Walking bed rest, sounds like a bit of an oxymoron doesn’t it?
Well I am here to tell you that there is such a thing, as described and named by my doctor. It isn’t too bad actually, I have been on full bed rest before, and I think I like this walking bed rest a bit better.
On Tuesday we had the typical 20 week ultrasound done, we found out that we are having a girl (that will make five!) and that she is wonderfully formed and very healthy. We couldn’t be happier and are so thankful for her health. (And no,we are not disappointed that it isn’t a boy, she is what is needed for our family) However, we found that there may be some problems with me. Two to be exact.
First, I have a superficial blood clot in my upper leg area. This honestly doesn’t concern me much, I have had superficial blood clots before, when I had my leg surgeries this summer. The doctor is going to watch it closely and we are treating it conservatively at this point, with Ibuprofen, hot packs and essential oils. He also ordered a complete ultra sound of the leg affected, and there are no other clots lurking around and blood flow is good. I am confident that this will just resolve its self.
Second, they found that I have
partial placenta previa meaning that my placenta has partially covered the cervix, which can potentially be very serious. This is where “walking bed rest” comes in. I have already had some symptoms of placenta problems (bleeding) so I am supposed to take it easy, as not to jar the placenta anymore. The instructions were: rest as much as you can, don’t lift anything heaver than a gallon of milk (approx 10 pounds), no heavy cleaning, no vacuuming, don’t let yourself get tired, lay down as much as you can, and no “ahem”.
While this does cramp my style a little, (do you realize how many things weight more than 10 pounds? like a full grocery cart, or my youngest child), it really isn’t that bad. Like I said before I have been on full bed rest, and while I was completely helpless with that, this walking bed rest still gives me a lot of freedom. I can go places, do most of my household stuff, and take care of most every thing I need to do. All the other things can be done by my older girls or Dadzoo when he is home. The hardest part, is to sit down and let them serve.
In four weeks I go back for another ultra sound to see in anything has changed, the placenta can move farther up in the uterus as it expands in pregnancy. If that is the case, then I am back to normal, and that is what we are praying for, the other scenarios are too scary to even thing about (although I am!).
So if you are carrying something heavy and I am around, and I don’t offer to help, sorry….
walking bed rest!
