35 Week Appointment

I had my appointment with the midwife this morning. Everything is looking great! They did the Group B Strep test...I'm really hoping it doesn't come back positive. I'm just going to wait and see. I know that if it is they will give me antibiotics during delivery, but I'm allergic to most antibiotics, so I'm wondering if that would be a problem. I'm sure they could find something that could work though.

My midwife was perfectly fine with the birth plan. She actually said it was really easy, most of the stuff I listed is their standard practice already. She told us a little more about what a typical birth with their practice and in that hospital is like. They work so well with people who want to go all natural. They immediately place the baby on your stomach after birth and do all of the exams there. I had kind of planned on having them wipe him off first, but nope, they will stick him right on me. lol There will be a blanket there so I can wipe him so he won't be all slimy up against my skin. After he's wiped off a little I'm going to pull him farther up on me for skin to skin contact. Although at that point I probably won't care and will immediately pull him all the way up to my chest anyway. She said the only thing they won't do while he's on me is weigh him, but obviously they will wait awhile to do that.

They have no problems with me not wanting an IV or monitoring. The midwife is perfectly fine with any birthing position and pushing methods. She said they rarely use any interventions unless it's absolutely necessary and even then they will talk to me about it first. She said they always let the woman stretch and tear naturally, the only time they will consider an episiotomy is if there is something wrong and that will get him out faster. Even then it's my decision, she said.

I knew that our hospital network is very open minded and obviously the midwives at our practice are as well, but it was nice to talk specifics. A co-worker of Matt's delivered with this hospital system and with a group of midwives. They didn't go to the same group, but they are all part of the same system. They had a very similar birth plan to ours and the hospital worked really well with them. It looks like I should be able to have the birth experience I want if everything goes smoothly. I know everything may not go the way I want it too. I'm not stupid, I don't expect labor to go a certain way just because I wrote up a birth plan. An emergency could happen, I may change my mind about going all natural, etc. The birth plan is in case everything goes perfectly, it gave my midwife and I a chance to talk about labor and delivery, and it's given me the opportunity to think of all the different ways labor could go, including induction and a c-section. I think it's good to have a laid back attitude about L&D, but it's also good to be educated and have an idea of what I'm getting into.

The midwife also checked my cervix and all that good stuff. Which HURT!!! Really bad. lol I was just surprised, really, I didn't expect it to be so uncomfortable. They also had to take samples to test for infections/diseases, which is required by law in NC for women under 25. Matt was there and standing up by my head and holding my hand. Kind of gave me a little glimpse of what labor will be like. Pain, sweating, midwife down there, Matt up here. ;-)

Tina (my midwife) said that Evan is "really low" (she kept talking about how low he is, so I guess that's a good thing!) and that my cervix is "very thin." The cervix is still posterior. She seems really happy with it and said that everything is on track. I have another appointment next week. From now on I'll be going in once a week.