Where to even start? I don’t do planning. I never really have done and not sure if I ever will. I’m the kind of girl that books a holiday the week before I go, mainly because I’m so indecisive about where to go, how long for and whether I’m spending too much money. I like spontaneity and going with the flow. Doing what feels right at the time. I’m by no means reckless, far from it but I just don’t want to have a planned-out life. Heck, I can’t even plan what I’m going to have for dinner tomorrow.
But when it comes to having a baby, everyone wants you to plan. Write your birthing plan, plan for being away from work, plan how long you’ll have off work, plan what your baby is going to wear when he/ she leaves hospital, plan what you’re going to wear to leave hospital, plan how you’re going to feed your baby. Plan, plan, plan. Women have been doing this giving birth malarkey for ever and have been just fine. Is all the planning really necessary? Having a baby is going to be life changing and I have no idea what to expect so surely planning for something you can’t control and have no experience of is just setting yourself up for a fall.
How do you even plan for something you have absolutely no idea about or what you’re going to feel like. I don’t know what it’s going to be like to give birth. It’s going to hurt like hell, I know that much and I’ve tried to keep myself as fit, active and healthy as possible to give myself the best chance for a good labour, whatever that may be. Whether I’m going to want music playing or not, I have no idea. I can’t even decide this on some days when I’m cooking. Sometimes I like silence, other times it’s a dance around the kitchen kind of day. You just don’t know until the moment arises.
I’m not saying that burying your head in the sand is the right way to deal with stuff but as we’re constantly told by midwives, in ante-natal classes and in general by other people that have had babies, labour and giving birth is completely unpredictable. Every single woman is different. Every labour is going to be different so how do you plan for that?
My plan consists of getting to the hospital, giving birth to a healthy baby boy and not turning into a complete grumpy bitch in the process.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Get us outside 