Home Birthers & Hopefuls!

[Pops]

How refreshing

We still get the "Yes, but what hospital will you go to when you have to"....

In fact, Boyos Mum just won't talk about it, I think she thinks we are going to change our mind....

Thank God my Mumsy is as supportive as she is and I have you lot! Boyo is getting most excited about it all now, he has been on board since day 1, in fact, it was initially his idea I guess and the closer it gets, the more sure we both are that it's for us...not once have we wavered.

xxx

 

[Mervs Mum]

I think I wobbled once when we started planning early on then like you, the closer it got the more we knew it was right AND the more I wanted it. Keith wasnt sure to start but he too became more convinced as time passed.

I'm so jealous of you Pops. Of you all! Dont get me wrong the girls births were both incredibly special moments obviously but Sid's birth was a moment that was so much more than the birth of my son.....it was about me as a woman too. Very BIG moment.

 

[Pops]

I think thats it for me too Lisa, it won't just be about Missys birth which in itself will be HUGE but it will be about me as a woman and us as a team. I swear people think I am lying and putting on this big show when they ask and I say I am just not worried about it at all....I am relishing the idea, I can not wait to go through it. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way thinking I am going to sneeze and out she'll come but I also refuse to think in terms of pain the way everyone (not here obviously) seems to think I should.

xxx

 

[Mervs Mum]

That out look will get you a long way. And where ever you labour it will be what it will be, but what it is, will be down to you. It can be a wailing, screaming, gnashing of teeth affair or it can be a journey for you and Boyo to look back on and cherish forever. One where you both learn something more about each other when you thought you knew all there was to know. You will have a deeper love and respect for each other and that will all be tied up with the pink ribbon that is Missy. You will both....well all 3 of you actually...you will ALL be awesome

x

 

[Bournefree]

You are so right! Having a home birth has made the shared experience of the birth of our daughter so emotional, empowering, and the best memory we have as a couple. Plus as a women, it made me feel (and still does) hugely grateful to life and confident within myself.

There is a deeper love as a result in our relationship - for example, he wasn't (as most men are) interested in how I was feeling about periods etc, but now, (and I know it's strange) he seems to realise that the baby we made, and the whole process of forming the baby was in my hands - and somehow reveres my body and my womanhood for it with wonder.

He is also so involved in our little gilrs life (I know all dads are really), but there is something else there too; he helped to bring her here, he was the first to hold her (after me), he dressed her for the first time, he has a love and concern that I haven't really ever seen before - for both me and her. It's difficult to express it in words, but I know these are a result of him coming out of our fake commerical modern world and embrassing real life, women and manhood.
xxx
xx

 

[Pops]

Thank you, both of you I know we are doing the right thing and I know it is going to be just amazing wherever she is born but I do so hope that it is at home, with just us two and our the Midwife.

I want Boyo to the be one who catches her in the water, to be the one to dress her, to feel as involved as possible and for the door to close and for it to just be the 3 of us, in our own home, a team....it gets me really emotional thinking about it as I know if it happens as we want, it is going to be something bigger than we can imagine....

xxx

 

[spacecadet]

Hello hope it's ok to post questions here? I haven't had a chance to read the whole thread yet! I was really interested in a home birth with my first but opted for a hospital birth as was so unsure what to expect etc..
I'm 22 weeks pregnant with my little boy and thinking this may be my last birth so want to experiance a birthing at home, I enjoyed my 1st birth so much even though needed intervention (they broke my waters after labouring for over 24 hours found meconium and then offered me an oxcitocin drip which definetely sped things up! I also had 2nd degree tearing and needing lot of stitches! We had to stay in hospital for 5 nights also due to baby having a high temp although after tests etc nothing was wrong)
my main questions are:
is there a chance of running out of gas and air?? Haha I used up a lot!
If I tear/need stitches will I have to be transferred to hospital then?
I needed things sped up last time what are the chances of me needed such assistance this time? I know every labour is different and I am lucky enough to live only a 10 minute drive away from hospital anyway!
I'm also worried about waking up/upseting my LO who will be 20 months, I suppose it would be ness to have a friends/relative there to help with her too while me and OH are busy?
Sorry about the silly questions!
Will they allow my dog/cats in the room?
I'm sure I will think of more questions for you all, I'm starting to get a bit excited thinking of having this baby at home now

 

[spacecadet]

Sorry didn't sign off properly.. I'm on my iPhone!
Thanks in advance for any comments or advice gals
xxx

 

[Mervs Mum]

Hi hun :wave:

Welcome to the thread!

my main questions are:
is there a chance of running out of gas and air?? Haha I used up a lot!

In a word yes! Obviously they can only get so much in their car BUT if they think you are going through it quickly they can send for more. I had 3 cannisters and when we got to the end of the second they talked about either getting some more or getting me in a better position to speed things up. They switched to the 3rd cannister and I got up and mobile and we hardly used any of that one in the end.

If I tear/need stitches will I have to be transferred to hospital then?

No. They bring anything then would need with them unless if was a very bad tear and they felt they couldnt deal with it.

I needed things sped up last time what are the chances of me needed such assistance this time?
There is no intervention at home and TBH although I dont know your specific case, often the hospital start with intervention that leads to the problems that require MORE intervention and so on. Being at home and in a relaxed environment often means none of these things are needed.

I know every labour is different and I am lucky enough to live only a 10 minute drive away from hospital anyway!

I'm also worried about waking up/upseting my LO who will be 20 months, I suppose it would be ness to have a friends/relative there to help with her too while me and OH are busy?
I wasnt worried about upsetting my other children but my OH didnt want to be worrying about looking after our 17month old when I might need him so both girls went to my mums. I had him at about 1am and they came home the following afternoon.

Will they allow my dog/cats in the room?

It's your home! You do what YOU want! There's no 'allowed' about it! My dogs howled my boy into the world!!

 

[spacecadet]

Aw thanks so much MM
feeling quite positive about it and gunna call my midwife tomorrow to see when I can have a chat about it - they are very keen on homebirths here luckily, will let you all know and prob think of more questions to ask you in time!
Again thanks for the positive vibes xxx

 

[Mervs Mum]

Spacecadet you'll find ALL the women who have had or hoped for a home birth have one core thing in common - we are all really positive about our pregnancies, look forward to labouring and giving birth and tend to trust and believe in our bodies ability to safely birth our children, if it's just allowed to. So keep coming back and when you have time to, do look back through this thread because you'l find some interesting info and great posts from some pretty inspirational girls!

 

[Rachiebaby24]

Hi Girlies!! Just a quick update before I start reading through the pages and catching up with you guys!

Well Baby (still nameless......) is doing brilliant. The first few days were just spent in bed getting to grips with breatsfeeding (I didnt breastfeed Maley as she would not latch and i had zero support).....had a horrendous time of it nipplewise.....bleeding and cracked and all sorts.....found out she is tongue tied but have decided not to get her tongue clipped as she has come on leaps and bounds and only doesnt latch properly when she is lazy (which i then take hr off until she does latch properly) and she is doing so well.....her tongue doesnt protect my nipple as it should so i am still SLIGHTLY sore but thanks to the Lansinoh that MM sent me, its under control and i am really enjoying it. I do have moments when it feels endless and I remember the days of formula feeding and sharing the feeding with my OH but it has been amazing for the bonding and I love mine and hers special time when we feed.

Funny enough, considering all the negative comments when I said i wanted a homebirth, I have had lots of people who have been surprised that it all went so well and i think some of them, their opinion has changed. My OH certainly is very proud of me for having a complete "natural" birth and even with the breastfeeding. I feel like an earth mother!!! Especially compared to Maley's hospital birth with pain relief and formula feeding. I really believe it is down to confidence. Confidence and belief in yourself is the key ladies!!

Anyway, baby is nearly back to her birth weight which i am extremely happy about! Feels like all the hard work has paid off!

Only problem I have at the moment is severe constipation....I took a laxative on wednesday which made me go but omg it was worse than labour. and i was still constipated by the morning. So going to buy some suppositories tomorrow and hopefully they work!

So all in all.....we are doing really well!! Have majorly bonded with this baby and its lovely...I cant get enough of her!!

off to catch up on this thread now as i havent been on here in aaaages!!!!

 

[madasa]

I'm SO glad it's going so well for you!

I am sure that having a good birth and coping well with Having A New Baby are linked....

- -

I **still** haven't bought a birth pool. It's going to be a Bath Job if I don't get a move on I am browsing thru ebay pricing some up now and I'm seeing a few "Aquaborn" pools... does anyone have any experience with them, or has anyone heard anything about them, good and bad? I was hoping for a La Bassinine or a birthpoolinabox, and I have never heard of Aquaborn before....

Edit - Oooo! There's a BPIAB IN MY AREA! Bidding hasn't started yet, ends in one week! It's a regular tho, not a mini, so will have to check if we have room for it before I get TOO excited

 

[urbanbumpkin]

Ooooo, hope you can get that one, madasa!

My pool has just been delivered! Well, all but one box of it, but I think that is the heater/filter, so we should still be able to build and fill it tonight. It has a lid so should stay warm enough until we get the heater tomorrow I think.

I'm excited!

That all sounds great, Rachie. So glad it is all going so well.

 

[bethyb]

Rachiebaby lovely to hear u and baby are doing well I def felt like mother earth after my home birth, its an amazing experience isnt it. xxx

 

[gina8177]

So happy to hear that things are going well for you and the little one Rachie!!!

 

[becstar]

madasa do keep watching, I managed to get a La Bassine and all the extras (pumps, hose etc) for £75 inc postage from ebay! Not had the chance to use it but NEXT TIME I WILL!!!

 

[Pops]

So glad to hear all is going so well Rach, you sound SO happy my lovely. Really proud of you too

xxx

 

[nightkd]

Someone was going to sell me a La Bassine + all the extras for $110....but fell through at the last minute because her MW asked if she'd sell it to another client who is due to pop on Saturday.... Annoying for me, but if I were the lady due on Sat, I'd be pretty stressed if I hadn't sorted a pool out by now, so at least it's going to someone who will hopefully get some use out of it pretty soon Sooo....I'm still looking, just hoping I can find as good a deal as that!!!

Fortunately we've managed to sell DH's completely broken car, so that's one less thing to worry about...I have a MW appointment tomorrow and I'm thinking of asking when she counts me as being full term...I've heard 36 weeks, 37 weeks, 38 weeks, so How would you phrase that? Just "When am I full term?"...

We have so much to do over the next couple of weeks, packing and whatnot.... I'm really worried that the new apartment will be awful and I won't want to birth there I'm sure it'll be fine though!!

xx

 

[Cactusgirl]

Rach - sounds like you are all doing fantastically and so wonderful to hear how the relationship with your OH has developed. I have heard that breastmilk actually has healing qualities and as great as I have heard the Lansinoh is apparently if you rub some breastmilk on cracked nipples it really helps as well!!

Nightkd - my mw said they classed 38wks as full term for a home birth but if was 37wk5days they weren't going to argue. Luckily am passed that now!

Madasa - fingers crossed you get that pool!

Not a lot happening here - just playing the waiting game questionning every twinge and pain! Have a mw apt today but just expecting the normal checks, then off to Tesco to get final items like energy drinks/snacks, straws (as recommended on here!!) etc.

I have had the best news ever this week - one of my good friends who has been desperately ttc for a number of years had her first round of IVF and found out yesterday that she is pregnant. I am over the moon for her and her husband as it has been heartbreaking for them both. Fingers crossed they have a healthy 9 months!