scheduled resting

Well, it finally happened. I got put on modified bedrest.

This actually happened a few weeks ago, I've just been really reticent to tell people about it. Partly because I'm prideful and don't like people to think I'm weak. Also because I have so many close friends and family battling infertility. Little old fertile me, who got pregnant with twins without even trying, feels bad complaining about my pregnancy complications. But I still want to share my truth and my experience. The line between respecting those I love and also being honest with the world has been hard for me to balance lately.

But today I'm sharing my experience. So, at the risk of sounding like I'm complaining (I definitely complain in this post), here we go!

You'd think, since I'm growing two babies at once, my pregnancy would be twice as hard as my singleton pregnancy. But my honest truth is that this pregnancy has been about four or five times harder. I already complained about The Dark Ages (ahem, the first 20 terrible weeks of my pregnancy), and now I feel like I've jumped straight to the third trimester, with all the aches and pains and exhaustion that goes along with the end of a pregnancy. It's been a very tough few months for me, and there's no getting around that truth.

(It also didn't help that I had such an easy textbook pregnancy the first time around. Who knew I was getting spoiled with a normal, high-energy, low-risk pregnancy!)

The problem is that I'm bad at slowing down. Really bad. About a month ago, my doctor told me to find two or three or four things on my plate that I could let go of for now. Partly to slow down and maintain my sanity, but mostly for the safety of my babies.

But I didn't really slow down. I mean, I wanted to, and sometimes I'd remember to put my feet up or take a cat nap, but I felt like I was just too busy and too stressed. Between Sam in grad school, my church callings, Claire, work, trying to find new housing for next year, and everything else, I couldn't figure out what to cut.

So I kept going. And to be honest, it's been a pretty miserable few weeks. My back ached constantly, my hips ached, my feet and hands would suddenly swell and then go down with no reason, my vision blurred when I changed elevation, I couldn't sleep at night, I couldn't breathe well.... the list goes on.

And then, two weekends ago, I had a pretty scary run-in with preeclampsia. I was taking Claire on a walk, and all of a sudden the headache I had felt for the past two days got really sharp. And then I noticed my hands had ballooned up and my feet were swollen too. And then my vision started blurring really badly. I ended up on my hands and knees in the middle of the sidewalk calling Sam on my phone and telling him to come get us.

Sam wanted to drive me straight to the hospital, but I talked him into taking me to the pharmacy instead so I could test my blood pressure. Sam lead me to the blood pressure machine (I couldn't really see anything at this point) while Claire ran around the store throwing bottles to the floor at random. (I'm just now realizing we never picked up the huge mess Claire left. Sorry CVS employee.)

My blood pressure had skyrocketed, so we called the doctor. My numbers weren't quite high enough to go to the hospital, and the good news is that my blood pressure came down pretty quickly within the next hour. So in the end, the babies are fine and I'm fine, which is a blessing we're still thankful for in our prayers every day.

But I got put on scheduled resting, which is a type of modified bedrest. Luckily, it's the easiest type of bedrest there is. I just have to be sitting down (with my feet up) or laying down from 7pm to 7am. I can still work on my laptop, I can still get up early to do seated prenatal yoga and my breathing exercises, I can still rest or be on the phone or watch Netflix or whatever I want. Plus I get one or two late nights a week if I need them. Party animal!

Sam teases me that I'm the only person in the world who requires a doctor's orders to actually take care of herself and get some rest. (Bless him for putting up with me all these years.) I still have the back and hip aches, the trouble sleeping, the trouble breathing, all of those other really fun pregnancy symptoms I mentioned earlier. But I feel much calmer, more in control, and better rested. And no more preeclampsia scares, wahoo!

So that's an update on my pregnancy. We are still so darn excited for these two babies. They are moving around constantly, and even though I'm only 25 weeks, Sam's been able to feel them move quite a lot too. Also, I have at most 12 weeks left, which is a really exciting thing for me, because I have NOT loved being pregnant like I did the first time around. Ha.

Any takers to come join me for a night of scheduled resting? We'll lay on the couch and watch movies and eat snacks and chat. It's a party!

Photos by my sweet friend Beverly of SWEET SNAPS PHOTOGRAPHY. Check her out!