Canadian Home Birthers

[YikesBaby]

Hi ladies,

At the suggestion of Gaiagirl, I thought I would create a thread for Canadian gals who are planning a home birth... whatever stage you are at, we'd love to have you here!

This will be a place to air thoughts about planning a home birth in Canada, to discuss preparation for the big day, and to hear stories from ladies who've done it and have wisdom to share.

I am planning a HB for my first baby at the end of January.

My current questions/concerns are:

- What if I need to be transferred to hospital and there is a big storm?
- What if my MW has a hard time getting to me because of a storm?
- The MW has only two pools that can be loaned out - should I buy/rent one eslewhere?? What if she doesn't have it when I need it?
- Will my floor support a pool?
- Is it a bad idea to have the baby in our bedroom (which has light gray carpeting)?

I am sure I will have a million more questions as the time gets closer...

 

[Lady_Venom]

I'm glad you made this thread! I was originally planning on a birthing centre natural birth but unfortunately where I live, the centre doesn't support water births SO...home birth it is because they are not forcing me to be confined to stirrups and have total control of my birth.

I am very excited. I am headstrong on the natural birth aspect and I am actually excited for labour because I know I can do it and I want to prove it to myself. I want to feel empowered as a woman and work with my contractions in a calm environment. I don't really have much cash so I am going to attempt hypnobirthing without going to classes or purchasing anything. I get the jist of it anyways. I finally have been signed up with a midwife team after going through hell with my horrible doctor who was pushing OBGYN route so this is a big relief to me. Unfortunately have to wait till august 22 for the initial appointment and I will have to wait even longer for knowing the gender...DAMNIT. That's all I want to know.

I am hoping I will be considered low risk. I'm already 15 weeks and I have not gained anything more than 1 or 2lbs so I guess that is a good sign so far. I want to do everything possible to not be transfered to the hospital.

I am due January 20th. When are you due? It would be nice to see this thread fill up with Canadian ladies to share all our stories when the time comes or if it already came. Again great idea Yikes

 

[MollyWeasley]

Another Canadian homebirth hopeful here! I'm also from Ontario too. My EDD is mid-February.

I had my first midwife appointment at 10 weeks, next appointment at 14 weeks and we'll get to hear the heartbeat.

I'm not too worried about a storm causing the midwife to not be able to make it. We rarely have storms that really limit car travel. Even in a storm I'd think an ambulance could still get to our house - so we could transfer by ambulance if needed I guess. I'm sure our midwives have been through this kinda thing so I'm sure they know what to do in that case.

Our bedroom has off-white carpet. I'll put down a shower curtain and cover it with an old blanket or towels - to cover the area in between our bed and our ensuite bathroom. I figure that's the place I'm most likely to spend a lot of time. Drips or accidents anywhere else can be stain-treated. I have a dog, so I also have a Bissell Little Green.

 

[starchild09]

Thanks for setting up the thread YikesBaby!

Looking forward to interact with the other Canadian Home Birthers here.

 

[gaiagirl]

Yay, thanks Yikes! Awesome to have this thread

I'm on my phone just wanted to comment to add thread to my subscribed...I'll read and comment in more detail soon!

 

[YikesBaby]

MollyWeasley - I doubt we will get a big storm... we've had crazy warm winters for the last couple of years... but I just keep having all of these paranoid thoughts of us experiencing Snowmageddon the day I go into labour.

I think I will go with the shower curtains too!

Lady_Venom - I am due Jan 29th. Kudos to you for doing it the way you want to! We are staying team yellow... but I can't wait to find out what you gals are having!

 

[aliss]

Hi everyone.

I'm living just a bit south of Montreal but I am from Vancouver.

I have a home birth planned for around my EDD on Oct 29th 2012. 2nd child, first home birth. Previous was an awful hospital dystocia pitocin labour.

I wouldn't worry about the storms! At least it's the end of January so all the snow removal etc. will already be up & running. If it was early November, I'd think maybe! You can get shower curtains but tbh... I would recommend tons of plastic over your bed itself and some black/cheap bedsheets It gets pretty messy.

 

[Feronia]

Yay! I'm another home birther living in Canada (Vancouver). I'm due December 18th with my first, and I've had similar concerns about transferring during a storm.

I live in an apartment, so I'm planning on putting down a few shower curtains and towels in the living room and birthing there. Maybe put a sign on the door so neighbours don't wonder why I'm screaming?

 

[aliss]

Nice to see a lot of Vancouver homebirthers! I wish I had made that decision the first time around when I had my son (I'm originally from the Fraser Valley, moved here in 2011)

 

[gaiagirl]

OK so in reply to the questions...

I don't have to worry about storms, in all likelihood, because I live in the most temperate climate in Canada and we almost never have snow at the beginning of Nov! I would talk to you midwife about the storm and pool rental because I am sure she has dealt with those same questions from other people!

As far as the floor...I am a little worried about that because I would rather have the baby on our second floor but it does make me wonder...an 800lb tub with four adults in the room...hmmm. My DH doesn't think it is an issue, and my midwives do 30% of their births at homes, so I will ask them if they have every worried about it...

 

[natasharobin]

Thank you for making this thread!

I am due November 8th with our first and we are planning a home birth (possibly water, but in the bath not a pool) here on Vancouver Island.

 

[gaiagirl]

Natasha, looks like we will both be birthing babies around then on Vancouver Island! Awesome

 

[natasharobin]

Natasha, looks like we will both be birthing babies around then on Vancouver Island! Awesome

That is fantastic! I am fairly new to Vancouver Island and I look forward to the mild winter this year and being able to still spend time outside with the baby without freezing

 

[TheyCallMeMom]

I am planning a home birth in a pool for anytime now. I live in Calgary, AB

 

[YikesBaby]

I am planning a home birth in a pool for anytime now. I live in Calgary, AB

Awesome!! We'd love to hear how it goes!

 

[baskinps]

Hey ladies! I am not a hopeful ~anymore~ but I wanted to say, feel free to ask me any questions! I've got a napping bubba on my lap and am left-handed typing so i will be brief for now! I am also from Ontario

 

[YikesBaby]

Thanks baskinps! Did you use a pool?

 

[baskinps]

I didn't, and it was one of my only regrets. I was advised that having a pool meant having someone there just to maintain the water temp etc, and I wanted as few people as possible so I opted out of that. Also, I have a tiny apartment and nowhere to put it! I figured I would make do with my shower/tub, but it proved to be too shallow to be much use. I would def get one next time.

I would also HIGHLY recommend hypnobirthing. It was very very helpful!

 

[YikesBaby]

Awesome, did you go to classes? If so, would you recommend them?

 

[gaiagirl]

Thanks Baskin, I plan to use a pool that my midwives office rents out.

Yikes, btw - I asked them and they said they've never had a concern with floor support! I'm not worried about that anymore

Baskin - what aspects of hypnobirthing did you find most useful? How did you apply them during labour? And also did you practice any of it with your partner beforehand?

Thanks!