and is called "Twin Resources." If you have concerns or are having issues with your pregnancy, you can also consult this list for people who have been through what you are going through. Really, at any time if you need or want to talk to someone, just to talk about non pregnancy related topics even, use this resource. We moms stick together and help each other, welcome to the sisterhood of the multiple mommies.

So, as best you can, rest, relax and get some sleep. This time will pass quicker than you think!

If anyone has more advice, please comment below. Or if you have a lot of advice and want to write a post on this topic, please contact us at the address at the upper left. We would love to hear from you!