Birth Plans Thread

cato99

@janele3214 I discussed it with my doctor at Monday's appointment and she said that the most recent literature shows that unless there's a history of leukemia or lymphoma in your family, cord blood banking is largely an unnecessary expense. She said that something to consider would be cord blood donation (which is free to you), because it is more likely to be used in an immediate productive way. 

agpandme

My plan is still developing. I would prefer to labor at home as much as possible. We live about 5-10 minutes from the hospital (very small town).  I prefer an epidural (which I feel will be up in the air due to preferring to labor at home). In the moment I may feel differently and I will 100% be flexible.  Honestly I'm terrified (FTM HERE!) but I feel that in the moment I will be able to buckle down and get er done.  I want delayed cord cutting and immediate skin to skin with both of us.  I want my husband there but no other family member. Thankfully most live 3 hours away so I won't feel pressured to have them there. That is it for now.  

janele3214

@cato99 thanks for the info. Still debating if we want to do that or not.. no history of that type of cancer in my or his family so..

MamaK225

I'm right there with @sourlemon and @thirdtimesacharm2019. I'm hoping to schedule my RCS at either my 28 or 32wk appointment (crossing fingers for 8/9 - which makes me 39w0d). I didn't realize it, but I did have something very close to a gentle c-section with DD1. After being induced and laboring for 15+ hours, we ended up doing a c-section, but they did do delayed cord clamping (I didn't realize this until after, I was *super* out of it) and we did immediate skin-to-skin and attempted BF as soon as I was out of recovery. I will keep her in the room with me as much as possible during the day, but she will go to the nursery at night (since I probably will only get one overnight).

And like @wabash15 said: stay ON TOP of those pain meds afterwards. A friend of mine warned me and I did as I was told and I had zero issues with pain or discomfort. We'll see how it is with #2, given I'll have a toddler who will want to jump on me like a damn trampoline. ALSO, regardless of how you deliver. I highly suggest starting Colace (stool softener) a week or so before your due date and stay up on that, too! Lots of water. It is going to be a hot mess, regardless of how you deliver ... just make it as "easy" as possible on yourself.

Another also: steal. all. of. the. mesh. underwear. Ain't no shame. Do. It. That stuff is amazing and you will thank yourself later. Also, snag that undercarriage squirt bottle. Another priceless implement during recovery. Because even if you do end up with a c-section, you WILL be bleeding for 2+ weeks (I was close to 4) just like everyone else.

Allycat11

@MamaK225 yep on alllll the mesh underwear. I loved wearing it even after getting home for a few days. The squirt bottle was a huge help too. 

MamaK225

Yes @Allycat11! I loved it because I could choose to let it soak/handwash it or just toss it. I have actually purchased some Depends for this time, just in case, since I don't think I'll be having as much "freedom" to change as often.

mrosek91

@MamaK225 I think 2+ weeks is on the low side, I'm jealous of your 4 weeks. I bled 8+ with DS#1, and just under 6 with DS#2. Wait.. I just reread your post, and realized those numbers are probably CS specific. Warning to moms with vaginal births - you bleed forever!
Also, I used depends with DS#1 and they are great. Definitely loved the hospital mesh ones, but once I was home I felt a little naked wearing them. The depends offered more coverage.
I will say that with DS#2 my bleeding was significantly less. Both in intensity, and in how long it lasted. By the time I was home from the hospital overnight pads were sufficient to catch everything.

MamaK225

@mrosek91 - Yes, I feel that CS most likely has less bleeding since it's only afterbirth/uterine recovery and not WW3-in-my-genitals kind of destruction. For some reason, my family does have a history of faster recoveries/less bleeding after these things, but I am not quite sure why ... not looking a gift horse in the mouth!

WinchesterGirl

I still bled for about 6 weeks post c/s, but 3 weeks of it was mostly just spotting, and I just wore a light pantyliner. 

I think it somewhat depends on how well and quickly your uterus contracts & amount of bleeding can also increase if you overdo it on activity PP. 

emqbee

Oh my god. I’m really grateful for the heads up on things that I guess have just never been told to me. I never dreamed you bleed more than 2-3 weeks regardless of vaginal or CS. Also. I get lightheaded when reading some of this stuff regarding the pain and blood after birth. I’m not freaking out about labor and delivery....maybe I should be. But this afterward stuff has me freaking out just a little. The part where it’ll hurt to pee and poo. Yeah, that’s got me in knots. 

I will be at a very nice birth center. I mean, I LOVE the place. But everyone references what the hospital is equipped with and I’m having a moment of panic that they won’t have everything(mesh underwear).  If necessary, where do I buy that?

BigBadWolf12

They also tend to clean you out as much as possible after a cs so there's just less blood in the ute needing to drain out too.

I wayyyyy over prepared for the pads I'd need haha.  Better over prepared than under, but I could give birth 10 times over with the number of pads I still have left haha.

wabash15

+1 to bleeding 6+ weeks post c-section and also post vaginal delivery...
also like @mamak225 said those mesh panties are everything... they are HUGE but so damn comfortable
@emqbee not everyone is painful in terms of peeing/pooping post partum... neither of those were bad for me either time (c-section and vbac). but with a vaginal bottle the peri-bottle is wonderful. I bet you could find the mesh panties on amazon.  If there were birthing centers near me and I wasn't a VBAC I would consider a birthing center... don't freak out about the post partum stuff, you'll handle it fine, its just more of the glamour of pregnancy/childbirth 

Allycat11

I bled for 4-5 weeks after both of my vaginal deliveries. The first several days after DD was born were brutal. DS was a smoother delivery and recovery and bleeding was very heavy for maybe 2 days but then felt like a normal period for a week or two before becoming lighter. 

The first bowel movement after both sucked, worse with DD though. After I left the hospital with DD I stopped taking stool softeners...do NOT do that. With DS I took them for weeks and things were much easier. 

For help with pain when you pee I recommend leaning your body as far forward as possible to kind of angle the stream forward instead of backwards. I found that it burned when hitting the parts where I was stitched up. Definitely use the hospital provided squirt bottle. Also an anti itch and numbing spray was given to me that was helpful a couple times a day. And learn to dab instead of wipe for the first few days or so. 

All TMI super unpleasant things, but they are manageable and very short term inconveniences in the grand scheme of things. 

heml

Pre-pregnancy I was obsessed with Thinx period panties, so I’m wondering if they may work post-pregnancy in addition to all the mesh panties I take from the hospital 

sourlemon

I always recommend people get a squatty potty. It helps so much. I started using it after DD2 and havent stopped!

emqbee

You guys are the bomb! I’m so glad to have everyone here and be able to ask all the TMI questions and not feel uncomfortable about it. Also, I was going to ask if we could start a post post partum thread but thought it might be too early...seems this one may be shifting a tiny bit!