Beating Bed Rest

Bed rest. Those two words sound like heaven right now. Chasing after two toddler boys all day can be exhausting. So much so that even showering seems like a chore.

Rewind three years ago. I was 30 weeks along with my first son Luke and up until that point had a text book pregnancy. At my 30 week appt everything changed. I was put on strict bed rest until I hit the 36 week mark. That meant no walking, driving, shopping and even sitting up had to be done in moderation. I'll admit the first few days was nice. I caught up on emails, watched Netflix, and finished several books that I had started months before. But just like with anything else, every good thing must come to an end. I quickly started to feel isolated and depressed. I longed for trips to the grocery store and outings with friends. I remember talking to my dad on the phone and sobbing saying that this was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Ha! Little did I know what sleepless nights lie ahead of me.

Fast forward a year and I am pregnant with Jake and put on bed rest at 20 weeks. So I had a year old son and now bed rest again...I had surgery done early in the pregnancy that I thought would negate the chances of a second bout of bed rest, unfortunately that was not the case. I survived 13 weeks of bed rest. And it was completely worth every moment of it.

A few months ago, a friend approached me and asked if I would be willing to share my stories with her friend whom was writing a book about surviving bed rest. I never thought of myself having endured or doing anything different than what any other mom would do. In some ways I felt unworthy to share, because to me it was rather insignificant. But what God has taught me is that he takes experiences and makes them significant. So to be able to help someone else by sharing my testimony was extremely humbling.

If you know someone whom is on bed rest or you have experienced bed rest yourself, I urge you to pick up the book "Beating Bed Rest" by Angela Bickford. I love the way it is written, very witty yet, informative. I only wish I would have read this while on bed rest, instead of all the scary blogs and posts that fed into my constant paranoia.

As I was reading this book I was reminded that God has a plan for everything. Everything. Even if it means you are laying in bed for 3 months straight. :)

Blessings,

Rachel