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What to bring someone on bedrest


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Someone I know is on bedrest and I would like to bring something to her. She's not a friend and I don't know her very well but I wanted to bring a show of support and let her know I care.

 

Thing is, I don't know her so I don't know what to bring. :001_huh:

 

She doesn't need meals (so I'm told) or help with childcare (her other kids are old enough for school).

 

My mind is bogged down with too much stuff going on so all I'm coming up with is amazon gift card. :001_huh::lol:

 

So help me Hive. What's a nice thing to bring someone on bedrest? I was thinking a book or something similar but wouldn't even know where to start to pick something. Sigh.

 

I don't want to do anything baby related ATM. It's a bit too soon to know for sure that everything will be okay. :( Although it's not a negative situation either. Gah. Just no baby related ideas, ok? ;)

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I have a friend who always gives people she knows who are in the hospital or on bedrest a few tabloids. Her theory is that when you are sick, you need to laugh and you need something light and brainless. I'm not sure I could stand to buy tabloids, but maybe something else humorous and light? A book from the humor section?

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A notebook/journal and a pen. I really could have done with these.

 

Magazines about anything! For me i needed things to take my mind off my situation. Any kind of magazine would do the trick.

 

If she is in hospital on bed rest make sure she has TV and internet. I had to pay for TV, you could buy a gift card for that, or pre-paid internet access.

 

I know you said she was OK for meals, but yummy snacks are always well received.

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magazine or book

Game book (Sudoku, word find, etc.)

a DVD of a funny movie

nail polish, emery board, etc. Maybe fun nail decals.

book on cd

nice smelling lotion

flowers (if she's not allergic) or small silk flower arrangement

Comfy, soft socks

A non-spill travel mug and packets of Via coffee, or herbal tea bags

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Yes, anything to keep her busy and distracted. Bring her a People mag, Better Homes and Gardens, and a funny movie. A book w/ variety puzzles (crosswords, sodoku, logic puzzles, find a word, etc.) If you can find out what kind of books she likes, then I would throw in a paperback too. As someone else mentioned, snacks are nice too!

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I had a friend on bed rest. and actually I've done similar things for others maybe in the hospital etc.

 

any way. I made up a small basket and put quite a few fun things in it. I did thing suited for her. They were numbered she could open one a day. Ya know the opening of a surprise is well something exciting in and of itself. But for you it could be a deck of cards, fingernail polish, pretty nail file.

 

for another friend hospitalized out of state I did index cards in envelopes with Bible Verses, inspirational quotes etc.

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If she likes to decorate, magazines like BHG.

 

If she likes to cook, a new cookbook or the latest Cook's Illustrated.

 

If you know her favorite tv show, DVDs of older seasons might be nice.

 

A nice basket with a few of these and some healthy snacks would be great!

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When I was on bed-rest, I was also on terbutaline - and I couldn't get my eyes to focus on books. It was horrible, as I'm an avid reader and really don't watch tv much. Made it very boring! Magazines would be better in that case - easier to try to read in small bits.

Books on tape/cd would have been wonderful, maybe a movie to watch? Flowers - I know people discount them as not being useful - but they would have cheered me up. I missed being outside - so - bring a little outside in, iykwim.

Fuzzy socks - like the aloe infused ones from Bath and Body, maybe with some lotion, facial-y stuff.

Maybe a puzzle - but then you may have the medicine issues again...

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When I was on bed-rest, I was also on terbutaline - and I couldn't get my eyes to focus on books. It was horrible, as I'm an avid reader and really don't watch tv much. Made it very boring! Magazines would be better in that case - easier to try to read in small bits.

Books on tape/cd would have been wonderful, maybe a movie to watch? Flowers - I know people discount them as not being useful - but they would have cheered me up. I missed being outside - so - bring a little outside in, iykwim.

Fuzzy socks - like the aloe infused ones from Bath and Body, maybe with some lotion, facial-y stuff.

Maybe a puzzle - but then you may have the medicine issues again...

 

This is what I was going to say. The terbutaline I was on made me want to run circles around the house. I couldn't maintain the same sitting position for more than three seconds. It was pure torture!!! Anything that does not require focused attention would be a great idea. So far, all the things suggested would be great ideas, although I don't think I could've had the self-control to keep from opening the numbered gifts all in one day and learning to crochet would have been absolutely out of the question - it would've required too much concentration. I love to cross-stitch and when I was on bed rest cross-stitching made me want to punch people. :D

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This is what I was going to say. The terbutaline I was on made me want to run circles around the house. I couldn't maintain the same sitting position for more than three seconds. It was pure torture!!! Anything that does not require focused attention would be a great idea. So far, all the things suggested would be great ideas, although I don't think I could've had the self-control to keep from opening the numbered gifts all in one day and learning to crochet would have been absolutely out of the question - it would've required too much concentration. I love to cross-stitch and when I was on bed rest cross-stitching made me want to punch people. :D

 

:iagree:

The Terb is awful. My hands shook terribly and I felt like I had just had about 20 cups of coffee- I took it as infrequently as possible. So something that doesn't involve lots of focus and using her hands if that's what she's on.

 

The Netflix/Hulu idea is a great one. (Personally, I would have loved for someone to come and clean my house- but I'm OCD like that :D).

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This is what I was going to say. The terbutaline I was on made me want to run circles around the house. I couldn't maintain the same sitting position for more than three seconds. It was pure torture!!! Anything that does not require focused attention would be a great idea. So far, all the things suggested would be great ideas, although I don't think I could've had the self-control to keep from opening the numbered gifts all in one day and learning to crochet would have been absolutely out of the question - it would've required too much concentration. I love to cross-stitch and when I was on bed rest cross-stitching made me want to punch people. :D

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

I will say I told my friend to open them when she was alone, but the son was like excited to see what was in the package so she opened them when he was around.

 

I mean some were really dorky things, It was about the surprise and a moment of levity. I think I put bubbles in one, and some kind of tiny baby doll with diapers or something like that. (the baby was going to be her first baby). Probably had silly putty too. I went to the Dollar tree to get stuff

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I know you said no meals, but my mom brought me fresh fruit salad when I was on bedrest and it was so good. Ripe fruit, already peeled/cut up. Made the whole day wonderful.

 

Flowers to look at really brighten your whole mood when you're lying in the same spot all day long for days on end. I normally don't want flowers; they just die. But, oh, opening my eyes and seeing fresh flowers made my day!

 

Audio books or an amazon gc to purchase one.

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I was stuck on bedrest for 3 months with both of my children. It will drive anyone batty. Your company in person or over the phone is a gift of sanity and friendship. A gift basket that includes a variety of magazines (People, Time etc), puzzle books, small mind challenging games like Kanoodle etc. or small crafts (with instructions if you know she doesn't knit or cross-stich) would be greatly appreciated.

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I was on bedrest for 3-4 months with each of my 6 kids which equals a lot of time! What I enjoyed receiving was; magazines, nice smelling hand lotion, home cooked food (people got us take-out but nothing beats home cooked!), something to keep all my treasures in like pretty little baskets (I couldn't get up and clean but at least I could organize my little area!), a gift subscription to Pogo.com, Netflix, and I would have loved an Amazon gift card :)

 

I was on Terbutaline as some others have mentioned and while I love to sew, crochet, and cross stitch, I just couldn't do it while I was on that medication. That's why the Pogo subscription was nice, I could get my mind going really fast on some of those games lol.

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