Home Birthers & Hopefuls!

[Rachiebaby24]

Pops - I hope you cried in a good way hun! I'm gonna be bawling for weeks when it's your turn! Let us know how the appointment goes xx

Of course it was in a good way!!! Bless you, I can't wait to text you, as always, you will be first to know!!

It made me cry too......after giving birth you feel like superwoman anyway (well i did) but i think being so in control of my birth is so empowering!

25 weeks already!!! Flying by!!!

I really, really, genuinely can't wait Rach, not just to meet Missy but to have gone through the birth process. I think it is going to absolutley amazing.

I know, it is fast coming round!!

How are you today?

Well, we had our MW appointment and everything is perfect. Bump was measured for the first time and is 25cm which is apparently spot on MW is more than happy with still having us down as "Home Birthers" and said all being well, she will drop our HB kit off at 36 weeks....that's only 9 weeks away

Feel really tired today as was non stop at work due to being on leave all next week so off to bed shortly me thinks but have our weekend in Brighton to look forward to...some much needed break time for us both!

Hope you all have wonderful weekends

xxx

Im much better today thank you!!

Its so good that you are looking forward to the birth and in that mindset. Many first time mums are so scared.

The only thing i was scared about was the unknown and having a c section (which still scares me now as the thought of a needle in my back petrifies me!)......I think I was calm when pregnant with Maley because I had already been at two births in my life (the birth of my little brother when i was 13 and the birth of my firends baby 3 years ago). Both births were calm, neither had pain relief and it helped me to believe that not all births are horror stories and we can cope with labour.

When i had Maley, even though my labour was only 4 hours long, 3 hours were spent at home and the last hour in hospital. I completely zoned out...couldnt even open my eyes. Guess it was my way of hypnobirthing although i didnt know what it was back then....was just my way of coping.

I think your positive attitude will be a huge bonus to your labour and birthing experience.

 

[Pops]

Im much better today thank you!!

Its so good that you are looking forward to the birth and in that mindset. Many first time mums are so scared.

The only thing i was scared about was the unknown and having a c section (which still scares me now as the thought of a needle in my back petrifies me!)......I think I was calm when pregnant with Maley because I had already been at two births in my life (the birth of my little brother when i was 13 and the birth of my firends baby 3 years ago). Both births were calm, neither had pain relief and it helped me to believe that not all births are horror stories and we can cope with labour.

When i had Maley, even though my labour was only 4 hours long, 3 hours were spent at home and the last hour in hospital. I completely zoned out...couldnt even open my eyes. Guess it was my way of hypnobirthing although i didnt know what it was back then....was just my way of coping.

I think your positive attitude will be a huge bonus to your labour and birthing experience.

So glad you felt better, hope it has continued today!

I can totally understand those fears hun and similarly, my only real fear is ending up in hospital in a situation where I feel I have no control....if it happens, I will deal with it, I'll have to but it is my only fear in relation to this pregnancy and birth. I have thought about it in the sense of I am not silly enough to think it definately won't happen but I am also only giving it the level of thought that it deserves and concentrating the rest of my thoughts and energy on the good stuff!

How wonderful that you had attended 2 births prior to yours, that must have been a great experience, especially as they were both calm.

And thank you for saying, I hope you are right and it is great to hear that from peeps like yourself and Lisa and the others who have gone through this before

xxx

 

[madasa]

Possibly a little OT, but can you all tell that my copy of IMG's Guide To Childbirth has arrived

 

[urbanbumpkin]

Another thing that I'm finding tricky, even with just the breathing part, is that it's hard to breathe in really slow and deep, because LO is sitting so high and there's not a lot of room for my lungs!! I'm having to rely on counting and counting out.... and then just as (I assume) it starts working and I slip into relaxation, I'm still counting and getting the numbers in the wrong order, or skip numbers.... and then I pull myself out of relaxation before I can stop myself, to correct my counting. How stupid is that? I guess it just takes practice and patience....

My instructor said that as long as the out breath was longer than the in breath then that was fine. It didn't matter so much what the count was. Similarly in the 'surge' breathing it was important to think about the inflating of the abdomen rather than the counting. And just make that last as long as possible. She said to drop the counting all together after having done it a few times, that was just to give us a rough guide at first.

Today I've ordered some floats for the pool, we were recommended them to lean on in a hard sided pool. And they will be useful when we teach the baby to swim too!

Other task for the weekend is finishing off the birth plan. I have a few I have poached from elsewhere that I am going to stitch together as seems appropriate.

 

[lauzliddle]

hi girls hope all is well today, well i just got back from a terrible 4 hours at the hospital been prodded with needles and poor molly has been poked and prodded and unfortunately i wont be getting my HB i will now be induced at 38 weeks as the dreaded obstetric cholestasis is back. i will now be monitored twice a week and have a scan every 2 weeks until molly is here.

I know its for the safety of my little girl but i cant help feeling gutted on the plus side i know only 5 weeks 2 days time i will have my darling girl in my arms good luck and hope you all get the home births you want

Laura x

 

[Mervs Mum]

Aww Laura If you are selling your pool you could advertise it to the girls on this thread

 

[Pops]

Sorry to hear that Laura

Like you say, the important thing is you and Molly are well and she will be here before you know it now

xxx

 

[NattieLou]

Wow, I'd been away so long - took me forever to catch up.

Huge congratulations, ER! So pleased to see that Abigail is safely with you - well done you.

Our hypno 'teacher' said that you dont have to do it exactly as they teach. You just need to make it work for you so dont worry about it being absolutely perfect.

My instructor said that as long as the out breath was longer than the in breath then that was fine. It didn't matter so much what the count was. Similarly in the 'surge' breathing it was important to think about the inflating of the abdomen rather than the counting. And just make that last as long as possible. She said to drop the counting all together after having done it a few times, that was just to give us a rough guide at first.

Yep, what they said. I definitely used the surge breathing in the earlier stages (along with the rainbow relaxation), but I'm really not sure what kind of breathing I was doing at the end of transition - I had to constantly walk around the bed and simultaneously have my husband apply extreme pressure to my lower back. I did well to breathe at all. I did use the slow breathing between contractions though, and I love love loved the j-breathing for the second stage. It felt so right and natural. It was what my body wanted to do. I also had what I understand to be a pretty extreme expulsive reflux - definitely no pushing for me and Isaac literally came flying out in one go while the midwife was writing her notes.

It was really great that the midwife that attended (the second didn't arrive in time) came back for our 5 day visit and it was fab to get feedback from her perspective. She said that from her observations I coped really really well with the pain and was super relaxed between contractions even though the surges were really really intense in transition. She was also really impressed by the speed and power of the second stage. So glad we hypnobirthed.

I also think the affirmations made for a much more enjoyable and positive pregnancy experience. They really shaped the way I viewed myself, my body and the whole pregnancy and birth experience.

As Lisa was saying, it's an amazing feeling knowing that your baby was born at home. Isaac was born on our bed, and it's so so wonderful when the three of us are snuggled up there together to know that was where he was created, where he came into the world - from my body, directly to his father's arms, and then back to my body - and where we continue to love and nurture him. It's our nest.

I can't recommend home birthing and hypnobirthing enough.

 

[lauzliddle]

Thanks girls i am feeling a bit better after a nice bath (hospital makes me fell crappy) i think deep down i KNEW it was going to come back i was sitting waiting for it to happen i am just glad to have the piriton to stop my itching as it drove me crazy during the night i even woke the OH up by the sound of me itching my hands (at that point he just simply said its back and give me a big hug)

I am going to be keeping the birth pool so alfie can play in it during the summer as he really loved it when he had a go and it makes for a much better paddling pool as its so high the wind cant get him

 

[Mervs Mum]

I must admit my pool will end up being Hebe and Sid's paddling pool once it's done the rounds to the girls borrowing it on here!!

 

[Janidog]

I had more firends and family worn me about having a home birth and what could go wrong etc.... so I had a chat with my midwife who thankfully reassured me that it was the right way to go.

The only issue im facing is, i was wanting to do hypnobirthing but understand that you're are meant to go in to complete relaxation, but my hubby and I have our own business so im finding it incredibly hard to even switch of to practice the breathing, cause all i seem to think about is our clients I think what won't help is that my 3 week mat leave won't start until i go into labour - do you think home birth is still achievable if you dont do hypnobirthing?

 

[Mervs Mum]

do you think home birth is still achievable if you dont do hypnobirthing?

Totally! You dont NEED anything to achieve your HB just the desire to give birth in your own surroundings. Hypnobirthing is just a technique you can use where ever you labour - home, hospital, birth centre. Just reading the book is a great foundation - I think a positive approach to your labour and birth is all anyone really needs. Another good book you might prefer is Juju Sundin's Birth Skills - I think if you're not sure about hypnobirthing this is a great alternative especially if you like the idea of an active labour - lots of marching!

 

[sammiwry]

I'm desperate to have a home birth for my first baby! Thought of being in hospital makes me want to cry cannot stand them!

 

[Janidog]

do you think home birth is still achievable if you dont do hypnobirthing?

Totally! You dont NEED anything to achieve your HB just the desire to give birth in your own surroundings. Hypnobirthing is just a technique you can use where ever you labour - home, hospital, birth centre. Just reading the book is a great foundation - I think a positive approach to your labour and birth is all anyone really needs. Another good book you might prefer is Juju Sundin's Birth Skills - I think if you're not sure about hypnobirthing this is a great alternative especially if you like the idea of an active labour - lots of marching!

ooh thanks for that yep definitely want to have an active labour.

sammiwry - this is why im having a home birth for my first baby - hospitals scare me quite a bit and my midwife is extremely supportive

 

[sammiwry]

sammiwry - this is why im having a home birth for my first baby - hospitals scare me quite a bit and my midwife is extremely supportive

Least I'm not the only one!! I'd be fine all the while Trouble is with me and soon as he'd have to go home I'd completely flip.

 

[nightkd]

I can't stand the way hospitals treat you like a number....it very much seems to be a case of 'follow the policies and there won't be any trouble!' and that they just want you in and out as quickly as possible.... I want to be able to take my time, let my body birth my baby instead of feeling pressured into a timeframe! Also if they tried to send DH home while I was in hospital, I'd flip... They could bloody well try!!

On an actual update-y type note, I read through lesson 1 of my Hypnobabies and started listening to the first track last night, I fell asleep pretty much straight away after DH had turned his iPod off (friggin' brightest light ever) and I'm the sort of person who usually lies there for a good hour before I can get to sleep! So it must've helped relax me a bit...which I could do with right now...

I've already learnt the 'bubble of peace' script...dunno if I mentioned that, but you basically have to ignore any negative influences/opinions, which is kinda hard with my mother telling me to 'prepare for a C-section' because Bean keeps turning herself around...she may well be 'joking' but I actually got to thinking about how I'd feel if I had to have a C-section and....*shudder* I'd very much like to avoid even considering it tbh.....

xxx

 

[EternalRose]

Hi Ladies,

https://www.babyandbump.com/pregnancy-third-trimester/312734-am-home-my-little-girl.html

Well you probably all know I have had my litle girl..it did start out as a homebirth but I had to transfer to hospital as BP shot right up but I still had an amazing birth with just Gas & Air no interventions and only a 4 hour established labour and the hypnobirthing really helped so I am still happy as I dont think I would have achieved this birth if it wasnt for the great support on this thread even though I couldnt stay at home in the end.I have already said to the midwife that I will take tablets for my blood pressure next time, so that I can stay at home as Bp only started rising from 38 weeks. I am writing my birth story later so it will be up here soon so you can get all the details and the midwives that came out to me at home were amazing, I couldnt have asked for better care.

I hope you are all well, and being a mummy rocks!

EternalRose x x

 

[Mervs Mum]

You did so well chick and she's a little beaut!!!

x

 

[madasa]

Congrats ER, your photos of her are adorable

 

[Cactusgirl]

Eternal Rose - CONGRATULATIONS on beautiful Abigail! So glad it was a positive experience despite being transferred.

Janiepops - I cannot believe the attitude of that MW - you did very well not to explode at her. Well done to sticking to your guns. Nothing has been done re my HB yet - they are coming for the first time on Weds to do the risk assessment and that is at 36+3!!

Deej - fingers crossed things start moving for your soon

Well I had a 6.5 marathon NCT session yesterday. And I overheard another couple start talking about the possibility of having a home birth. Everytime the facilitator says something about hospital policies ie not being able to plug in chargers for mobiles/dad's having to leave in the middle of the night after the birth she looks at us and says 'but obviously for your guys at home that does not apply' and I think it has really got the others thinking about how much nicer things would be at home!! A lot of them had not even considered other birthing positions apart from on their backs as that is what they have seen. They seemed blown away that surely gravity could help!!

And there has been the most amazing transformation in my DH - bearing in mind that at 12 weeks he told me he was too squeamish and did not think he would even be in the room for the birth (hence why we arranged a doula) yesterday he said he wanted it written into the birth plan that he would like the option of cutting the cord when the time came if he felt up to it?!? And he is now fully supportive of my decision to let the cord pulsate when before he was totally against it. I am completely gob smacked in the change in him since he has become more informed - he would not listen to me though!!!

Of course he may not feel up to it at the time but just the fact he has considered it and would like to be given the option is a miracle!!