neither for packing nor playing

dear god.

so, karl and i haven't really gotten a lot of baby GADGETS and STUFF THAT MUST BE ASSEMBLED. we are really trying to KEEP IT SIMPLE with this whole baby business. i would say the two things we have gotten are these: the PnP (as the babyworld abbreviates - standing for Pack N Play which i shall discuss momentarily) and our carseat (clearly a necessity).

of these two things with multiple plastic bags, directional bibles, and a crap ton of plastic parts, both were incorrect. WHAT ARE THE ODDS? the PnP had a wheel part missing. (trust me. it's missing.) the carseat comes with these 4 plastic 'poles' to make you a little sun shade - we got three of one kind; one of the other when we need two of each. glorious. both parts are 'on the way.' i mean, really, do you think i want to call baby manufacturers all day long!? um, NO! and they, clearly, want to talk to me even less.

and, as a BONUS, i have discovered i am even MORE inept at putting things together than i previously suspected. that doesn't bode well for our future child's christmas presents. i mean, really, how is my child going to survive!?

regardless, the PnP is adorable. giraffes for brooke. it fits NO WHERE in our bedroom. or our house for that matter. (is it wrong that i was trying to keep the baby stuff to a minimum? our house is so tiny; i don't want baby gear to overwhelm it (or me!)). additionally, i don't really understand where you PACK it to go. it would take like four hours to pack. it has like 800 parts. and it's heavy! AND it doesn't even fit through half our doorways, so it's not like i can wheel it around all easy like throughout the house. (would one even do that?!) i have to take off eight parts just to get it from the bedroom to the living room. this distresses me. ah, well, i still love it. a lot. i mean, it has an MP3 player plug in. it vibrates. the baby NEEDS to listen to music, right?

ok, on to the BIRTH PLAN since it has garnered much interest and a few questions. (this is going to be a long blog. kudos if you have made it this far! you will get a cookie at the end if you make it. mmmmm cookies.)

i am going to say this once and once only. please don't be offended by anything as this is the way WE (as in karl and kat) are planning on 'doing birth' and neither of us would ever care what any other person on this whole planet chose to do with their own birth. (serously, if you want an elective c-section, you go for it! it's your health, decision, and child.) (disclaimer over.)

and please god if you don't have kids, don't let the following scare you; it's not that big a deal. it's simply (to me) a matter of doing research. you research a new house and new cars, right? pretty much any new product you buy, you research. so you probably should your medical care to a certain extent as well, right? i barely go to the doctor and they seem to mess things up. I am responsible for my health care, not the Western medical model. (i will be an informed consumer and choose doctors who support that thank you very much.)

so, anyway, a birth plan, basically is a written document that you go over with your care providers before you go into labor and delivery. basically, it is a list of your wants and desires for labor. the phrase 'birth plan' does not mean 'natural birth.' it can include wanting an epidural, not wanting one, wanting a specific/different drugs than the 'norm', wanting NO drugs, wanting to labor in bathtubs or showers (some hospitals do not let you do this), wanting people in the room with you, wanting to be monitored internally or externally, wanting a vacuum vs. forceps, wanting your baby immediately cleaned or immediately put to the breast if possible, wanting a hep lock vs. a full IV, and the list can go on and on. again, i will reiterate it is a plan. and plans change. (i think most birth plans probably change especially as every labor is going to be different, right? some are an hour. some are twenty hours.)

so here is my deal with the birth plan. it's really more for me and my own confidence than any doctor anyway. do you know what pitocen is? do you know what cytotec is? do you know what demoral is? do you know what stadol is? do you know what antibiotics the hospital requires you to be on if you test positive for Group B Strep. do you know what Group B strep is (the CDC requires preggo ladies to be tested for it)? do you know what the differences b/w forceps and vacuum extraction are (do you know which your doctor prefers)? do you know what an epidural is? do you know how an epidural is inserted? do you know what pre-eclampsia and magnesium are? do you know how long your doctor will let you go without inducing? do you know what meconium is? do you know the side effects of any of these choices? do you know the effects of drugs as they cross the placenta (cause they will. don't take anything stronger than tylenol during pregnancy but have some heavy narcotics at the end! oh, sorry, veering off the path). do you know how long you want to wait before going to the hospital if your water breaks at home? do you know what a VBAC is? does your husband or partner know what any of these things and would he or she be able to help you make a decision about them?

pretty much i knew nothing about any of this.

so i did my research. and i feel much better now.

so, briefly, let's talk about interventions. most research shows one intervention leads to another. for example, maybe you just want an epidural but maybe your epidural isn't going to be the only drug you take or the hospital suggests you take. maybe you want additional drugs before your epidural. (and these drugs might confine you to a bed when you want to be up and walking around.) and i think, before i take a drug, i want to know what it is and what it does. and i am not going to take the doctors or nurses word for it without questions. so, in a nutshell, that is why i have a plan. (plus, well, you all know i am a leeetle, um, plan-ey. a nice way of saying a control freak!? ha! in this case, honestly, i just feel like i am being logical and realistic.) so, even if we wind up having a slew of drugs, i will be informed and know what they are and what they do.

as part of our birth plan (and, no, i am not sharing my whole plan on the blog; i will say it is a short and simple page or so and we intend to remain drug and intervention free. and we remain flexible and open minded about it changing. if you want to see it, send me an email, i will share.) i have hired a doula. she knows what all those drugs and interventions are WAY better than i do (even after all my research), and she will be there to help me and to help me and karl make informed decisions. for some reason i am not seeing myself being so clear headed when a baby is pushing its way through my body. and, trust me, she is not one to push one way or the other. she will help us to decide as a team.

most importantly, that includes making decisions WITH our doctor. is it so wrong to want to be a part of your care and not just let the doctor tell you what to do? it is okay to decline things at the hospital. (i swear people don't know this!)

so, all this being said, i just want to feel comfortable with my decisions regarding childbirth. i will let you know how it goes. (obviously). i have been fortunate enough to have a very healthy, happy pregnancy with no issues. some women are not so lucky, and i realize this, and am thankful for my own health. no matter what happens, i am not going to be upset as long as WE decided to do it for US and our baby. so call me crazy, overly prepared, nuts, a control freak...heck, go on and tell me i can't do it if you want to (and oh so many have! that is why i don't talk about it). i don't mind. at this point, no one can bother me!

just DON'T tell me i look like i am wearing A FAT SUIT like a dude did at work today.

okay, that is all. (whew, it took me all day to write that!) light hearted blogging to return tomorrow with a new 37 week (FULL TERM!) fruit. you can't wait, right?

36 weeks, 6 days