Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Our Birth Plan

When it comes to birth, everyone wants the perfect experience. Of course you can't predict what will happen. All you can do is prepare for all outcomes.

A lot of times you will also hear, "Don't write a birth plan you can't control what will happen and then you will be upset." I have to say, this is a bunch of bologna. Of course you can't control everything, but you still have your preferences and if you have researched, taken classes and are informed you can still have a great birth even if nothing goes according to your original plan.

If you didn't have a plan written out, but are still informed you are still less likely to get the experience you want because you don't have it on paper. Even if you have had a verbal discussion with your care provider and they have agreed, what happens if they aren't there when you deliver? Besides that, most of the time if you are having a hospital birth the nurse is the one who takes care of you and the doctor just catches the baby. Also, they have a lot of patients and don't remember what each of them say. If you have your care provider sign your birth plan then it is a lot harder for them to convince you of something else or say they never said that.

So, here is our birth plan. Of course our goal is a birth center birth, but we included things that could happen as well.

Birth Plan

Gaddis, Kirstin (Blood Type) - (place of delivery, optional) Baby: (name)

People Present:

Bobby Gaddis - Dad/Husband

Lindsay ____________- Doula

Care Providers

Labor Requests:

Eat and drink as necessary

Hands on massages, counter pressure, hip squeezes, belly lifts, prayer, encouragement, essential oils when appropriate, lots of movement as feels comfortable, playlist on phone, etc.

Low lighting, when possible

Labor where comfortable: shower, tub, bed, etc.

Blue room if available

Delivery Requests:

Water birth

Push in position most comfortable

Low lighting continued, when possible

Immediate skin to skin

Post-Delivery Requests:

Skin to skin with mom

Skin to skin with dad while mom is getting post-delivery care

Delay cord clamping until it stops pulsing, Dad cuts cord

Herbal bath

No eye ointment

Nurse as soon as baby is ready

No pacifiers, formula or bottles

Non-Emergency Transfer: ____________

Follow the above as much as possible

Do not offer pain medication

Intermittent monitoring, no IV, only Hep Lock if needed

No breaking of waters, pitocin, or other medications & unless discussed and agreed upon first

Emergency Transfer: _____________

Keep baby and mom safe, but inform mom and dad as much as possible along the way

If Non-Emergency C-Section Occurs:

Family centered/gentle cesarean

Husband and Doula present

Drape dropped to see baby

If all is well with baby and mom:

Skin to skin with mom/dad

Delayed cord clamping, at least 2 minutes, Dad cuts cord

Assessments done while skin to skin and establishing breastfeeding

Measuring and weighing done after bonding occurs and breastfeeding has taken place

Follow post-delivery requests as much as possible

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Babymoon: Lake Whitney

The weekend of June 26th Bobby and I went on a short weekend babymoon to Lake Whitney.

It was a very relaxing get away and I am so glad we got to do it before the baby gets here.

The place we stayed at was right on the lake, and there was only 1 other couple on the property the whole weekend so we basically had the place to ourselves.

We left around 1 pm on Friday and went had lunch at Whataburger, a current pregnancy craving, and Bobby's normal Friday lunch place since he works a half day.

We then started the drive to Lake Whitney. We did have to stop along the way and get Bobby's fishing license and fishing equipment.

We got to the lake around 3:30 or so and got checked in and unloaded. They have peacocks that roam the property and we got to feed them, they hung around us a lot.

The baby one was my favorite she was so cute, but the grown peacocks would always steal the crackers from her so she didn't get much of them.

Friday night we went to this small cafe place and they had Texas cornbread.

Bobby was really excited about getting to go fishing...

...but the water was so high that that was pretty much impossible.

This was the view from our cabin. We spent Saturday just relaxing. Reading, swimming in the pool and feeding the peacocks. The only down side was the first night a really bad storm rolled in and we lost power for most of the night, it got really hot in our cabin and since I already get hot so much easier with being pregnant I was pretty miserable, but the rest of the weekend was great! I thought the heat might bother me since I was 36 weeks, but there was an awesome breeze so it was actually just right.

Monday, July 6, 2015

36 Weeks Pregnant and Midwife Appointment!

I was 36 weeks pregnant on June 29th.

According the thebump.com, the Traffic Cone is the size of a Honeydew Melon.

The Baby

She is getting closer and closer to be able to breathe on her own.

Her skin is getting smooth and soft and her gums are getting rigid.

Her liver and kidneys are in working order and her circulations and immune systems are good to go as well.

She is still around 18 in long and around 5lbs.

She still moves all of the time, her most active time is normally between 7 pm and 11 pm. We celebrated the 4th of July this week and she didn't move at all from about 5 pm until 9 pm and that made me really nervous. We think it was just because my schedule had changed and it was very loud. We were at my moms house because she was having a 4th of July lake party and so I swam, and we played games and there were a lot of people there, so it wasn't the normal just Bobby and I eat dinner and hang out time that normally occurs in the evenings. She started moving again after we left and it was just us.

The Mama

I had another evening of Braxton Hicks this weeks and I have trouble sleeping unless I am 100% exhausted, for example the 4th of July was exhausting, not only did I sleep the whole night, I slept until 10am and then took a nap and was still exhausted by the end of the day on the 5th. The heat really takes a lot out of me.

The nursery is almost done, Bobby is putting the crib together as I type and I have almost all my little projects done. We finally got everything we need such as a car seat and stroller, etc. I can finally start to pack a bag and all the last minute things that need to get done.

We still haven't picked a pediatrician but that is on my to do list for this up coming week. Bobby's insurance made the transition on the 1st and it has been a nightmare so trying to figure out who is covered has been an ordeal. not to mention the fact that the Birth Center isn't covered in the same way so we may be delivering at the hospital instead. That will be determined on Tuesday of next week.

My blood pressure at home has still been fine, but high at my appointments. I haven't had any swelling except for the 4th of July due to the heat and being on them a lot. I have been drinking a lot of water and keeping them up when I can though, so not much I can do about it.

The Midwife Appointment

They did the Group B Strep test, but I haven't received the results yet, I'm hoping they are negative because then I won't have to have antibiotics during labor which means I won't have to have a Hep Lock IV.

Her heartbeat was 152 which is great, she was measuring right at 36 weeks and her head is down.

My blood pressure was high of course 130/90 but it hasn't been high at home. I see a different midwife every visit and this one seemed worried but the one I've been seeing in the past hasn't been, but it has really made me confused. I am hoping to clear the confusion up at the appointment next week.

We talked about our birth plan and I will do a post about that soon.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

35 Weeks Pregnant!

I was 35 weeks pregnant on June 22nd.

According to thebump.com, the Traffic Cone is the size of a coconut.

The Baby

Her hearing is now fully developed, and she responds best to high-pitched noises.

She is about 18 in long, and about 5 lbs but will continue to gain more fat over the next few weeks.

She still moves a lot, but I can tell that she is getting cramped because the intensity of her movements have decreased.

The Mama

Symptoms: I have to pee all the time, and I am ridiculously tired of it. I have been lucky enough to not have had a lot of heartburn, maybe 5 or 6 times over the whole pregnancy. Apples seem to nip it in the bud pretty quickly. This week the braxton hicks contractions really kicked in, on Monday after my chiropractor appointment they hit with a vengeance and while they weren't painful they were very uncomfortable. I do have to roll off of the couch or bed if I am laying down since I have gotten so big. Bobby laughs at me pretty much all the time, because of they way I have to do things now.

I have pretty much no energy at all and I am really ready for the nesting phase to kick in. If I don't get my nap in, I am in bed by 8:30 at the latest. My sister, Rachel, and I spent several hours in Hobby Lobby and Target on Tuesday afternoon and I was exhausted just from that short time. We did get some cute stuff for the nursery though, I just have to finish putting the whole thing together.

I had some really weird dreams on Tuesday night, I actually had the same one three different times. In all three dreams my cousin, Ashley, was a serial killer, it was really weird.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Baby Shower

My mom and sisters threw me a baby shower on June 13th. The theme was "Ready to Pop" and boy do I look ready to pop in these pictures. I was 1 day shy of 34 weeks.

The banner my mom made

The cake with the baby's initials since we are keeping the name a secret until she is here

This picture and the one below are of a game. You take a paper plate and have to draw a baby with a crayon on top of your head. Then I got to choose the winner.

As people came in they wrote notes on diapers and as we change her we will have some funny things to read

Rachel being Rachel

The following four pictures are of a game where you had a straw in your mouth and you had to pass the pacifier down the line. It was rather difficult.