# Natural Living/Pregnancy Group: Everyone Welcome! :)



## Nola0841

Hello, my name is Dana and I was looking for a thread where I can discuss more natural minded topics. If there is already a thread available please point me in the right direction because I could not find it. I thought it would be nice to talk openly about natural topics while pregnant and support others through questions, concerns, and advice. 

Please join me! :flower:


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## Nola0841

Nobody has anything they want to talk about? I'm questioning which vitamins I should be taking on top of prenatal.


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## Srrme

I would love to talk about this stuff too!


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## Nola0841

Yay that's great! Welcome! I hope others join as well

My name is Dana, I'm 35 and I'm pregnant with our second. We live on the East coast of Florida about an hour from Disney. Tell me a little about yourself :)


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## Srrme

I hope so too! :D 

My name is Krysty. I'm 25 years old, and pregnant with our 4th. I have 3 little boys and we're expecting a girl this time! :D I live in Colorado (I used to live in Florida!).


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## Nola0841

Oh how awesome for you!! And you are almost at the end, how exciting! I would love 4 kids but fear I'm probably too old for that dream. I'm hoping for at least 3. Where in Florida did you live? Are you planning a hospital birth or do you have other plans?


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## Earthylove

Hi ladies! I'm not pregnant yet but will be soon, hopefully!! I love the topic of natural living and hope to have a natural pregnancy as well! :)


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## Earthylove

Oh I forgot to introduce myself:haha:
I'm 25 and live on the east coast with my DH who is 26. We're ttc the end of August for our first little one and I'm so excited! I'm currently a counseling intern and my DH does SAT/ACT test prep and proctoring with high school students! We're planning on moving to the west cost in a few years to be closer to my family and move into my grandparents' old house. Very excited about that :)

So what does having a natural pregnancy mean for you guys?


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## Nola0841

Welcome Earthylove! I love your screen name. What's your actual name? That's exciting that it's almost time for you to start trying for your first. I remember that feeling. 

Natural pregnancy for me means everybody possible that I can do to ensure the baby is not introduced to chemicals/toxins as realistic as possible, and learning more and more in the process because I do not know what everything about it. What does it mean for you? :)


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## Srrme

Nola0841 said:


> Oh how awesome for you!! And you are almost at the end, how exciting! I would love 4 kids but fear I'm probably too old for that dream. I'm hoping for at least 3. Where in Florida did you live? Are you planning a hospital birth or do you have other plans?

Yes! I think she'll arrive sometime next week. :D I lived about an hour South of Miami. I am planning a home birth with my Midwife actually. I've had two previous hospital births and a c-section. What about yourself? :)


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## Eleanor ace

Hi ladies. have you checked out the natural parenting forum (https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/natural-parenting/)? That's usually a good place to meet some like minded parents/parents to be and get some idea :)


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## Nola0841

Srrme said:


> Nola0841 said:
> 
> 
> Oh how awesome for you!! And you are almost at the end, how exciting! I would love 4 kids but fear I'm probably too old for that dream. I'm hoping for at least 3. Where in Florida did you live? Are you planning a hospital birth or do you have other plans?
> 
> Yes! I think she'll arrive sometime next week. :D I lived about an hour South of Miami. I am planning a home birth with my Midwife actually. I've had two previous hospital births and a c-section. What about yourself? :)Click to expand...

That's so exciting! How are you feeling? I had a home birth with my son and am planning another one. It is so great having your baby at home. You won't regret it. 



Eleanor ace said:


> Hi ladies. have you checked out the natural parenting forum (https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/natural-parenting/)? That's usually a good place to meet some like minded parents/parents to be and get some idea :)

Hello! I tried clicking on the link but it said the page wasn't found. Could you try to send it again please?


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## Eleanor ace

https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/natural-parenting/ -if that doesn't work, you can find it by going to 'Forum Jump' up at the top, then find it in the parenting sub forums :)


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## tankel

Hi can I join? I'm also in FL. I've been poking around some of the pregnancy threads and they are driving me a little nuts. I don't know why everyone is so scared of having babies now, from the huge list of what not to eat, to the shaming done when you decide to take a different path than most, it is making me hugely upset. 
This is my 2nd pregnancy, my first ended at 12 wks in January. I was originally hoping for a freebirth, but my dh is not comfortable with the idea, so I am instead opting for a home birth with a mw.


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## Nola0841

tankel said:


> Hi can I join? I'm also in FL. I've been poking around some of the pregnancy threads and they are driving me a little nuts. I don't know why everyone is so scared of having babies now, from the huge list of what not to eat, to the shaming done when you decide to take a different path than most, it is making me hugely upset.
> This is my 2nd pregnancy, my first ended at 12 wks in January. I was originally hoping for a freebirth, but my dh is not comfortable with the idea, so I am instead opting for a home birth with a mw.

Of course! Welcome! Where in Florida are you? I'm on the East Coast in Melbourne. I feel the same way. That's why I started this chat because I couldn't find anything else like it for natural minded moms. I'm so sorry your 2nd pregnancy came to an end at 12 weeks. That must have been so painful to go through. I was close to doing a freebirth with my first but DH was the same way and we did a home birth with a MW. We are doing the same thing this time around too.


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## macydarling

Hi :wave: Can I join? Fancy seeing you here, by the way Tank!
I live in MD and I'm 30 weeks along with my rainbow, ftm! We're having a baby boy named Noah. I'm hoping for a natural, drug free birth at the birthing center, possibly a water birth. I'm getting quite nervous as the weeks fly by!


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## Srrme

Just popping in to announce the arrival of my baby. :) She arrived on June 17th and I had a WONDERFUL home birth! Very pleased with the whole experience, and completely in love with my little princess. :cloud9:


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## Nola0841

macydarling said:


> Hi :wave: Can I join? Fancy seeing you here, by the way Tank!
> I live in MD and I'm 30 weeks along with my rainbow, ftm! We're having a baby boy named Noah. I'm hoping for a natural, drug free birth at the birthing center, possibly a water birth. I'm getting quite nervous as the weeks fly by!

Of course you can join, welcome! Aww, your birth plan sounds amazing. It's a little nerve wracking, but it will be so peaceful being exactly the way you want it to be. 



Srrme said:


> Just popping in to announce the arrival of my baby. :) She arrived on June 17th and I had a WONDERFUL home birth! Very pleased with the whole experience, and completely in love with my little princess. :cloud9:

Awww Srrme, thank you so much for checking in with us. She is so gorgeous! Please share more pictures when you get a chance. I'm so happy for you and your wonderful home birth experience. Enjoy your sweet, beautiful baby girl, and keep us posted on how you both are doing :)


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## macydarling

Congrats Srrme! She is beautiful. I hope you will share her birth story whenever you have a chance, would love to read all about it xx


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## tankel

Congrats Srrme!

Macy, :hi: :haha: I did not know you were going to have a birth center birth!! yay

Nola: I got married in Melborne! I love it there. I live around Pompano, which is very close to Fort Lauderdale.


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## Nola0841

Yes Srrme, please share your birth story when you get a chance! Would love to hear it. :)




tankel said:


> Congrats Srrme!
> 
> Macy, :hi: :haha: I did not know you were going to have a birth center birth!! yay
> 
> Nola: I got married in Melborne! I love it there. I live around Pompano, which is very close to Fort Lauderdale.

Gotcha. That's awesome! Where was your ceremony?


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## Nola0841

So how do you ladies feel about tranvaginal ultrasounds? I'm 6W1D and I really want to see the heartbeat to put my mind at ease a little but there's conflicting info about these ultrasounds so I'm trying to be better safe than sorry, but it's so hard not to see the peanut


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## tankel

I am TRYING to avoid all ultrasounds and dopplers. There is not a lot of reliable information either way about the effects of ultrasounds so I, like you, am planing on playing it safe. I especially am curious on the long-term effects of ultrasounds as it's only been recent that they have been used in such a wide-spread and frequent manor.

That being said, I am a big believer in how stress can affect your body negatively, so if hearing the heartbeat will put your mind at ease, I say you should consider going through with it. Tons of ladies have lots of ultrasounds that last for a very long time in some cases (my sister had one that lasted nearly an hour!) and they go on to have beautiful, healthy, and smart babies. 

I hope to hold out and use a Pinard Horn so that the MW and my DH can hear the baby, but I'm still quite a few weeks away from the baby being big enough that it is an effective tool. 

I hear you on how hard it is not to see and hear the LO, so I hope I can hold out and say no; but temptation is tempting :haha:

BTW, I was actually married in Sebastian on the beach--which is a little ways from you I know :blush:.


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## Srrme

Here's my birth story!


Spoiler
At 11:00am I began having mild contractions while watching a movie with my husband (who coincidentally decided to stay home from work!) and our boys. I thought nothing of them at first, and thought they were only happening because I was cleaning and making breakfast not too long ago. I waited it out, and after an hour they were still happening every 7-10 minutes. They were very mild, and could have easily been mistaken for Braxton Hicks, but I decided to call my Midwife anyway just in case they turned into something later on. She told me to keep an eye on them, and if they continued she would cancel her remaining appointments and head on over.

It was around 1:00pm when I called her again and told her I was still contracting. They were only lasting around 30 seconds, and still coming every 7-10 minutes so she suggested we wait a little longer so I could labor alone and if they didn't change by 6:00pm she would come over to check my cervix so we would at least know if anything was happening. 

I continued cleaning and preparing the house just in case and suddenly at 4:00pm they were more painful and frequent. I had to finally pace up and down the house with each one so I started timing them for a little while. They were now lasting 50-60 seconds and coming every 3-5 minutes so I called my Midwife again who said she would be right over! Once she arrived she prepared the room with all of her equipment and called her assistant over. 

I'm very quiet during labor and paced up and down the hallway outside of my bedroom during each contraction. I kept trying different positions to ease the pain, but nothing worked better than walking it off, so that's exactly what I did. Around 5:00pm I wasn't sure if I had to push or not so my Midwife suggested a cervix check which I agreed to. I was 9cm and she told me I would probably be ready to push after 2 more contractions! My Midwife and her assistant helped me get into position on the bed (I wasn't sure which position I wanted to try, so I tried sitting up on the bed against a bunch of pillows) and I began pushing with each contraction. Since my waters hadn't broken yet I allowed the Midwife to break them at 5:36pm, and after 2 more pushes my beautiful little girl was born at 5:38pm weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces, and measuring 19 inches long. She was immediately placed on my chest for skin-to-skin while they cleaned her off and stimulated her. My husband and our boys came in to meet her as soon as they heard her cry. They were immediately head over heels in love with her! 

Unfortunately I did tear (in the same 3 spots I tore with my previous birth, but not nearly as bad!) so I cuddled and breastfed my little girl while my Midwife sewed me up. We kept her placenta attached to her until it stopped pulsing, and then my husband cut her cord. I spent the rest of the evening cuddling and breastfeeding her. It was so nice just being home, comfortable, and in a stress free environment. I am so happy I chose to have a home birth. It was everything I had hoped for! My Midwife and her assistant were both wonderful and I couldn't thank them enough for helping me complete my labor and delivery journey.


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## macydarling

Beautiful story, thanks for sharing! Your birth story sounds so amazing, that's exactly how I want mine to be! I'm glad the tearing wasn't too bad and you and baby are both doing well. I've read a lot of birth stories lately to prepare myself and yours has made me feel a lot less anxious and more hopeful so thanks!


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## Nola0841

Beautiful birth story! It made me tear up! So happy it was exactly what you wanted. How wonderful! :)



tankel said:


> I am TRYING to avoid all ultrasounds and dopplers. There is not a lot of reliable information either way about the effects of ultrasounds so I, like you, am planing on playing it safe. I especially am curious on the long-term effects of ultrasounds as it's only been recent that they have been used in such a wide-spread and frequent manor.
> 
> That being said, I am a big believer in how stress can affect your body negatively, so if hearing the heartbeat will put your mind at ease, I say you should consider going through with it. Tons of ladies have lots of ultrasounds that last for a very long time in some cases (my sister had one that lasted nearly an hour!) and they go on to have beautiful, healthy, and smart babies.
> 
> I hope to hold out and use a Pinard Horn so that the MW and my DH can hear the baby, but I'm still quite a few weeks away from the baby being big enough that it is an effective tool.
> 
> I hear you on how hard it is not to see and hear the LO, so I hope I can hold out and say no; but temptation is tempting :haha:
> 
> BTW, I was actually married in Sebastian on the beach--which is a little ways from you I know :blush:.

Just curious but why no doppler too? I asked my midwife if I could do bloodwork to verify my levels are increasing. I think that will put my mind at ease enough for now. How far along do you usually have to be to use the pinard horn? 

I love Sebastian! Such a pretty area. It is about 40 minutes from me but we do travel there to go to the water. How lovely your wedding must have been :)


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## canadabear

Hello :wave:
Would love to join you ladies. :flower:

Just get the all clear for our home birth and very excited :happydance: The midwives were concerned about the placenta being close to my cervix but the last scan showed it was well away now.

I am 37- turning 38 on Friday - and this will be our second child. Our DS was a natural hospital birth after 29 hours of back labour in Spain. Now we are in Canada and so excited about having a home birth.


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## tankel

Hi welcome, canadabear!

Nola, I want to avoid the doppler for the same reasons as I would like to avoid ultrasounds. There is just not enough evidence. Also, I'm :wacko: :haha: My DH does not agree with my decisions, so according to him, I am trying to add major stress to his life.


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## Nola0841

canadabear said:


> Hello :wave:
> Would love to join you ladies. :flower:
> 
> Just get the all clear for our home birth and very excited :happydance: The midwives were concerned about the placenta being close to my cervix but the last scan showed it was well away now.
> 
> I am 37- turning 38 on Friday - and this will be our second child. Our DS was a natural hospital birth after 29 hours of back labour in Spain. Now we are in Canada and so excited about having a home birth.

Welcome canadabear! That's great news! I'm 35 and had a home birth with my first and loved it. I had back labor too(OUCH) but looking forward to a similar experience. 

Sorry I havn't been on in a few days. The morning sickness is kicking my butt this time. I don't remember it being this bad with my first pregnancy. Has anyone tried acupuncture or anything similar to help?



tankel said:


> Hi welcome, canadabear!
> 
> Nola, I want to avoid the doppler for the same reasons as I would like to avoid ultrasounds. There is just not enough evidence. Also, I'm :wacko: :haha: My DH does not agree with my decisions, so according to him, I am trying to add major stress to his life.

I understand. I know the babies do not like it and that's why they swim away from it. I feel bad for the babies whose mom tries to find the heartbeat on their own multiple times a day. That stinks your DH does not agree with your thought process. Having a great support system is crucial for us, especially during pregnancy. Hopefully he comes around a little.


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## macydarling

Tank, I'm not sure how soon you can use the horn thingy but I know you can use the stethoscope at 20 weeks. Is that any sooner?
My little one doesn't seem to like the doppler either. He kicked it at my last appt!


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## canadabear

I've never given much thought to ultrasound or dopplers but am very much about having as few as possible. Unfortunately we had some complications at the beginning this time around so have had more scans than usual. I am very thankful for the technology but would never consider paying for more scans for 'fun' or buying a home dopplers. Personally I just find those 3D scans creepy. But again each to their own and I am all about supporting each other as long as it's an informed decision, I will support everyones right to it. It's when we blindly follow along or make decisions that I feel frustrated.


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## Nola0841

canadabear said:


> I've never given much thought to ultrasound or dopplers but am very much about having as few as possible. Unfortunately we had some complications at the beginning this time around so have had more scans than usual. I am very thankful for the technology but would never consider paying for more scans for 'fun' or buying a home dopplers. Personally I just find those 3D scans creepy. But again each to their own and I am all about supporting each other as long as it's an informed decision, I will support everyones right to it. It's when we blindly follow along or make decisions that I feel frustrated.

I had way too many with my first (Should have researched it before but I didn't until like 22 weeks) so this time I'm trying to have as few as possible too.


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## macydarling

The transvaginal ultrasound are what make me nervous. I didn't want to have that this time because with my m/c we saw the hb via transvaginal ultrasound at 9wks, then at my 14wks appt no hb and baby only measured 9wks1day. It seemed like too big of a coincidence to me. Unfortunately when I was so ill with this pregnancy I had to have an ultrasound per er protocol. Everything was fine this time obviously but I still wonder about my angel baby...

I went to a baby care basics class the other day and learned a lot about what to expect with my birth center birth! They do delayed cord clamping for everyone so I don't even need to advocate/ask for that which is great! They also give you a 2 hour bonding time with baby before even weighing him or anything. DH and I will use the time for skin to skin. I just love that we are on the same ideal with all our beliefs, I think it will make labor much easier to be on the same page. They also recommend a "media/electronics blackout" for those first few hours which I definitely want to do! Just have to convince dh :D


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## tankel

I was just thinking that I wanted the birthing area by the tv just encase I need a distraction from the pain!


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## macydarling

Lol Tank! The electronics blackout is for the bonding period right after baby is born. Better believe I will use all possible distractions before then!


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## tankel

Macy, oh that makes more sense. I'm bad at reading comprehension. HAHA 

SO update on me. I had my first appointment today and decided to let the mw use the doppler since I have had bleeding on and off this entire pregnancy. There was a hb and she said everything looked a-ok! I think that I'll forgo the use of the doppler again until late pregnancy unless there is some clear need.

Also I was wondering what you ladies think of the blood glucose test. It is something I have to start considering. Did you all do it, are you going to? Also did you do the jellybean test or drink the dreaded sugar drink?


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## macydarling

Re the glucose test. I refused the drink and asked for a natural alternative. I really didn't think I had GD anyway as no history of it in my family and I've had low blood sugar issues with this pregnancy BUT I figured it was still important to do the test. My appt that day wasn't until 3pm so I ate my normal breakfast and lunch. Then 30 minutes before my appt I drank 8oz of organic grape juice and half a banana (they had several variations of different juices with banana, that is just what I chose). 60 minutes after that they took my blood. :thumbup: I'm very happy with my choice. I had no problems with nausea or faintness afterwards like people who do the drink complain about. You should see the ingredients in that drink...:nope: Some of the ingredients are actually banned from soft drinks in other countries! 

Note, I don't mean to put down people who chose to do the drink, this is just what I thought was best for me and my baby.


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## Nola0841

macydarling said:


> The transvaginal ultrasound are what make me nervous. I didn't want to have that this time because with my m/c we saw the hb via transvaginal ultrasound at 9wks, then at my 14wks appt no hb and baby only measured 9wks1day. It seemed like too big of a coincidence to me. Unfortunately when I was so ill with this pregnancy I had to have an ultrasound per er protocol. Everything was fine this time obviously but I still wonder about my angel baby...
> 
> I went to a baby care basics class the other day and learned a lot about what to expect with my birth center birth! They do delayed cord clamping for everyone so I don't even need to advocate/ask for that which is great! They also give you a 2 hour bonding time with baby before even weighing him or anything. DH and I will use the time for skin to skin. I just love that we are on the same ideal with all our beliefs, I think it will make labor much easier to be on the same page. They also recommend a "media/electronics blackout" for those first few hours which I definitely want to do! Just have to convince dh :D

So sorry about your MMC. It does sound like too much of a coincidence but they will never admit that to you. I have recently read that these ultrasounds can scare the baby. That makes me sad. Great news about delayed cord clamping! So glad more people (Especially doctors) are opening their eyes more and see the benefits :)


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## Nola0841

My midwife had me eat a big breakfast instead of the drink for my glucose test as well


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## tankel

That makes me feel so much better about the test. If drinking juice and eating a banana is all I have to do, then I'll go for it.


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