My Birth Plan

I wanted to share with you some of the things I wrote for my birth plan. Although, I keep forgetting to take it with me to my midwife visits. The next visit I will make sure I print it out because I will be at 37 weeks and anything can happen at that point. I have discussed some of the things with my midwife, but not in great detail, so this will be great.

1. My labor coach will be my husband, mother, or friends, depending on what my needs are that day, but that will be the order of how I would like it to be. I have a group of close friends and family that will be present and want to keep things open for that day, depending on how I feel.
2. I would like my husband, daughter, mother, and friends to witness the birth.
3. I would like to walk around during labor, as well as take showers, and whatever is needed for me to feel comfortable.
4. I am aiming to have a drug-free birth, however, have it on hand, in case things change.
5. I only would like to be induced if I am not able to contract on my own and it becomes a risk/issue for the baby.
6. I do not want to tear, and would like to push squatting. I would also like to push when I feel necessary to push. In the ideal circumstance, I do not want to deliver laying down unless of course an epidural is used.
7. I would like for my husband to cut the umbilical cord, as well as hold the baby with the midwife as the baby makes its way into the world.
8. I would like to hold the baby immediately, as well as breastfeed, as soon as possible.
9. I would like to be released from the hospital as soon as possible, if there are no complications and everything checks out fine.
10. I would like snacks to be present for family and friends, as well as myself, if I need to eat during labor.

So that is the game plan! Well, most of the important things. Of course on the actual day, adjustments will occur, but I think this will suffice as a blueprint of how I want things to happen. From this day forward, I need to relax, take it easy, and take deep breaths. I also need to stop watching extremely graphic birthing videos because it's making me anxious and nervous!