5 Ways My Birth Plans Have Changed After 3 Babies

When my husband and I were expecting our first child we took childbirth education classes offered by our local hospital and I read a couple of books like What to Expect When Your Expecting, and similar offerings from the local resale shops, but other than those books, I didn’t really do much research on anything related to pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum. I filled out my birth plan and I felt prepared. I thought our childbirth classes prepared my husband for his role in our perfect birth. I was going to rock it. But then my water broke, and our son was breech, and all of our plans went out the window as we prepared for an unplanned cesarean.

I was devastated. It took a while for me to bond with my son. For some time, it didn’t even feel like he was mine, or like I had given birth. The surgery in itself went well, and we actually found out some important information during the delivery that could have had severe implications later on had we not had a cesarean. Since the birth of my oldest son, I’ve had two more children, and am expecting another anytime now. {Come on #BabyT4!!} I have done research, I have read many other books, I’ve become a doula, I’ve attended seminars and trainings, and these are five ways that my birth plans have changed after having three babies.

{This post contains affiliate links, for the full disclosure click here.}

How My Birth Plans Have Changed After Watching Them All Float Away

 

1.     I fill out my birth plan with the knowledge that the plan may not happen.

As I previously mentioned, after my oldest was born I was devastated. The birth that I had dreamed about, planned, and was expecting didn’t happen. That was so hard on me. Now instead of thinking of my birth plan {or preferences, your choice} as something that is concrete and IS GOING to happen, I tend to think of my plans as a map. I choose one option for when the birth is going amazingly well, and I choose another for emergency scenarios.

2.     My husband and I hire a doula to attend the birth.

Having a doula attend our births is one of the best decisions that my husband and I have made. Not only do I get support from someone who has been through the whole pregnancy and labor thing before, but my husband is also supported. Our doula gets him food and gives him ideas on how best to support me, leaving my husband free from worrying about what to say, do, or where to go. Of course, he does some of his own suggesting and encouraging too, but he feels less stress when our doula is present, this in turn helps me to relax too.

3.     I refuse vaginal checks until necessary.

Because I have a history of my water breaking early and with no explanation, I decided with my last baby that I would be refusing vaginal checks from here on out. While they can be good in some cases, and I do get them during labor, a vaginal check before labor introduces the risks of premature rupture of membranes, infection, cramps and contractions that aren’t labor, and they can just be uncomfortable. I also don’t want to get disappointed when I get news that I might not be dilated, or I’m not as far along as I thought I would be.

A vaginal check simply gives you a number at one point in time, it cannot tell you when you will go into labor, nor does it tell you how long or short that labor may be. You can walk around being dilated to a five for weeks before labor starts. {This actually happened to one of my birth clients.} You could also not be dilated at all and have the baby hours later.

4.     I decline Erithromycin in baby’s eyes.

Why am I declining this common newborn procedure? Because the erythromycin antibiotic can interfere with bonding with my newborn, and because my husband and I are in a monogamous relationship and do not have gonorrhea or chlamydia. Instead on the erythromycin I will be using drops of colostrum and breastmilk to limit bacteria like staph from growing in BabyT4’s eyes.

For more information on erythromycin and to see if you could be declining or should be using it check out this article from Evidenced Based Birth.

 

5.     I take my placenta to get encapsulated.

After having struggled with Posptarutm Thyroiditis with my second child, I had my placenta encapsulated after my third baby’s birth. I truly feel that it helped me to avoid the autoimmune issues and also helped me to have better moods, and possibly better milk supply. The only problem is that I can’t tell you for sure that the placenta pills were what caused this. However, even if it was just a placebo effect having my placenta encapsulated is something that I am definitely going to be doing again. You can read more about my experience with Postpartum Thyroiditis here.

 

The birth of each child is so unknown, you don’t know when you will go into labor, how the labor will go, or how you will adjust after you have your baby. The only thing you can do really, is look back at what you have learned from your previous experiences and then change things that you wished were different about those first ones. It’s a part of motherhood, growing, learning, and changing with each child.

You May Also Like:

Creating a Newborn’s Minimalist Wardrobe

Gift Guide for Crunchy Moms

6 Ways to Nurture Your Marriage After Baby