Leavin' for Leuven: Birth Plans!

I am going to apologize in advance if this post feels like a commercial. I haven't talked too much about our birth plans yet, and since I have such high confidence in the team we've got working together, I want to shout their praises...

Wow! We've passed 37 weeks, which means... We are full-term already! On the one hand, I feel like I've been pregnant forever. On the other hand, I can't believe we're going to be meeting our Baby Girl in just a few short weeks! On Monday, Isaac and I went to see our midwife, Liane. Our doula, Shelley, met us at the appointment. My blood pressure was higher than usual (about 145/80) because Isaac had his first public, screaming meltdown at Burlington just before we left to go to the appointment. Because Liane is awesome, she had my blood pressure taken again at the end of the appointment before asking me to take more tests. The second time, it was only 124/72. MUCH BETTER! Liane estimates the baby to be over 7 pounds now. I am sure she's right. Baby Girl certainly feels bigger than Isaac did. I am glad to know she's a nice, healthy size, without being so big that I'll be worried. Among the 3 women at the appointment, we are all pretty sure that the birthday is going to be pretty close to our actual, estimated due date (3/27). I know that's a relief for Todd...

Shelley encouraged Todd and I to write our birth plan for this labor and delivery. I am really glad that we took the time to do it. It was a great opportunity to think about what we really want our little girl's birthday to look like. (It was also good because it led to discussions between Todd and myself about why I don't want to use pain medication). In the process of reading through several books and web sites with suggestions, I realized that our birth team is exactly right for us. So many of the things that are pointed out are ideas such as, "Don't clamp the cord until it stops pulsing" or "Allow for skin-to-skin contact immediately after the birth." While I did write the second one into our birth plan, I have already talked to Dr. Campaigne and Liane enough to know that they are totally on board with this. So many of the things that the authors of these books would have me worried about are just standard procedure for Dr. Campaigne and Liane.

We, of course, included the Plan B, which we won't need, in case of a Cesarean. The whole idea behind the birth plan is to say what our preferences are, but we recognize that sometimes things change and other plans become necessary. If there's one thing being a mother taught me in a hurry, it's flexibility. LOL

Shortly after I learned I was pregnant, my friend and fellow Baby Mama, Stephanie, mentioned that she had found an awesome new OB-Gyn. I scheduled a "meet and greet" for the very next day. That visit was incredibly eye-opening. I hadn't realized how much baggage I was carrying from my previous birth and within 5 minutes of meeting Liane, and then Dr. C, I knew I was never going back to my former doctor. I literally cried from relief because I felt HEARD and UNDERSTOOD. You can find out more about both Dr. Campaigne and Liane here. They are both amazing women! I can't say enough good things about them...

I have been asked by a few people why we have hired a doula. Todd summed this up nicely a few days ago. I will butcher his explanation, but you'll get the idea. :-) Because I want to have an un-medicated birth, this means that we will need to try different comfort measures. Todd's concern is that, while he will be amazing at loving and supporting me, he won't be great at remembering which positions might help with a back labor or which coping techniques might be best in other cases. Fortunately, we have a great answer: Shelley knows! She will remember all of these things when Todd and I forget. We recommend her to every pregnant woman we meet. Todd will probably be doing that even more often once we've met our baby girl... If you'd like more info on Shelley, check her out here.

So far, I am feeling really good. I am eating better than I did the first pregnancy, I am getting some walking in, I've been going to a chiropractor, so I'm not in much discomfort... I have gotten a lot of things crossed off the to-do list this week and I have scheduled appointments for things like haircuts and Isaac's wellness exam, so I feel like things are coming together. We still have some big things outstanding (am I getting a different car? Are we going to get connected to city sewer before Isaac starts high school?), but I can only do what I can do.

Anyway, here are a couple of partial-group photos of the Birth Team of Awesomeness:

Shelley (doula-of-awesomeness), Heather (birthing phenom), Isaac (cheerleader), Liane (midwife-of-awesomeness). Not pictured: Todd (amazing father/husband) & Dr. Andrea Campaigne (OB-of-awesomeness)