Is something on your mind? Have a question for me? Every Monday I take a reader submission, and ask my other readers for their input as well.
Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.
Rebecca says::
Hi Maria,
Here’s a Mailbox Monday Question. What do people do with their other children when put on bedrest? I’m scared I may end up on bedrest as my BP is increasing and I have a toddler to take care of. We don’t have family around who can help during the day either and I feel bad relying on other people alot.
Hi Rebecca! I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes smoothly and that you are not put on bed rest! Unfortunately, if you are, I think you’re going to have to rely a lot on other people.
You can ask your husband/partner help you prepare pre-bagged snacks and lunches for yourself and your little one, along with pre-filled sippy cups. Depending on your child’s age, s/he might enjoy helping you by getting things for you or him/herself.
Get tote bags of activities you can do together while you’re lying down, such as coloring books with washable crayons, books and so forth. I don’t see anything wrong with cuddling up and watching some Sesame Street with your little one too!
It will also really depend on how strict your bed rest is and your child’s age. Sometimes changing a diaper is easier than helping a child use the potty, or cleaning up an accident.
If neighbors and/or people in your community are able to bring you a meal, or come empty your dishwasher for you, let them! As hard as it is to accept the help, it’s what’s best for you and your baby. Of course, if you are financially able to hire someone to help with your toddler and/or the cleaning, that would be a dream come true!
Has anyone been on bed rest while you had other small children? How did you handle it?
Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. 
oo good luck Rebecca. I hope all goes well for you and baby and that you do not have to be on bedrest!
I remember my mom being on bedrest with my youngest sibling because of BP. I was about 11 and I was helping out a lot. There was just not much she could do. I’m scared of being on bedrest myself. I think preparing for it is a good idea, I like Lisa’s idea of getting frozen meals together. The more you can get done now the better. Don’t be afraid to accept help for a little while. That’s what friends are for and I’m sure they won’t mind.
Good advice Maria. Thanks!
i was on bedrest for 3 weeks with my 20 month old to take care of. we used lots of family help (both sets of grandparents are close) and asked friends to take her when grandparents weren’t available. you will be surprised at how much people want to help. I was on bedrest with my first too, so I was very worried it would happen again, so i started making double recipes to freeze leftovers for easy dinners for my hubby, stocked up on crockpot toss together meals, etc. I usually had my daughter for 2-3 hours by myself at the start of and end of hubby’s work day, so we watched lots of youtube clips, videos, read books and had special snacks during those times to keep er right next to me. this worked pretty well as she otherwise didn’t get to watch tv or computer so was completely entranced. she also missed me, so she wanted to be close. accept any help offered – cleaning, meals, etc or consider hiring a cleaning service to lighten your hubby’s load too! best wishes and remember it is all of the wellbeing of your unborn baby and worth it!
Yikes! I hope you can find people to help you!
My only idea is that if you do some movie/TV time with your child, YouTube has a lot of kids stuff on it (Thomas the Train, Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows). Yeah, it’s mostly (but not all!) pirated, but it would save you from having to go pick up movies at the library or somewhere else.
I was on strict bedrest for 3 months (laying down on my side and only allowed up to pee and to walk from the couch back to the bedroom at the end of the day). Thankfully, my son was 6 at the time, and in kindergarten, so he could understand better. We did set up a little end table that was “couch eye level” in front of me so that he and I could play cards or board games. My husband had to make meals and snacks and set them by my side every morning. We don’t have family around either and I was really grateful that he was in school most the day. I would think modified bedrest with a toddler is doable but there is no way I could have followed my Dr’s orders of strict bedrest if I had to take care of a toddler. Since you don’t have family around, I would probably look up daycare options and consider taking your LO over there once a week to get used to it – just in case.
Thanks Maria for posting my question and giving me some good ideas!
You are very welcome! 🙂
I was on complete bedrest for almost two months when my water broke (well, really leaked) at 31 weeks. My older daughter was 2.5 at the time. The only solution that worked for us was to have my Dad move in until I was off bedrest. The day he left and I got off the couch to return to taking care of her, I went into labor (at 38 weeks). My daughter is especially clingy to me, so he took her out of the house a bunch so that she didn’t get as frustrated at my inability to get up and take care of her. He doesn’t cook much and neither does my husband, so my MIL and friends brought us lots of dinners and we ate out a lot, too.
I won’t lie – it was very stressful, but the baby was just fine!
Thanks so much for your input, I’m so glad I was never in this situation and very glad your little one was OK!!