It's the claaaawwwww! Sorry. Couldn't resist.So, today I have 63 days until I'm 40 weeks, and 42 days until I'm considered full term (37 weeks). She now weighs approximately 3 pounds, and is headed for another growth spurt, which may just solidify my thinking that I'd like to face AWAY from the numbers on the scale from now on. Really, do I need to know how much I weigh? Everyone keeps telling me, "Oh shush, you're still little!" Yeah, well, mama's gained 28 pounds as of the last doctor's visit. I don't feel little, thank you. I'll see where I'm at today, but I'm not too excited about it!
In other news, J and I weren't planning to really write up a birth plan, but we were convinced otherwise at our class last weekend. There were a couple of things we heard recommended consistently from every doula, OB, and pediatrician that came to speak. Really, our requests are pretty simple, and obviously they're all for a birth with no complications:
-I want to try to wait until I'm 4-5cm to get an epidural.
-Before that, I'd like to be able to walk and eat (i.e. no continuous monitoring unless medically necessary).
-Justin wants to help "catch" or deliver the baby if possible, and he'd like to cut the cord after 1-2 minutes.
-We'd like to delay the weighing, measuring, eye ointment, etc for about an hour to do skin-to-skin and attempt breastfeeding.
One really interesting thing we saw in our class was a video that showed if you've had a non-medicated birth, and the baby is placed on your stomach directly after, he or she will actually crawl up your stomach, and latch on to breastfeed! Totally unassisted! All babies can continue to do this for several days after birth. Now, I probably won't attempt to go fully baby-directed in terms of breastfeeding, but I've been nervous about breastfeeding, and this made me feel better--babies really do know what they're supposed to do! Sometimes we just have to get out of their way!
Let's see...what else? Oh! I had a pretty humorous occurrence this week--a Braxton Hicks contraction, a back spasm, and a leg cramp all at the same time. Justin kept looking at me like, "What the HELL is my wife doing?!"
In other news, J and I weren't planning to really write up a birth plan, but we were convinced otherwise at our class last weekend. There were a couple of things we heard recommended consistently from every doula, OB, and pediatrician that came to speak. Really, our requests are pretty simple, and obviously they're all for a birth with no complications:
-I want to try to wait until I'm 4-5cm to get an epidural.
-Before that, I'd like to be able to walk and eat (i.e. no continuous monitoring unless medically necessary).
-Justin wants to help "catch" or deliver the baby if possible, and he'd like to cut the cord after 1-2 minutes.
-We'd like to delay the weighing, measuring, eye ointment, etc for about an hour to do skin-to-skin and attempt breastfeeding.
One really interesting thing we saw in our class was a video that showed if you've had a non-medicated birth, and the baby is placed on your stomach directly after, he or she will actually crawl up your stomach, and latch on to breastfeed! Totally unassisted! All babies can continue to do this for several days after birth. Now, I probably won't attempt to go fully baby-directed in terms of breastfeeding, but I've been nervous about breastfeeding, and this made me feel better--babies really do know what they're supposed to do! Sometimes we just have to get out of their way!
Let's see...what else? Oh! I had a pretty humorous occurrence this week--a Braxton Hicks contraction, a back spasm, and a leg cramp all at the same time. Justin kept looking at me like, "What the HELL is my wife doing?!"
I think birth plans are great! Obviously, you have to be flexible, but I think it's important to let your wishes be known.
ReplyDeleteAnd you look great, Meredith. :)
I picture you doing the Funky Chicken with all that happening at once! Still looking great!
ReplyDeleteI think your birth plan sounds great! :) I have been thinking about what I'd like already! Is that crazy? lol.
ReplyDeleteYou look wonderful friend! :)
I can't believe you're so far along already. I saw 31 weeks and thought what!? Already? You're birth plan sounds great as well. I think it's always important to write down what you want, no matter what aspect of your life it's about. Always good to have a plan!
ReplyDeleteBirth plans are great but ours never even got used! Hah! :) BUT that doesn't mean that it's not important to have one.
ReplyDeleteDon't stress about breastfeeding. Trust me. I did, and I wish I would have never wasted the energy. It takes a couple days, even weeks to get the hang of things. Just don't give up.
You look great- and holy cow you're almost there!! =) And FWIW, I wanted to do the contact and BFing as soon as possible, and I made sure my nurses knew that I wanted that. But I don't think that weighing and measuring takes that long at all- in fact, I think that's just part of the "quicky clean-up" which they do in a matter of minutes anyway. I think it's awesome Justin wants to take part in the delivery. I think a part of Jon felt a sense of relief when we found out I had to have a c-section and all he could do was hide behind the curtain, LOL! =)
ReplyDeleteHey beautiful! What a cool thing that babies do. I think that a lot of hospitals around here are starting to make people hold off weighing and all that stuff to do the skin to skin contact and feeding. Such an important part.
ReplyDelete