Preparing for Labor and Delivery

The view from the waiting room. 

Waiting for our tour to start 

Last night Michael and I toured the hospital where we will be having Grace. He is pretty nervous about... well life. He has lots of anxiety about new situations so I thought seeing the hospital might help him when he comes to visit. Plus he loves to be in charge and if he knows where to go at the hospital he can direct others, he was pretty excited to go so he could help Emmy and Grammy out when they come to visit. Anyway I think he liked the tour, he was interested in the showers, the beds that go up and down, and the "nourishment" room. Plus since he was the only sibling on the tour the nurse asked him if he had questions at every point along the way, pretty sure he liked that. So we've done that to prepare for Grace but beyond that... well let's just say I am a little skeptical that Grace is actually a girl so we are putting some of that off until April 6th when we confirm (again) that yes Grace is actually a girl.


Oh but there were some hilarious parts of the tour. There were three expectant mothers on the tour, two first timers and me, by the way when did I become the experienced one-there's something wrong with that. Towards the end one of the other moms asked if it would be helpful to the nursing staff if she provided a typed copy of her birth plan. I almost choked, the nurse did her best not to laugh (but sorta failed), she nicely responded "not really" then went on to explain why. When I was having Michael I put a lot of thought into my "birth plan". I read every book possible, I was convinced an epidural wasnt for me, and pitocin that was the worst! And then my water broke... and nothing else happened. After 12 hours of well nothing the birth plan was out the window. It turns out that labor is painful and no amount of reading about it can prepare you for that type of discomfort, let's be honest and just call it pain. The second time I thought about reading all the books again and skimmed one, and this time I have an app... that I rarely look at. I figure this time around I pretty much know what is happening, nothing can really prepare you for the experience, and there's a reason your memory is limited, so we aren't going to worry about it. Anyway back to the point, so these moms were asking about birth plans, going on and on about the music, lighting, water birth (it's a hospital), etc, I just wanted to tell them wait until the first strong contraction, the birth plan will be gone and the only thing left will be not being pregnant anymore... no really the birth plan becomes giving birth however that happens. Ok enough cynicism, but really... There were also questions about how long birth would take, the nurse tried to give them an estimate but her answer was basically, it will take however long it takes. Oh it was great.

I read an article the other day about someone that was preparing for the birth of her second (maybe third) child and she went through the list of things she did to prepare and then explained which things were the most helpful and her #1 thing was asking her mom to come. I had to agree. My mom is awesome and has agreed to come (she came the other times too) and I have to admit of the things that make me feel prepared for this it might be her coming. Here's the thing with other kids you need someone to well take charge of your life for you. There are lots of great people to help out but having an experienced mom come, well that is the best option. Why? She understands things like routines are important and so is saying no. She understands that while TV is awesome it can't really be the babysitter unless you want to turn already energetic children into demons. Without explaining to her why balanced meals are important she already knows (you know from decades of experience) and I am not even slightly worried that she will offer the boys something healthy with each meal (whether or not they eat it). She understands the importance of nap time for everyone, and knows that bedtime is a real thing for everyone's sanity. She will know that it's ok if the boys get a little bored, if they have to go play outside or upstairs and entertain themselves. She can handle time outs, enforcing rules, and you know just life. I'm not worried that she's going to get into a situation where the boys are overly tired or hungry and just screaming, she's met kids she knows the warning signs. I'm not worried that the kids I come home to will be significantly worse than the kids I left behind. So to say I'm thrilled she's coming is an understatement. It's a huge relief, you know just one more of those things I'm never in a million years going to be able to repay her for... maybe pay it forward to Em? Oh well I have 7-10 years before that comes up.