Five Ways to Fight Boredom on Pregnancy Bed Rest

When I was five months pregnant with my eldest son, the doctor informed me that I had pre-eclampsia with an accompanying elevated blood pressure. He prescribed at least eight hours of bed rest every day. At first, I thought it didn't sound that bad. After all, I slept for at least six hours every day. When he explained to me that he meant eight hours of bed rest besides my usual sleep schedule, my mouth dropped open.

Not only was the pregnancy bed rest a rather frightening proposition, I couldn't imagine how I would spend eight hours a day lying on my left side in bed. What would I do? How could I possibly fight the boredom that I knew would come?

Five Ways to Fight Boredom While On Bed Rest

1. Media Entertainment

While on pregnancy bed rest, you should make use of all the media entertainment that is available to you. Send someone to the library to pick up some of your favorite books, or try out a new author. You can watch television shows, DVD movies, or videos. The computer can also provide some boredom busting entertainment. If you have a laptop computer, it will be easy to put that on the bed with you. Even with a normal desktop computer, you should be able to devise a way to bring it close enough to use. With a computer, you can surf the internet, play games or all sorts, shop, and keep in touch with friends and family.

2. Crafts or Artwork

Many crafts and types of artwork can be done while on pregnancy bed rest. This would be a great time to cross-stitch some baby bibs, crochet or knit baby sweaters or booties, or create a wonderful scrapbook to add pictures of the new baby to.

3. Learn Something New

Forced bed rest can give you an excellent opportunity to learn something new. You could learn how to do a new craft, or peruse countless internet-based tutorials and lessons. You can even sign up for a distance education or adult studies correspondence or internet class. These classes can be just for fun, or accredited and earn you college credits.

4. Get a Pen Pal

Having a pen pal can be a great experience. Not only will it give you something to do for some of those long hours you are on bed rest, but you can find one in a similar situation. There are services online that will match you with a pen pal with similar interests or circumstances. You can even get several from around the globe.

5. Write a Journal, Poems, or Stories

Being on pregnancy bed rest can be a stressful time. Writing in a journal, or expressing yourself through poetry or personal stories can be a great stress-relieving pastime. Not only will you fill the hours, but you will always have something to remember your pregnancy by.

When faced with a stressful month, or more, of pregnancy bed rest, there are several great things that you can do to fight boredom. Perhaps most importantly, you should do things that help you get your mind off the fear that you are feeling due to the complications. Help from family or friends is very important during these times as well. With some preparation, you can fight boredom while on pregnancy bed rest.