We also learned that I am very high risk for a premature delivery. It was a good news bad news sort of day. We were so excited after the ultrasound, learning the gender and seeing how healthy she is and then there was a thud when the specialist came in and told us about the premature birth risks and what our options were.
After a few weeks we seem to be settling into a new normal. We have done and are doing everything we can to keep our baby girl safely inside and now we wait as the weeks pass. When I was pregnant with Margot I was put on strict bed rest at 28 weeks. Bed rest is no longer prescribed due to some complications that can arise. So I am on "chair rest" which means I am to stay off my feet when possible. I can drive, get up to get Margot milk or sit on the floor and play with her. I can even go to the park and sit on a bench (so long as someone else is there to play with Margot) or go to Church. I cannot lift anything, grocery shop, be on my feet for any length of time, travel more than 30 minutes from an approved hospital or do anything strenuous. This situation is much scarier than my pregnancy with Margot because the complications are arising earlier and are more severe. Yet, chair rest is a dramatic improvement from bed rest which literally had me laying vertically unless I was getting up to pee! Now I can do so much more. It's also nicer to have Margot home with me to play with rather than being alone each day.
But what do we do? Our routine has changed quite a bit. Housework is out of the question except folding clothes on the couch and occasionally putting something away as I get up to do something. Grocery trips, target, any shopping, and solo park trips (just Margot and I) are not an option. No walks, or library trips either. And we are facing a whole summer sans camping, hiking or beach trips.
Margot loves to read so we have morning and afternoon story time. Besides the constant rotation of picture books Margot picks (right now her favorite is Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling) we have been reading the original Winnie the Pooh, Little House in the Big Woods, an old children's reading primer called Round About, her storybook bible and a collection of classic children's poetry. She has lots of toys that we can play sitting down such as her doll house and tea parties have been a favorite. Coloring, building blocks and cooking in her kitchen are also big hits. And in the late afternoons when we are both bored and ready for Daddy's return we have been watching the Frugal Gourmet and Julia Child on you tube. This is a big hit and has lead to some cooking adventures for her and her Daddy. Once Chris is home I sit at the counter on a stool and chop vegetables and prep dishes for him as he cooks.
All in all the summer is shaping out to be much slower but also sweet with extra snuggling, reading and playing.
