Are you kidding, you're tops on my lady baseball roster now. No time off for maternity leave!

If your food choices need to sort of support your no pooping, I'd suggest a lot of things with protein and not a lot of bulk, I think about strained/Greek yogurt [sort of delicious, you can make your own if you don't have any] with tasty stuff in it [syrup, flax seed, fruit, whatever] and protein powder makes it more meal like. Popsicles are often good when you're just feeling bleary and blah, and of course some good gelato or sorbet. Delicious soups you can make in advance and freeze in single serving containers and put in a microwave.

Have you seen Kath & Kim? The Australian series is really amusing [but not bust-a-gut, so I think you're safe] I've been watching it lately and enjoying it. I'm not sure if it's girlie so much but relevant to girls and funny. Second season involves an annoying pregnant lady in case that might be a problem for any reason.

If you're not getting up to do laundry and etc, I'd also suggest a few pairs of nice pj's so that by day six you're not all blerg. Same goes for really nice fuzzy socks, and maybe even a nightcap. I always feel better when I've got an awesome fuzzy hat when I'm stuck in bed. Got someone coming in to do dishes? Bringing in your mail? I'd suggest that so that once you're up you're not just doing all the chores you've not done for the week.

I'd also think of things you like even for the first few days when you're feeling punk. Nice music. Soothing scents if you're a person who enjoys that sort of thing. Maybe a lavender sachet or something to keep near you.

I hope it all goes well and that your worst problem is boredom.

Is it that you won't be able to poop for some reason or that you won't want to because it might cause pain? If it's the latter, maybe high fiber foods would help? But if it were me, I would fatten up on comfort foods: cookies, meatloaf, pizza, ice cream. But I agree with Jessamyn about Greek yogurt, I am on a huge Greek yogurt kick right now. My favorite way to eat it is with honey.

Girly and silly TV-wise: have you ever watched Absolutely Fabulous? Highly recommend.

Will you be recuperating alone, or will there be someone at home with you part-time? Do not be shy about asking friends for help. In time of need, most people really want to help, but don't know what to do!

Jessamyn's tips are great, and especially the reminder to have plenty of PJs. Fresh jammies or nighties will help keep you cheerful; grubby ones will bum you out. Ask the doc: can you wear something with a waistband in the recuperation period? You might like something big and loose, like a nightshirt or a long t-shirt.

If it makes this period easier, now is a time to use disposable stuff without environmentalist guilt. Paper plates, disposable cups, whatever you need, so you don't feel pressure to get back on your feet and do dishes.

Do you knit, or do any textile work? Sewing or knitting or crocheting --- some fidgetty task that requires only a tool (a needle or knitting needles or crochet hook) and some textile would be easy to wrangle in bed, and easy to chuck into a box or basket when you get fed up for the moment. If you don't sew or knit but want to learn, now would be an ideal time to start a very simple project.

If you like Drench, Cube o' Logic might appeal, too.

In addition to books and DVDs or TV, do you listen to podcasts? They're great when you don't feel like even opening your eyes. I especially like Radiolab, though it might not be so appealing to someone who just underwent surgery.

And, of course, you can alleviate boredom by posting here! We'll all be eager to hear about your progress and recovery!

Like Jessamyn, I hope boredom is the worst thing you have to face. I'm sending all my good thoughts!

Ooh, building on what Elsa said, two things I've been wanting to do but haven't gotten around to are hooking a rug (is that the right word?) and cross=stitching a tablecloth. Both of those activities might be fun, and you would end up with something to show for your efforts at the end.

I had to do bed rest when I was pregnant, and I found it pretty hard emotionally. Can you ask friends to drop by each day? It's great if they want to bring food or wash dishes or whatever, but even if they just sit next to you and make you laugh a little, that's pretty valuable. Or if that's not possible, maybe you can schedule folks to call each day?

Good luck! I bet it'll be over before you know it.

Thanks, all. I appreciate all of the input. One thing I forgot to mention is that I did buy myself a new set of jammies for the ordeal. I am a sucker for cute new pj's.
I was only half kidding about the poo stuff. I guess that is one of the worst first things to do after surgery, because they mess around with your innards, then give you pain meds that stop you up. I am also on a Greek yogurt kick (OHMYGOD creamy goodness). I will continue to eat tons of it with all of the fresh fruit coming into season right now.
Luckily, I will not be alone. I am blessed with wonderful family and friends. My in-laws are coming in so that my MIL can help my husband manage me for the first few days. Then I have friends lined up to visit when I feel up to it.
I used to be super-crafty, knitting crocheting, etc., but have largely given it up in the past few years. Maybe now is the time to take it up again with all of this new-found energy I am supposed to have once my blood returns to normal. I DEFINITELY want to check out Kath and Kim, it sounds hysterical. I am an ABFAB fan from way back, and I think it is too laugh out loud funny for my surgical recovery. When my husband was recovering from his surgery a few years back, we made the mistake of watching Zoolander, and he laughed until he cried, the movie was literally painfully funny.
Here are the books I got, even though no one asked, Ima gonna tells ya anyways:

Mao The Unknown Stories by Jung Chang
The Gathering by Anne Enright
Sum: Forty tales from the afterlife (mentioned on the blue the other day)
Litany of the Long Sun by Gene Wolf, because the green said this is a good one to get into scifi
and
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

I splurged and purchased ALL of those books, instead of getting them out of the library, which is what I normally do.
Thanks again for the support, you guys. You're the bestest.

I don't know if you've watched all of Lost or the Sopranos or Six Ft Under or the Wire, but I've been waiting for some downtime to watch some of those. Might be fun to watch a real plot drama unfold.

It could also be a good time to write longhand letters to people you're thinking about (since you will probably have a lot of thinking and reminiscing time) and tell them the memories you have or something funny they said that stuck with you. It would also be a good time to make mix cds or organize your music or something on your computer.

Maybe keep a camera near you so you can take random pictures or track your scar healing or something. You might be able to find a fun photo project in there.

I stream all sorts of stuff from Netflix on my laptop - vintage TV shows, recent tv shows, classic movies. It's great for what I'm in the mood for now stuff that I couldn't predict when I'm ordering the disks. I've been watching old Addams Family, Burns & Allen, Maverick, Newsradio, Leverage, none of which is girly per se.

I also stream Old Time Radio when I'm working - old mysteries, cop shows, comedies...

I would keep a pad of paper and some colored pencils for doodling and stream of conscious whining near your bed. Or if you get bored, you can fold origami.

Gosh, you have lots of good advice above.

My recommendation: have you watched the Pride & Prejudice series by BBC? Even if you have, it's probably time to see it again.

Sending good healing thoughts your way with gentle hugs.

you have seen the wire? And Six Feet Under? And The Sopranos? And True Blood, and Dexter? you will be engrossed in no time.

Bweh, I should really read the threads first

The Australian Kath & Kim is AWESOME - but it had me rolling around on the floor.

Big thumbs up for the BBC Pride & Prejudice version too!

If you are on pain medication, hopefully you will spend a fair bit of your time in blissful slumber. Rest is good for healing :-)

(I had to spend two weeks in bed, one summer apart. One week per foot. I watched a lot of movies, read some books, was the most caught up on email that I've ever been....and slept.)

I recommend Lost In Austen, or for something a little more engrossing, the BBC's Bleak House.

Hope all goes well for you!

When I had a hysterectomy, I really wish someone had told me about the importance of a laxative. Seriously. That first poop, after you've had a huge anaesthetic that slows down your entire system, will be agonising, so give it all the help you can. Sorry if this is TMI, but it's information I wish I'd known.

Also, make sure you have a roll of plastic wrap to hand. Once you are ambulatory, you can wrap it around your belly to create a seal over your wound, thus enabling you to have a shower without getting the wound wet.

I'd also add that having a hysterectomy was one of the best decisions I ever made. I kept my ovaries, so did not go into the menopause, but leaving behind the years of painful, flooding periods was such a blessing.

It takes a while fully to get over it, but it was about a year later that I realised how well I felt, and I also realised how ill I'd been for years and years because of my menstrual problems - but because I'd be living with it for so long, feeling ill, having no energy, having cramps, etc. had just become the norm. In comparison, I feel far more energetic and vital than I did ten years ago.

Good luck. You'll be fine, I'm sure.

I have had some procedures during the past year, and I have listened to a bunch of podcasts. The advantage to this is, at least the first day or so, is that I fall asleep during, and miss most of it, so I get to listen to it all over again, thereby eating up a bit more time.

Put a hard backed chair by your bed, backwards, to help you get up.
My hyst was pretty major, but they had me walking every day, and the more I walked, the more it helped.