35 weeks!

Only 5 weeks to go to my EDD!

My first official week off has gone in such a blur. Last Tuesday I had a midwife appointment, which was fine. She asked if I wanted her to come to the house to help write my birth plan, which I politely declined. Even though planning is in my blood, I know enough people with babies now to know nothing goes to plan. Those who wanted no medical assistance ending up with an epidural and emergency c-section, one wanting a hypno birth who can't praise diamorphine enough, one who was adamant that she was having an epidural only to be told there wasn't enough time, and another who had planned for a water birth only for the baby to have other ideas and arrive very quickly in the toilet as the birthing pool was being filled.

There are so many circumstances and what ifs to take into consideration that I don't think you could possibly plan for all of them. The most important thing to me is that the baby arrives in the safest way possible and isn't put at risk because of what I may had 'planned'. I think I have reached this point because I had to get my head round the fact that I may have needed a planned c-section due to the position of the placenta, not what I would have planned but so what ... at the end of the day it would have been the safest thing for both me and the baby. Also, because I have SPD (which is coping very well at the moment touch wood) I know that even getting into some of the birthing positions might be quite painful so I have to keep an open mind about pain relief.

My 'plan' is to give birth in hospital, I would feel more comfortable knowing that if required I have immediate access to consultant led care. I have heard wonderful things about our local midwife led centre and, if all is straightforward with this birth, I would definitely consider it for any future children. But with this being our first we don't know what to expect. For the same reason I never really considered a home birth, although I can only assume that it is a beautiful experience for those that do choose them. And as mentioned above I want to keep an open mind about pain relief, letting my body tell me what it needs, also I don't think there is much point in going straight for an epidural when you don't know what relief the other options can offer, who knows gas and air could be enough!

I added a birthing ball to my previous post on packing, I want to try to stay as active as possible throughout the labour just to help things along. I would also like Mark to be the one to tell me what sex the baby is and if he is up to it, cut the cord.

The most important thing to me is the safe arrival of our baby, if that means the use of forceps or an emergency section so be it.

So that's it, my birth plan! Not so much a plan but a set of principles which I think can be applied to many of the situations that can arise during birth.

Other than thinking about these preferences, over the past week I have been packing my hospital bag and visiting friends with babies, who I don't get a chance to visit that often because of their new routines. It's been lovely to catch up with people and see how well, and differently, they are getting on with being parents.

The midwife also noted that the babies head has started to engage, so rather than it being 'free' which means it hasn't started the descent into the pelvis and is still moving freely, it is now 4/5ths engaged ... not what it sounds as I soon found out, I thought that this would mean that the head only had one fifth to go until it was fully engaged, in midwife terms this is quite the opposite, one fifth is in place and we have 4 more to go! The movement of the baby from transverse to oblique and now head down will help explain the pain I was experiencing with the braxton hicks, as significant pressure is now on my cervix and pelvis. However, at this stage the baby can still move it's head out of this position and become free again ... interesting to see where we are at my next appointment!

Also, as the baby has started to engage I've noticed that my bump has dropped quite a bit, creating a whole new colony of the beloved stretch marks! I honestly don't mind them, it's like a little story about our baby, but what I do mind is the itching! Not very attractive walking round the shops having a good old scratch of ones large belly : )

I'm feeling great to be honest, I think I needed to slow the pace a bit and get some rest ... might as well make the most of it before the baby arrives.

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