My Birth Plan

As my due date has come and gone I figured I would post about my birth plan. As some know or may not, we are using a midwife and I'll be giving birth at a Birth Center that is attached to a hospital so that if an emergency does come up we do have help right there. We do use the L&D nurses and we've met a bunch who are sooo nice and all say they prefer working with the midwives since the atmosphere is so much more relaxed.

We actually don't have to put too much in our birth plan because a lot of what we want is already protocol not only for the midwives but for the hospital in general. I'll give birth and stay the next 36-48 hours all in the same room which is huge and soooo nice, its like a hotel. Some of the things we want that are standard is not being asked if I want medication - not even the nurses will ask unless I seriously bring it up; I want to labor in the spa tub, walk around, try different positions to help relieve pain and use the birthing stool, squat bar and birthing ball; wait to clamp the umbilical cord until it stops pulsating; have skin to skin time right away with the baby for an hour or longer; withhold all weighing, measuring, shots, etc. until after skin to skin time; dad gives baby first bath if wanted and in room; all newborn procedures done in room and in front of parents. There's more that I'm sure I'm missing but they keep it all as natural and as instinctual as possible. So in addition to all of that, here is the rest of our birth plan:

My Birth Plan:

I only want Tom present. My parents may visit me when they first get to the hospital but no one else is allowed to see me under any circumstances.

I am very private and modest and want to be as comfortable as possible and I’m not sure that is possible with new people present.

I prefer minimal internal exams or at my request only. (Midwives only do this once every 4 hours instead of the standard 2 but if I don't want them at the time I don't have to)

Concerning GBS Antibiotics: I want to start them once I have reached 6 or 7cm. I am hoping to only need one dose. I will try a heplock but only if I can have it in my forearm, not in my hand. I have a huge needle phobia and do not want this to be an issue. 

I do not want to be told when to push and do not want any counting while pushing.

Language about time is not okay. I do not want anyone to say, “you’re almost there,” “it’s almost over,” “it will be over soon,” or anything that has to do with time when I am pushing. It is ok to say “you’re strong,” “your baby’s moving forward,” etc. (As a marathon runner I hate when I still have 3 miles left and the crowd is cheering "you're almost there" when in fact three more miles is still a long time and is still very hard, even the last 100 yards is hard and from my point of view feels like forever away.)

Tom would like to catch the baby. 

We will provide clothing, hats and blankets for our baby as our family has a history of sensitive skin - we will be using organic clothing. 

I’d like Tom to stay with the baby at all times if I cannot be present.

I plan to breastfeed exclusively. 

I would like Tom to give the baby his first bath and with water only – no soap – again due to sensitive skin.

Please do not administer eye drops to my baby.

Please delay the administration of vitamin K and PKU testing until after breastfeeding and bonding. 

Please, no HepB vaccine for our baby. 

If C-Section if necessary due to emergency:

Tom should be present at ALL times.

I would like to have immediate contact with the baby.

I admire Baby-Friendly hospitals and would like skin-to-skin with the baby, keeping the mother-baby dyad together during the repair and recovery, and encouraging unlimited breast-feeding, even during initial recovery period. 

I would like Tom to stay with the baby at ALL times. He is to be the first to hold the baby – I want limited nurse interaction with the baby and have Tom perform any procedures possible.

So there it is. Not everyone will agree with what we want but we feel it's what is best for us. We also know that our birth may not go as planned which is why I wrote a part about a possible c-section but I want to try my hardest to have the birth go as planned. Here's to hoping he comes soon!!!

34 Weeks

How far along?: 34 weeks 

Maternity clothes: Still mostly non-maternity with stretchy skirts and dresses. I got a new stretchy red skirt from J.Crew and its so cute and I can wear it after so double plus!

Best moment this week: Going to Maine for our best friend's wedding! All of our college friends were there and we had a TON of fun all weekend catching up.   

Symptoms: Still a little tired but not as bad as before, but still pretty exhausted after a long weekend in Maine. 

Movement: So active! Tom even saw my stomach moving for the first time since every time I saw "look my stomach is moving!" he stops moving and Tom can't see it!

Food cravings: Nothing really.

Have you started to show yet?: Oh yes! Everyone at the wedding was so nice and said I was all belly and looked awesome - making a pregnant lady feel great even if it is a little bit of a lie!

Gender prediction: It's a boy!

Mood: Happy that these next few weeks will hopefully fly by with all we have going on so he'll be here before we know it!

Looking forward to: A relaxing weekend. Tom has to work this weekend but I have nothing to do but nest! I have had the urge to nest a little but I'm exhausted at the end of the day so this weekend the house will be getting a deep clean!!!

Tom took some maternity pics of me on our way to Maine when we stopped in Ogunquit, ME and went to the beach. My dad grew up in Maine and went there as a kid a lot during the summer and I can see why! Here are a few more of the pictures!

33 Weeks

I think this is the last wear of this non-maternity shirt!

How far along?: 33 weeks 

Maternity clothes: Still mostly non-maternity with stretchy skirts and dresses.

Best moment this week: Seeing my parents and family friends when we went home for a wedding.   

Symptoms: The Calms Forte seems to be working better and I am definitely sleeping more in a night but I'm still waaay more tired than I had been in the second trimester but not quite as tired as I was in the first. 

Movement: Oh geeze I swear that this week he's been waaay more active and seems to never stop moving. All of those stories about women not knowing they were pregnant until they gave birth make me laugh now - I mean did they think their intensities and organs were moving around in there or what because this is crazy movement that definitely does not just feel like digestion anymore!

Food cravings: Nothing really other than wanting one of those cheese biscuits when we passed a red lobster this weekend but then again who doesn't want one of those?!?

Have you started to show yet?: Oh yes! I am straight out and all belly. I've had a few people tell me I look way bigger than 33 weeks but I have measured exactly on at every midwife appointment so its probably because I'm straight out and not to the sides at all.

Gender prediction: It's a boy!

Mood: Happy that these next few weeks will hopefully fly by with all we have going on so he'll be here before we know it!

Looking forward to: Going to Maine this weekend for the wedding of our two best friends (who also happen to be the baby's God Parents)! We leave early tomorrow and come back Sunday so it will be a long weekend with lots of college friends that we don't get to see nearly enough and we can't wait. We're going to stop at a few places along the way since its a 5.5hr drive and there's no way I can make the trip without multiple stops. I'm excited to stop at the Ogunqit Beach on the way where Tom is gonna take some maternity pics for me since we can't afford legit maternity pics right now. It will be gorgeous and I can't wait :)

30 Weeks

Excuse the non-bright eyed and busy tailed appearance this morning!

How far along?: 30 weeks 

Maternity clothes: Mostly regular clothes since I can now wear my stretchy dresses and skirts which has been really nice!

Best moment this week: Celebrating my "first" mother's day although I'm not sure it totally counts so we'll call it my half mother's day instead!   

Symptoms: Sleeping has still been an issue and keeps getting worse it seems so I feel exhausted most days. I have a body pillow but I toss and turn so much that it usually ends up on the ground and isn't much help. I've decided to start going to the gym in the afternoon now so that I can sleep in on those days at least which will hopefully help a little.   

Miss anything?: Eh not really, its been cold here the last week so wine hasn't been on my mind much. 

Movement: Oh yes, he's very active and moving a lot!

Food cravings: Not much other than I wanted a donut really bad the other day but didn't give in since that's probably the worst thing I could eat.

Have you started to show yet?: Oh yes! 

Gender prediction: It's a boy!

Mood: Happy but very tired. I'm also feeling a bit overwhelmed that we only have 9 (or so) more weeks left! 

Looking forward to: Going to Ithaca and Skaneateles this weekend. We're heading to Ithaca on Saturday to go to a baby consignment store that has cloth diapers for $10 instead of $25 plus we need a few more sleepers. And then we're spending the night in Skaneateles where we were married since we were given a gift card to the Inn we had our reception at as a wedding present and have yet to use it. It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend there so we're pretty excited and Skaneateles Lake is absolutely gorgeous which doesn't hurt!

Spring Wish List

I keep seeing all of these cute clothes coming out for spring and well I just can't/won't be able to fit into any of it! And I find it wasteful for me to go out and get a completely new maternity wardrobe since maternity clothes are wicked expensive and what if I am pregnant in the winter next time so everything I buy this time is basically wasted? So I searched the web for a few things I would like as a pregnant lady this spring - some of which I could actually wear afterwards and next spring. Here it is!

1. old navy maternity skirt  |  2. initial necklace [ i thought this would be cute with the baby's initial - but we aren't telling anyone the name so i'd have to wait until after he's born to wear it! ]  |  3. gap maternity dress  |  4. head over heels maxi skirt  |  5. timex watch  |  6. gap maternity tank  |  7. old navy maternity maxi dress