34 weeks and 2 days. My freedom has been expanded bit by bit so I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to when I take a break from bed rest.

1. Shopping at Target
I called first to see if they had those motorized wheelchair carts, mostly used by the elderly. Upon hearing they did I gathered the few things I wanted to return and made my way to one of my favorite shopping destinations. The wheelchair carts are quite slow when motoring down the large aisles, but as soon as I turned into the clothing section I realized the turning radius was much wider than expected. I proceeded to ram two racks of clothes, pushing them out of my way, before entering the small aisles. Of course this was unintentional but there was no way around it. The wheelchair cart also beeps when you put it in reverse, in case you weren’t getting enough attention just by driving one. I resisted the urge to race an elderly man in his cart, checked out some baby things, stopped at Starbucks and was on my way home. I didn’t tell anyone I was going to Target because I anticipated getting a lecture. But as my family found out afterwards they wished they had pictures or could have witnessed me motoring around. Maybe next time.

2. Shopping at Babies R Us
They only have normal push wheelchair carts which requires a helper to push the cart. Thankfully Mom came with me. The small basket on the front of the wheel chair was quickly overflowing and blocking my view, but we accomplished much and had fun looking at baby things.

3. Test Driving Cars
I love my Mazda 3 but it’s a little too small for the car seat, which we anticipated. I’ve done a lot of research online for mid-size SUVs but decided it was time to sit in a few and see how they drove. Most car salesmen, I discovered, don’t understand “bed rest” and attempt to walk me around the lot. I did find a few good salesmen who pulled the cars up to the door for me. We haven’t made any decisions yet but I’m sure you’re wondering and/or would like to share your opinion. So far I’ve driven the Toyota Highlander, Mazda CX9, Honda Pilot, and Hyundai Veracruz. The Pilot is my favorite but I’m not sure it will fit in our narrow garage.

4. Church From The Couch
Last week my family from Wisconsin was in town so I decided to go out to see them at church on Sunday. After seeing them a few times during the week I was also pretty tired. I also can’t go up or down more stairs which makes attending Faith Fellowship tricky (the bathroom is 1st floor, sanctuary 2nd floor, parking in the middle…) I planned on arriving late because I knew I needed to sleep. I snuck in the back door (accessible without stairs or elevator) and laid on a couch in the room behind the sanctuary, listening to the sermon and singing along to the hymns. No one even knew I was there until I walked out after the service. I enjoyed church from the couch… wish I had discovered that sooner.

This week I plan on going to Bible study (doctor approved) and probably a drive-thru Starbucks or two. The doctors want me to slowly be more active so that my muscles come back a little and labor isn’t a complete shock to my system. So don’t worry, I’m being careful, I’m not doing too much, and I’m still resting a lot because these things make me more tired than you’d imagine. Now you’re up to date with my out-of-home adventures. Only three weeks left of bed rest! Going on these “adventures” makes bed rest much more manageable. We’re almost there! Now if only we could come up with a name for the baby…