My Birth Plan (and 33 Weeks Update)

I have so much to say, so prepare yourselves for multiple posts in the next days.

First of all, the 33 week update!

33 Weeks

Baby Elayne

Size: Durian Fruit* (Over 4 pounds and more than 17 inches long)

Important Developments: She can open her eyes! Can't wait to see if they're blue like Phillip's or brown like mine!

Noticeable Symptoms: I'm now getting up about every 2 hours in the night to rush to the bathroom. I am officially huge and it's noticeable. I can't bend over, overexert myself, or find comfortable positions to sleep in. I'm officially in that miserable stage of pregnancy.

*Apparently a Durian Fruit is a nasty fruit that most people can't even stand the smell of - but some people love. Online, the "lovers" said it smells like almonds. While the "haters" compared the smell to raw sewage, turpentine, or rotten onions. Ew. Smelly baby!

And now on the topic of my birth plan....

Like I mentioned in the previous post, my emailed to-dos say that now is the time for a birth plan. Have you heard of these? Seen examples? Anything?

This is another one of those "new age" things our parents and grandparents certainly didn't care about. I think it's a result of our particular generation that wants to control every aspect of life, the advancement of medicine and what is effective, and the fact that we are the first generation that is demanding choices in medical care by asking pointed questions and researching the you-know-what out of every issue known to mankind.

Birth plans, for those of you who aren't aware, is a written plan for how you want the birth process to go - from hospital admission to discharge. It's formal, written, and added to the patient chart in most circumstances. The examples online are multiple pages long, address every teeny detail, and almost form manuals once completed.

Examples of Things Found In Birth Plans
Who is attending labor/delivery.
Environmental particulars like music, lighting, clothing, props, positions etc.
Pain management and medications.
How you'd like delivery to go as far as pushing techniques, c-section and alternatives available, and more.
What the hospital offers as far as rooms, where baby care takes place, etc.
Circumcision for a boy.
Feeding options and timing.
Discharge procedures.

It's quite the list. And while I love that these lists really make you think about what you want and tell you what your rights are and what you should expect to have access to, it's quite lengthy. And just like the hospital bag post...

Reality Check #1: The plan will inevitably change. All plans change. I found this out for myself around wedding time when at the last minute, I decided I didn't care about anything but getting married and having a good time. My doctor even said the women who come in with lengthy detailed plans are the ones who have to have an emergency c-section.

Reality Check #2: Ultimately, it's all your doctor's call. It doesn't matter if you swear up-and-down you don't want to be induced or have a c-section. If you're doctor feels it is necessary, you will have one. Pick your doctor accordingly. This goes along with the pediatrician as well. No need to alert the hospital staff about what your pediatrician should or shouldn't be doing. If you did your research and picked the right doctors, you shouldn't have to tell them what their job is.

Reality Check #3: You are subject to your hospital's facilities. No use in requesting a "birthing stool" if they don't have one. And staying in a private room is, for the most part, out of your control if your hospital doesn't have one. Ours has standard private rooms. Again, like above, if you did your research and picked the right hospital, they already know the best things for baby.

Reality Check #4: You are setting such high expectations and setting yourself up for what you would consider "failure" if things don't go according to your plan. I read a fantastic blog entry about how birth plans give women unrealistic expectations in order to satisfy their micromanaging urges. My favorite quote is below.

“Look, they don’t give out medals in the maternity ward. There’s no I Avoided The Episiotomy wall of fame bulletin board and they don’t put little stickers on the babies’ foreheads to distinguish whose mother had an epidural or not. (Although I do remember seeing a sticker on Noah’s bassinet chart that read “I’m a breastfed boy!”, but somehow I doubt the bottle-fed babies’ stickers featured frowny judgment faces, or anything.)”

So what does my birth plan consist of? Three things. And I doubt I will even "submit" it with the patient chart. They're easy to remember and Phillip knows too.

1. Elayne will be formula fed exclusively.
2. I am requesting pulse-oximetry to be done. Outdated now, since Texas legislation just changed this past session to make this required for all newborns in the state. Plus, our hospital already does this anyway. Until now, it is/was not standard, but usually available.
3. No forceps unless absolutely needed. I know my doctor will do what she needs to do. But we have also had lots of discussions about this and she knows how I feel and what I want. Plus, if they bring them out, I can protest until/unless she makes a case for this.

That's it!