My Birth Plan

So, two weeks ago at my doctors appointment, amid discussions of ribs and pediatricians, I asked him about a birth plan. I asked if it was THAT important to have one, all typed out and copied 27 times, or if I should just have an idea of what I wanted. He tried not to laugh and said that as long as I had a general idea of what I wanted, we could discuss that ahead of time and go from there. He said if it made me feel better that I could write it down, but it wasn't essential.



His mischievous smile made me curious, so I asked him why. He started talking about these women who came in with six page manuals about how to deliver their child, and how that wasn't the most practical thing out there. Then he kind of backtracked, perhaps scared that I was one of those women. He asked if I had thought about it at all, and if I had a lot of provisions that I wanted to include. I laughed and said that no, my birth plan was to have a baby.



He was relieved. He said that that was the best plan, and that most of the longer birth plans included things like 'as few interventions as possible', 'as few checks as possible', etc... and that those types of things were pretty much common knowledge, at least among the doctors he worked with. So I teased him and told him that whatever, he loved waiting until a patient fell asleep and then going in to bug them. He laughed.



He also told me, while discussing something else, that he loved working with pregnant women because we're so much fun. Yeah...uh huh. We're chubby and hormonal, more than likely hungry and sleep-deprived. We're just a barrel of laughs. Uh-huh. Note the sarcasm there, doc.



Anyways, upon thinking about it, here is my modified birth plan so far:



Lynette's Birth Plan



-Have a baby

-In the event of a c-section, allow H to stay with the baby if he is taken out of the room for any reason. No visitors are to see the baby until after I have recovered and spent time with my baby

-Please do not give my baby a pacifier



And that's about it. The rest of the stuff are things that I have decided on, but I feel like I will have already discussed them with my doctor. I am going to have an epidural, etc. I pretty much trust my doctors experience and instincts to do what's best for me and for the baby. I guess my theory on birth plans is that I am not a doctor, and he is. He will do what is necessary and no more. If he says a c-section is needed, then it's needed.

We can handle whatever happens. True story.