Bed Rest Chronicles, the end

I’m at 36 1/2 weeks now. Yep, I’ve completed 8 months, and the kid will officially be born at term. Given that news, I’ve taken myself off bed rest. Saturday, when I reached 36 weeks, I celebrated by going shopping. We went to an engagement, then after going back to my in-laws’ house, we had to go buy dress shoes for both boys (which, incidentally, you cannot find at either Kmart or TJMaxx). But, I got to walk through two stores. Then we went to a party in the evening, and I walked around a lot. And still, no baby.

Sunday, I took a walk. Still nothing. Somehow, the slightest bit of activity a few weeks ago would send this baby racing to the birth canal, but now that it’s okay for him to come out, he’s content to squat. I know, the longer he’s in, the better off he’ll be. But I’m ready. Monday I again took the dog for a walk. And I went to the grocery store (well, I pretty much just bought a loaf of bread, but still). After eight weeks of bed rest, it’s nice to enjoy being pregnant, not feeling like I’m trapped. I’m trying to time this so I still go to my friends’ wedding this weekend (although with my luck I’d probably go into labor Friday afternoon and have to miss the whole thing!)

What am I talking about? “With my luck” - how unfair of me to malign my luck so. I’m pretty darn lucky, if I do say so myself.

Yesterday I went for a nice hike. Plus I prepared batter for two loaves of zucchini bread, which I baked today. Today I did a little cleaning, including changing the sheets in the boys’ room. Plus I made lunch. I’m back. I feel like I’m really back, and being as active as I can. Oh, and last night we went to Stone Oven for dessert. Maybe it’s total superstition, or maybe the secret ingredient in their food is Petosin. Either way, I ate food from Stone Oven the day before both my other boys were born. Ergo…

Of course, now that I am up and around, my ankles are getting swollen and my back is aching, two issues I never faced while on bed rest (because reclining doesn’t allow for many problems other than sore bottoms). I know, I know. I need to enjoy this time, because soon enough, I’m going to be overwhelmed by three kids. I’ll be getting up again and again in the middle of the night, changing more diapers than I can count, and feeling generally miserable. But really, since that’s going to happen anyhow, why not let it be sooner?

I’m just no good at being in limbo. We can’t really make any plans, because they may get disrupted. Whenever my husband leaves the house, there’s the possibility (and associated bit of nervousness) that I’ll go into labor while he’s gone. But then he returns, and I’m still not in labor, and I’m a little let down.

Yesterday, while I was cooking, everyone else was out in the back yard. So I turned on some music so we could all enjoy it. Looking through our collection, I picked out Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, a CD I got from a friend six or so years ago. It’s not something we listen to often, so I thought what the heck. Well, since then, I’ve had one of their songs stuck in my head:

I’m a lazy boy, there’s no doubt about it
Might take a miracle to get things started

Son, you better get out
You better get out while you can

Is this song about my kid? The one who refuses to leave my womb? Maybe he’s just really well-behaved, and after eight weeks of bed rest, he’s gotten the message that he’s supposed to stay inside. And that no matter how much I try to convince him otherwise, he’s not buying it.

When he keeps kicking and moving around, I try to tell him that he’s welcome to move around – much more comfortably, in fact – once he comes out.

So, this afternoon, it’s off to Target to do some school shopping (well, mostly dress shoe shopping, but while we’re there, we may as well get some school shopping done). It’s been so long since I’ve been to Target, I really miss it. Two months without Target, I think I’m suffering from withdrawal! I’m used to going at least once a week.

So anyhow, the Bed Rest Chronicles are officially over (since I’m no longer on bed rest). All in all, I’d say it went pretty well. Eight weeks is a long time, but fortunately it was over summer break. I think the kids didn’t suffer too badly for it, nor did it cause any irreparable harm to any relationships. I’d say I learned some lessons for next time, but there won’t be a next time, so it really doesn’t matter if I handled it all wrong. I didn’t read as many books as I expected, nor did I do as much writing as I had hoped. But that’s because I tried to be more interactive with the kids and to do more errands that I could handle while sitting, so this was more like a temporary disability than a vacation. I would write when the kids were not around, which fit right in with how my life had been before bed rest. And that’s the key, right? Keep life as normal as possible, working around any obstacles, so that I don’t feel like a total burden and the kids don’t worry that something is seriously wrong with their Mommy.