I’m about to pop and have received absolutely no help from anyone. So, any tips or advice from you guys would be greatly welcomed!
My greatest advice is to avoid or simplify any plans. There is a nursing superstition that the more precise your birth plan, the more things will go wrong.
Also, have a substantial meal before going to the hospital, as you will most likely only be permitted to drink clear liquids until you give delivery. I’ve never felt so hungry! lol
My birth plan was:
- Epidural
Guess which I almost didn’t receive since a lot of things went wrong.
However, I am a nurse, and there is a “nurse curse” belief that states that if you are a nurse, bad things will happen.
I had no set plans, but as soon as I arrived at the hospital, I knew I needed an epidural; the agony at 4 cms was already intense. I went from 4 to 10 extremely fast and never received my epidural.
I went in at 5 cm and they wouldn’t give me an epidural until I was a 7, and by the time they finished, I was an 8. I despised everything and everyone at the moment.
And if it doesn’t work and you haven’t planned for anything else.
This was also my birth plan and it didn’t work for me 
As a nurse, my only plan was to deliver at my chosen hospital with my team and NICU on standby, open to all pain management options. However, I ended up having a precipitous labor and couldn’t get an epidural because the baby’s head was already out. I had to be taken to another hospital, one I was actively avoiding because they didn’t have a NICU.
We had to call an ambulance during a snowstorm, and the EMTs, all men, looked terrified. My husband had to follow the ambulance, and it was so scary not having him there. Thankfully, everything turned out fine, and he arrived just before I started pushing at the hospital.
After delivery, my placenta got stuck, and they almost took me to the OR. I begged the doctor not to, and she manually extracted my placenta with just 100 mcg of fentanyl (we give our colonoscopy patients more!). They kept joking about the “nurse curse.” I’m just so grateful everything ended up being okay!
I was urged to have breakfast while in the hospital with contractions! However, my obstetrician warned that everything I consume will come up later. and he was correct. About an hour later, I spewed it all up 
(due to contractions pushing the baby lower/out, not because of meds).
Same I threw up everything
I was able to eat whatever I wanted until I had my epidural! Then I was allowed clear beverages, and we had a lengthy debate with the nurse about what my husband could order me from Starbucks.
I got contractions every 3 minutes that lasted 1 minute. I had to focus completely on breathing during contractions and then take a two-minute break before having another contraction. I couldn’t eat, drink, or talk.
I can confirm the birth plan. I had a simple plan: give me all of the medications because she was arriving early. There’s no foley balloon. When pain becomes unbearable, an epidural is administered. Play Fleetwood Mac during giving delivery. If my water breaks beyond 24 hours or she is in distress, please consider a c-section (which was my plan if I went full term). There is a golden hour afterward.
See, I received all the medications and my golden hour, but everything else was a complete failure.
I’m just now realizing that for both births, I didn’t eat anything nor did I even think about food 
Omg I didn’t even knew this thank goodness u told me lol😭
Also, a warning! Whatever you consume might come back up! I threw up three times during birth and am thankful I only drank a smoothie.
Me too I threw up constantly 
I kept throwing up my popsicles that they gave me lmao