Second Childbirth Class, and birth plans and other things

Right before I left for Oakland we attended our second birthing class. 
We were supposed to learn all about labor related anesthesia, but it was really only about epidurals.  There wasn't any discussion of anything else. 
Kate decided that she doesn't want an epidural. 
Well, what she really decided is that she doesn't want a Foley Catheter, but they seem to go together at our birthing center.  A Foley Catheter is evidently the thing that's used to drain urine from the bladder when the epidural results in loss of bladder control. 
I sure wouldn't want one either. 
I'm also wondering, who was Foley?  I'd think that anyone smart enough to invent something like that would be smart enough to not name it after himself.  Dude probably spent the rest of his life known as the urine tube guy.  I know, I'm making the assumption that Foley's a man.  That's not because I don't think a woman is smart enough to invent a urine catheter.  It's because I think she'd be smart enough not to name it after herself.  Or maybe it was a woman, and Foley was someone she didn't like.
Anyhow, Kate says she doesn't want the epidural, but that we're going to be flexible in our planning.  I think we need some sort of safe word.
Something besides givemethefuckingepiduralIdontcarewhatIsaidbackinNovemberyouasshole!
Something shorter.
We'll figure it out.
We've been talking to friends and accumulating horror stories about disregarded birth plans, and lactation nazis, and inaccurate tests and things like that for the last several weeks.
We do intend to have a birth plan, but I think we need to consider a doula or midwife or something.  Last time we discussed it Kate pretty much expressed the opinion that we don't need a birthing assistant of any sort because their main role is to be a patient advocate, and Kate is very good at advocating for herself.  Kate is very good at that (there was this time in Vet school right after a final, but that's her story...).  She also believes that my being there to rip the arms off of anyone that seems to not be respecting her wishes is also a powerful form of advocacy.  While that's possibly true, that only works if she and I anticipate every possible contingency and then I memorize all her wishes for them.  I'm pretty confident in my dismemberment capabilities, much less so in my capacity to remember exactly what she wants done in all circumstances (I'm assuming the possibility that she will be temporarily unable to convey what she wants done herself for any number of reasons).  So while I think the current plan, which goes something like this...
Kate:  Please do [or don't do] that.
(medical person is uncooperative)
Kate:  I asked you to [or not to] do that.
(medical person is still uncooperative)
Kate:  Mark, please rip that person's arms off.
Mark:  Ok.
...is okay, it might not be bad to have a contingency involving someone that is more familiar with the territory.  We're discussing it.

We also looked at some non-medical pain management techniques, mostly breathing.
I completely understand the value of breathing, and focusing on breathing.  I think that breathing in stupid sounding vowel patterns (hoo-hoo-hee, like that) is unnecessary.  Kate played along in class, but in a "I'm humoring this moron instructor" kind of way. 
I didn't. 
The instructor also made undue use of the word "perineum".  Needing to break up some monotony for the two of us, I leaned over to Kate after the third or fourth "perineum" in a very short space of time and whispered "that's your taint."  Completely unnecessary and immature on my part, but it got Kate laughing so hard that she almost had to leave the room, which is exactly what I was going for.

We got a load of stuff from my brother and sister-in-law (If you're reading this, thanks. Also thanks to the other brother and sister-in-law for storing it and getting it from Chicago to Madison) that they and their kids are done with, maternity clothes, a baby bath, stuff like that.  Also a stroller.  The stroller is smarter than both of us.  Kate unfolded it in the garage, and now we can't figure out how to fold it back up.  I spent ten minutes last night trying to figure it out.  I found something that looks like a release mechanism, but it turned out to be a decoy.  Flipping it results in nothing but flipping it again wondering if it was supposed to do something.  So maybe it's not a decoy.  Maybe it's an idiot lever.  I'll have to find the manual for this thing on-line somewhere and figure it out, but if anyone knows how to get the Graco Combi stroller to collapse (Hey, Mike from Home Depot Customer Care Center, you guys don't sell strollers do you?  or Foley Catheters?) please let me know...