Babies: 9 - 12 Months
mhaas28
member
All this Selfie talk has me wondering...What was your birth plan?
mhaas28
member
I, myself, didn't have one. My doctor and I never discussed it. My only plan was to go in and get an epi. when I needed it. I went in hoping for a vaginal delivery, but completely prepared for a c-section (my mom had 3). I always felt that my carefree lack of a birth plan helped me have no regrets. Then again I was able to deliver vaginally, got my epi. and had a very healthy baby boy. One thing I would like to forget is all the vomiting and 4 hours of pushing.
So, what was your birth plan and if you had to deviate from it how did you feel about it afterwards?
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Re: All this Selfie talk has me wondering...What was your birth plan?
My "birth plan" was exactly like yours. I wanted to deliver vaginally and get the epidural when I needed it. The only people I wanted in the room were the medical professionals and my DH.
That's it. I have zero disappointments and actually had a GREAT birth experience. It helped that the hospital I delievered at was like a 4-star hotel, and my nurses were the nicest people on the planet.
Same here, no birth plan. I just knew I wanted to delivery vaginally and get an epi if I wanted one. But I had no idea what would happen.
I just remember reading all the books saying "have a birth plan etc!"
But this is coming from the girl who was soooooo unprepared! No bags packed when my water broke.....no clothes that fit the baby (b/c i believed everyone when they said don't buy any newborn clothes...they won't fit!!) had to bpu the basinett together when we got home...no diapers.
I'm so going to be more prepared this time!!! ha ha
My birth plan was pretty extensive. I had a doula (my best friend), and she went through a lot of things with me. The midwives looked it over and said okay. I delivered in a really accommodating hospital, and most of the stuff was already stuff they did.
Honestly, my birth plan was similar to hers.
Life with Blog
No plan here, either. I wanted a vaginal delivery and I wanted to be as comfortable as possible. As soon as I got my epi I was able to fall asleep and slept up until it was almost time to start pushing so that helped because my epi wore off not long after and I was glad I had been able to rest before I had to push for an hour. I had to have an IV because I was GBS+ and the only thing I refused was Stadol.
I really didn't want a C-section but if the doctor had come in and said there was no progress and/or the baby was in distress I wouldn't have thought twice about letting them wheel me into the OR.
1. To get the kid out of me.
2. Have an Epi as soon as I couldn't handle the pain.
3. Not take any IV pain killers.
4. Not to poop on the table.
I failed at 3 & 4.
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Very simple.
Anesthesia/Pain Medication
If needed, I would like an epidural.
Labor
I strongly prefer to deliver naturally (vaginally) and without use of forceps or vacuum assistance.
Cesarean Section Delivery
I feel very strongly that I would like to avoid a cesarean delivery. If I need one, I would like (DH) to be present during the surgery.
Perineal Care
I would rather tear than have an episiotomy. I am open to perineal massage to help prevent tearing.
Breastfeeding
I plan to exclusively breastfeed and want to nurse following the birth, therefore, please do not give our baby any supplements or pacifiers. I would like to meet with the staff lactation consultant several times before I leave the hospital.
Additional notes
If we have a boy, we would like to talk to the attending pediatrician who will examine him about circumcision.
I did talk about avoiding a chemical induction, but due to low AF levels, I had to be induced at 38w. I was upset for the first day, but once I was in the hospital, I was okay! It was very well managed. My OB rocks.
The only thing that didn't go as planned after was he wasn't hungry after he was born, so I didn't BF until 7 the next morning (he was born just after midnight). overall, a fantastic labor and delivery experience!
I think a birth plan is much less important to those of us who weren't determined to go without pain medications. I had two epis, one that worked with DD and one that didn't with DS, and I would have been happier with DS's birth experience if I had known how to deal with the pain from pitocin contractions without a working epidural.
That said, I wanted the baby out safely and I wanted me to stay healthy. Since that happened both times, I call it a success.
Go to the hospital, get an epi when I needed it, and push the kid out.
My only regret is trying the IV pain meds before the epi. They did nothing for the pain and only succeeded in making me a little loopy so I feel like I was out of it during all the pushing. Next time (if there is one) I'm going straight for the epi.
My plan was pretty much word for word of Selfie's. There was a student however, and I had thought I liked her (had seen her at a few of my checkups) but turned out she was a real biatch. She refused to read my birth plan, as did the nurse who took over after my dream of a nurse was off her shift.
The labor floor was completely full that day and my MW wasn't able to be with me until it came time to push. Luckily my first nurse advocated for my plan but as soon as her shift was over the student took over and it was all down hill from there.
I didn't even get to touch LO until an hour after she was born. I think that is what pissed me off the most. I do count myself lucky though that they let me deliver vaginally. LO had meconium in her fluid, was sunny side up, and was stuck on my tailbone for 2 hours dialated at a 10.
I didn't have one. I wanted to wait as long as I could without and epi. I only wanted DH and I in the room.
Well after 3 days of labor, contractions last 60 seconds and 2 minutes apart, the nurses not admitting me and kept giving me pain meds and sending me home I was ready to rip C out on my own.
Finally on the 3rd day a nurse made me dilate, I had an epi the moment my fatt ars stepped into my room (they gave me two full vials of it) I pooped everywhere and I was in shock when he came out.
So it was NOTING like I imagined it would be
Yes, I had a birth plan. It was very much like Selfie's. I think her birth plan is actually pretty similar to the birth plans for most moms who choose to go natural/med-free.
My birth plan ended up almost completely out the window. I had to be induced due to PreE and a lot of my birth preferences couldn't be honored due to PreE complications and the Mag Sulfate that I had to be on. In the end, I pushed for more than 3 hours, and DS was finally born by forceps delivery after a failed vacuum attempt.
My birth experience was pretty tramatic, and I was very upset about it for a while. I think that having my med-free birth go out the window did add insult to injury, but it would have been bad either way. Even if I hadn't had a birth plan, it still would have been an awful experience. In the hospital, one nurse made a comment about how all moms with detailed birth plans end up with tough births. I completely resented that comment, that somehow I deserved what I got because of my high hopes/expectations.
Next time, I plan on having pretty much the same birth plan and praying that I don't get PreE again. I'll also be delivering with a midwife and at a birth center if possible, because now I realize that hospital births aren't for me.
BFP#2: EDD 2/11/14, MMC confirmed 7/15/13 (growth stopped at 6 weeks), D&C @ 12 weeks 7/25/13
Our plan was actually pretty similar to Selfie's. We didn't actually take it to the hospital with us, though. We had a midwife who delivered at the hospital and she was there when I was admitted and stayed the whole time. we went over the plan with her and she said that was pretty much standard procedure for "natural births" there, so we shouldn't worry. It was true. The only people we saw once I was admitted was the midwife and our nurse (amazingly we had the same nurse even though was in labor for 13 hours)! Our situation was truly blessed. We ended up with quite a few deviations from my birth plan, but they were minor like, i had meconium in my fluid, so I couldn't get back in the tub and had to start doing constant monitoring, I ended up more comfortable and having more luck pushing while lying on my back, afterwards i had to get pitocin (and somehting else I can't remember what it was called) to stop my bleeding, and I couldn't breastfeed immediately afterwards because I was too exhausted to even hold onto her. they laid her on my chest and DH stood there to make sure she didn't slide off. Oh, and we ended up putting her in the nursery overnight (they brought her in to BF) and i had originally planned on going home after 24 hours, but I stayed for 4 days and DD for 5...
Our birth plan was more of a way for us and the midwife to decide what would work best and what to do if plans had to change in the moment. We were very specific about what we wanted going in, but we were very open to things changing as need be. I found I was a lot more lax about things once I was in the moment.
I Bump from my phone 90% of the time, with a baby in my lap, so please excuse my bad format and poor spelling and/or punctuation.
This is pretty close to me too. I was absolutely expecting to be pregnant another month. At least people had given us a couple newborn sized outfits to last a couple days and I already had the crib assembled but DH had to run out and buy newborn sized diapers and my mom washed the DS's clothes for us. I think given a couple more weeks I would have been way over prepared so going with the flow really helped me destress and make the process easier since I am the type to over obsesses and have a ton of anxiety.
ETA: Oh yeah and DH had a nurse laugh at him since he was installing DS's car seat in the hospital parking lot. Next time we'll have everything in place much sooner just in case.
The bumpie formerly known as First Time in MI
Mine was a little less extensive, but similar to Selfie's. I wasn't insistent on silence or anything, but I wanted to go natural and attempt no pain meds and all that.
I got NOTHING that I wanted, and honestly I'm still bitter about it. I'm so glad Evie is here and safe, but I really still wish things had gone just a little bit more my way. I had to be induced because my water broke and labor wasn't coming, pitocin was up way high, I got an epi, then her head started ramming into my pelvis and it hurt like crazy even through the epi, she got stuck, and I ended up with a c/s. Didn't even get to hold her until like 5 hours later. It pretty much sucked until I got to hold my precious bean.
Next time, I'm walking in fully rested and happy, suitcase in hand, ready for a scheduled c/s. I don't want to go through all of that again and risk ending up with the same outcome anyway.
BFP # 1 - 12/19/09 EDD 08/27/10 - D&C 1/26/10 @ 9w5d
BFP # 2 - 06/05/10 EDD 02/17/11, DS1 born on 2/14/11
BFP # 3 - 04/10/13 EDD 12/21/13 - D&C 05/15/13 @ 8w4d
BFP # 4 - 07/27/13 EDD 04/08/14 - CP 07/29/13
BFP # 5 - 09/14/13 EDD 05/28/14, DS2 born on 5/22/14
I had a birth plan all set. I had in my mind how everything was going to go, until I found out he was breech. We set a date for a section, and then my water broke 6 days early, and we were at the hospital for 53 minutes before he was out. It taught me that sometimes, you just have to roll with it.
mine was the same! i was all for the Epi and fully prepared for a c/s which i ended up having one - emergency c/s after being 10 days late, 4 days of labour and being induced and dilating to 8cm! who knew...
i was just going in with an open mind and not really caring about the process because at the end of whatever happened i'd have my baby!!
I had a birth plan to help me have a natural, med-free birth.
And I had a natural med-free birth. It was great, and is what I plan for the future. I don't think the only way to avoid disappointment is to have no expectations.
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I have the opposite feelings, OP. I was pretty laid back about my birth plan, and I think that's why I have regrets. But my 23-hour labor and 3.5 hours of pushing ended in a c-section. I think that if I had had a more strict plan that I stuck to and was more informed about certain decisions I made, I wouldn't have ended up with the surgery. Maybe I would have, but maybe not. That question will always be there.
My plan was to labor at home for a while (I was home for 7 hours), walk a lot at the hospital (which I did for the first four hours there) and labor in the tub (which I did for about two hours). I was fine with getting an epi when I needed it but hoped to wait until 5-6cm. I was offered it at 4.5cm and took it. It stalled my labor and they put me on pit. The pit gave me such strong contractions that it pushed DD into my ribs and I couldn't breathe. Pushing was extremely unproductive and DD wouldn't descend below my pubic bone.
So, things went as planned until my body reacted negatively to the drugs. I wish I had slept while I was laboring at home so I wasn't so exhausted. I wish I had waited longer on the epi, because I really wasn't having a hard time with the pain, I was just so tired. I wish I had said no to the pit. Oh well. The goal was a healthy baby and mommy, and I got both. But it wasn't what I hoped for and I had a pretty crappy recovery.
I had a "go with the flow" birth plan. Things change, so we handled every situation/issue as it presented itself.
I had a few things that I wanted:
-epi if I wanted it
-vaginal delivery
-skin to skin/breastfeed right after birth
I was able to have all of these things, however I had hoped that I wouldn't need an episiotomy or I wouldn't tear. I got an episiotomy and had a 4th degree tear after that...so much fun!
I also was hoping that I wouldn't need a c-section. I had been pushing for 3 1/2 hours with no progress (he was sunny side up.) The OR was all set up and waiting for me. Connor turned at the last minute and I was able to push him out as they were getting ready to wheel me down to the OR.
My plan with Aaron was similar except I was induced, and didn't even push - he came out on his own. (I also re-opened the tear I had from Connor because it wasn't very long between deliveries.)
I didn't have a list of demands but I had a MW so everything was discussed. I was going to labour at home as long as possible with a birth pool, I didn't want any medical induction, pain meds, episiotimy or really any medical intervention, except for intermitent monitoring. I chose active management of third stage though because of fibroids. I wanted to move freely, eat at will. I wanted immediate skin-to-skin, bf'ing, and to delay any procedures. I had discussed with DH that if baby and I were separated, that I wanted him with baby. I didn't want baby to have any formula in my absence (unless, of course it was prolonged and really actually necessary). I wanted to hold baby and even nurse if possible while any tests and procedures were done to baby.
I had an emergency c/s without even having gone into labour. So basically everything was out the window. DH was late to the show, but as soon as he showed up he went to be with the baby as discussed. They were able to bring her to me right away for skin-to-skin and bf'ing, and I was able to hold her in recovery while they did the vit K shot and eye goop.
ETA: I wasn't at all disappointed. I don't think having preferences and preparing for a certain birth mean you are going to be disappointed if it doesn't go exactly according to plan. In fact, I think that educating myself and knowing what I wanted helped me deal with the unexpected b/c I knew what was going on.
bfp#4 3/19/2014 edd 12/1/2014 please let this be the one!
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Get the baby out safely for both baby and I. If something popped up where I needed a c/s, I wouldn't argue...just let them make the decisions was my view.