One month in bed / couch rest - tips on how to maintain the sanity :)

It is now one month since I went through the exciting hospital experience (LINK), which was directly like from Dr House tv series. Little Sisu* is still happy in his belly-apartment and together we have managed to get now 4 weeks further spending the days strictly in couch / bed rest.
One of the most asked question I get from everyone is:" How does someone like you manage to stay sane through the days in bed/couch rest?"





So, what do I and we do...to keep the days interesting?
I have built somewhat a routine to the days, just to keep mental activities going.

Relaxing early morning
I get up when my husband gets up around 7.30 am. Yes, one could sleep in...but for some reason I
feel that sleeping would spoil the day. Thus, I am quite happy to get up early also during days off / weekends. I am sure that opinion / habit changes after Sisu is on this side of the belly :)

My husband and me have our morning talks (read: mostly I talk and with the help of my talks & voice, he manages to wake himself up), morning routines and then I enjoy slow breakfast while reading the Finnish newspaper (Helsingin Sanomat) from iPad.

Now Sanoma Magazines / Sanoma Lifestyle has enabled lot of magazines to be read in digital format (YEII!), as a side addition to the newspaper digital order. So, some days I am enjoying the possibility to read Finnish magazines through my iPad. Some days, I read those magazines out loud to allow Little Sisu to get more accustomed to the Finnish language.

Brainy activities
During the day I try to engage my head....means I read a lot. Dive into data and information around pregnancy and delivery as per US process. Gain better understanding of all the insurance related processes and to understand what my insurance covers / does not cover.

I am not able to participate in person any pre-birthing class, so I am reading books and studying through internet related information.
Why do I put so much effort to it? I read somewhere...that average person makes a careful study and comparison through internet and consumer reports before buying e.g. a TV. Why would one not prepare the same way for the most important event too? Especially when one does it for the first time.

I think that when I know roughly what the process is and what is coming, I can relax and focus on helping to make the birth as comfortable as possible for the baby and myself.

Bonding with the baby - we have daily Belly Bud sessions and I keep talking in Finnish to Sisu. I really enjoy the daily bonding activities. Nicest is to notice how he keeps reacting to those.

Some of the books I read are not focusing so much on the physical process but on the spiritual side of it. I will write more about that later and my overall book reference list.
In short: I have since child believed that souls continue to the other side and some of them return to this side through rebirth. Luckily my mother and grandma were both very supportive of my beliefs. I got so inspired after a long discussion with my grandma, which lead me to write a study of the topic during religion class at school. I read piles of books related to the topic. I recall her being so proud when I shared my paper with her.
I am so enjoying to have the time again to read related literature, and no more focused on to the soul / spiritual side of child birth. 

I also have taken the habit to write my blogs, if not every day, every other or 3rd day.
It is my way to keep all you readers entertained :) but also share the news from here to family & friends across the globe. Having lived and worked in various countries....creates the dilemma that my loved ones are not just in one country but spread across several continents and time zones. So, no matter where I am, only part of my loved ones are near.


Social activities
Which leads nicely to one of my favorite activities....talking or chatting with family & friends (near & far) through Facetime / WhatsApp / Skype / Viber etc. I am absolutely thrilled to have now the chance to talk or chat with family & friends in Finland, Germany, Russia or Singapore in real time during the week!
As an example one of the little joys of my day: my nephews know how to call via Facetime and they can tell the time. So, now we can talk during the week instead of just weekend. I can show them "how big Sisu is now" and they can share their latest Lego designs. Words cannot express the joys of being able to see and not just hear.

Also my American Mom and Dad have taken the habit to Facetime call if we haven't seen each other for a while. So, it works near & far :)

Some days I have visitors, which creates fun change to the routines. When having visitors or talking / Facetiming with family & friends, the limitation to stay on the couch creates nice enforcement to focus on the talks instead of doing something else at the same. I have enjoyed learning away from the habit, which my professional life pushes one into....trying to do several things at the same time. Now, one has the joy of focusing and learning to be more present again.

Non-Brainy activities
I was told to sleep as much as I can....so on some days (read: most days) I take afternoon nap. I am nowadays convinced that Japanese approach, allowing people to nap during the work day should be implemented everywhere.

In the evenings time to "hang the brain to the coat hanger" as we say in Finland and take advantage of Netflix :) (Thanks to my Mom!) Currently I am hooked to catching up on Royal Pains. LOL! So, suitable tv series to watch when you are on bed rest. I keep laughing that related to my last name and bed rest, the tv series is a perfect match.

While watching Netflix, I normally knit. Right now progressing a nice and soft baby blanket with a hoodie triangle in Finnish & Texas Long Horn color combination. Once that is ready, moving on to the next knitting project :) But can tell you this, wool socks are not any longer the most top on my knitting list. Texas heat changes the interest area to other projects :) :)

Fours weeks have passed and till date have not gotten bored. Keeping my "legs crossed" that Sisu and myself have many more weeks like this ahead of us :)

*For those interested:
The baby's project name / nick name is Sisu.
From Wikipedia:"Sisu is a Finnish word that cannot be translated properly into the English language, loosely translated to mean stoic determination, bravery, guts, resilience,^[1][2] perseverance and hardiness,^[3][4] expressing the historic self-identified Finnish national character."

Despite the bumpy pregnancy Little Sisu has not given up on us. On the contrary....he has grown throughout the pregnancy ahead of schedule and with strong kicks. Which I am so happy about...but at times those ninja kicks also keep me on toes to run to the bathroom :) As my younger nephew already made very clear, the Sisu name will stay as the nickname used by us who love the child. How can you possible say anything else than "YES, of course!" to that suggestion.

Contractions - "You will feel those!"...or then not

I have heard people saying, as long as I can recall:" When you get contractions, which are real ones...trust me, you will notice them."
Well, funny enough either my pain tolerance level is really good or my body just is not considering contractions worth giving any nerve signals.
One month ago (while I was on wk 24) I was at the office, typical busy Monday, working the day away. I noticed some pelvic pressure but it was not coming & going, it was just there and it was not painful. Sitting in the office and especially if you do not use the restroom immediately when the signs are there, creates pelvic pressure too. It was not first time I felt that kind of pressure.

So, I worked the day through. Commented to my colleague that not feeling 100% due to the pelvic pressure...but other than that, the day was like any other.
When I got home, took a nap and felt better. Later got slight lower back tension but it was not painful and went away. Slept through the night like a baby.

As per all the pregnancy books and internet pages those could be just very usual pregnancy symptoms, nothing to worry about.

I had the regular doctor's appointment for next morning. Ultrasound revealed the cervix had shortened a lot and had funneling (still not totally sure what that means...but I guess I will find out eventually). After discussing with the doctor any sensations I may have had, which I paid attention to...it became obvious that my pelvic pressure during the work day were contractions, as was the tension on the back. Which had lead to the cervix being pushed months ahead in its stage of preparedness for delivery.

My doctor wanted to have risk pregnancy expert team's opinion (read the whole Dr House-like adventure: LINK) on what are the options to prolong the pregnancy. As I was beyond wk 22 cerglace (stitches...yep...auch) was not an option anymore. Too many risks to damage the amniotic sack.

As they were monitoring me at the hospital....the contraction monitor showed that I was having contractions even then...but still I could not feel anything! How can it be that the one thing that one thing I keep hearing that will be notable...I cannot feel a thing?
Well, luckily they do have those monitors to show the data and one does not need to rely on whether I can feel it or not.  Everything was stopped with the help of magnesium sulfate and now I am 4 weeks further and baby is still inside the belly.

But the first 2 weeks after the hospital, I was really jumpy. Each little sensation made me question if this is now the real thing again or just practice contractions?

I got Nifedipine tablets, which are actually for lowering the blood pressure but due to the side effect of
relaxing the muscles, they are used to stop premature contractions. Twice in the last 4 weeks I have had such a day that I felt the need to take one. After the first time I was mentally beating myself for being so jumpy about it. When I talked to the insurance pregnancy case responsible, she calmed me down saying that it is better I take the tablet than decide not to...and then realize later that it is too late to stop anything anymore.

After talking to some friends, who recently went through a delivery...I finally have one friend, who has the same case as I do. She does not feel the contractions.
So, I learned not to trust the statement made everywhere "you know, when you have real contractions", it is not given that every person would feel them.  Keeping "my legs" crossed that forces of the universe allow the pregnancy to continue as close to the due date as possible. May the force be with us :)