Home Birthers & Hopefuls!

[moomin_troll]

think i might decline a sweep if offered one this time.

altho i am going to try the perinum massage tonight, so ile see if it actualy helps during labour when he makes a appearence

 

[chuck]

Cor it's been busy in the nutter section tonight.

Hey PB!!!

 

[Bournefree]

Smokey and Indigo are closer than me - and I'll happily bring up the rear!

Don't feel as though I'll be any time soon.. thank god! We've only just dug the birth pool out of the garage and it needs a good clean.. plus the garage is so full of cr*p that I can't find the newborn clothes that I put aside.

But on a positive-ish note, I have been doing what could only be described as nesting! I have been making curtains and cusion covers, not all the important things that we need to get organised... oh no.. that would be silly! Making everything look pretty with soft furnishings and fairy lights is far more productive! hahaha.

I've got a list - So i've no doubt that I'll be getting some nipple pads, maternity pads and clothes for baby soon.. I think?! Though OH thinks that we can get away with wrapping baby in a sheet for a few days ;-)
XxX

 

[Bournefree]

Cor it's been busy in the nutter section tonight.

Hey PB!!!

hahaha!!! Is that us lot or the 3rd tri??

How's Bryon doing? and has he passed it on to baba yet?
XxX

 

[Mervs Mum]

Cor it's been busy in the nutter section tonight.

Hey PB!!!

where's that?!

 

[chuck]

lol you 2! You know we're the nutters!1 us crazy hippy types with something to prove not wanting epi's and inductions and doing what we're told.

BF...Dewi is fine now a bit grumpy but otherwise fine, her perked up the way only a toddler can after puking some cuddles and a little beaker of milk, although he was up at 5am. *yawn*

He's been a bit off today but he still had a bit of a temp and he hadnt eatenb drunk enough yesterday so I'm not surprised.

Thankfully Stanley isnt sicky yet\!

 

[Mervs Mum]

Haha I think everyone outside of here are the nutters!! Yeah it's been nice to see a flurry of activity in here tonight I'm waiting on 'the call' from my niggling home birth woman who is also a non conformist nutter by chuck's above definition!

 

[chuck]

w00p w00p bring on the babies!

Good friends of our daughter had b=her abby tonight by ELCS for breech baby...but she's a 'by the book' girl LOL.

She went in yesterday put it was out back for staffing issues we had a little back and forth FB messaging and I told her a few things she's entitled to in theatre like music, getting the theatre team to shut up and what not and she thanked me for giving her something to think about so I hope she perhaps made the experience a little more personal.

Can't remember if I said MM but I finally got hold of ther PALS lady who can help me get a thank you to my ambulance crew and I was told that she cannot give me the names but I can send it to her and it'll be forwarded and a copy sent to the CEO of the ambulance service and a copy kept on their permanent record.

I think that's brilliant for a copy to go to the boss and to go on record, nicer and more useful than ending up on some notice board or a bin.

 

[Mervs Mum]

Nice touch they'll appreciate that. My old man caught 14 babies in his time as a paramedic. All boys except the last one!

 

[Bournefree]

^^^Oh yes that is lovely Chuck! (also glad Little Mr B is feeling better)

I bought my MW a present with my first and the sad part was that because I didn't give it on the sly, it was declined.. as they can't be seen to be taking gifts.. and so returned! How sad is that!? But the nice letter did get to stick!

I'm going to have a pen an pad out for oursleves like last time - but not only use it for writting down contractions and basic timings of things, but to also make sure that I get anyones names, so they can be recognised and thanked.
XxX

 

[MandaAnda]

Re: sweeps... I had two because I wanted my home birth so badly and didn't want to fight that induction battle (because there was no way they were inducing me!). I was in labour within 24 hours of the second one. But I won't do it again. My little one passed loads of very thick meconium (grade 3), which basically cost me my home birth. I don't know if he would've pooed anyway, as at 40+4 his bowels were plenty mature. But I can't help wondering if interfering stressed him a little maybe. Also, I'm happy to fight any induction battle next time. And I'm refusing internals full stop next time. For me, they only caused doubt, stress and unwanted interference. A good midwife can see how you're progressing without doing internals, so whoever she is better hope she's that good because things are only coming out!

 

[Bournefree]

lol - yep, it is all about the OUT and not IN!!

I also agree that in my own experience, the sweep did mean a long latent/early labour. Right from leaving the birthing centre, where I met my MW for the sweep, I had contractions all over the place, and my plug went in spits and spots right up until things started getting good on day 2 after the sweep, when I went into organised labour. I was relaxed about it, as I didn't have any idea what to expect with my first - but I could have been helped by getting more sleep on that first night after the sweep! And will never ever know if it was the sweep that jimmied it along, or if it was going to happen any way - but I certainly could have avoided all those irrational spasms and contractions! Hard work mentally for me, so I can only guess what that was like for DD! (hindsight is great isn’t it?!)
XxX

 

[Rmar]

Not really relating to sweeps or even most of the homebirthers (as it is for primips and most homebirthers seem to be on there 2nd or more time) but MandaAnda reminded me of the article by Gloria Lemay 'Pushing for Primips'. Sorry if this has already been posted but I found it great. Especially because I read it after I had given birth and as I read it, it was completely true for me.

I remember feeling like I needed to poo but there were still blood tissue coming out which signaled that I was only 8cm and not long after that was when I started thinking 'I know why people have drugs' (transition). The way my urge to push started sounds exactly the way she described. It started at the peak of the contraction but by the time I could feel her head, I was feeling it all the way through. Even down the the tiny pebble like stool that I passed, hehe. And this makes me thankful of my midwife even more. Not once did she tell me not to push. Just a simple 'Can you feel the head?', 'if you open your legs wider the body might have an easier time turning' and 'I'm going to lift the cord from around the neck'.

But all of these signs show where you are around the end of labour without the need to do a vaginal exam and pretty much says that having one mostly slows the process down as the time that midwives and doctors most want to know how dialted the woman is, is the time where she needs to be left alone the most for that last bit of dialation.

https://www.glorialemay.com/blog/?p=72

 

[chuck]

I blame lots of things for how thing went with Dewi - silly yes things went the way they did just because they did I shouldn't blame anything but I did have a sweep and things happened within 48 hours....shame those things were a couple days of on/off contractions that made me tired and ratty along with hubby so when labour really started we werent really in the best frame of mind or physical state to deal with it well.

I didnt get to have a sweep with Stanley for which I am glad.

 

[chuck]

Oh and I see a new part of the forum 'labour and birth' coming soon...this could get fun.

 

[Jodie.82]

moomin troll i´m curious how you got on with the massage?

can anyone recommended any good non maternity pads for after, the usual monthly brands always etc, are any of the big heavy ones any good? I didnt bring any proper maternity pads back from England with me. brought breast pads though, and im wondering if I need to start using them soon as im leaking every day and night now already, but dont want them to run out as I will need them much more afterwards!

wow MM 14 babies, he must have some amazing stories and probably more experience of natural birth than the Dr´s in the clinics in Lima

our midwife is throwing in the waterbirth part for free, usually it would cost extra, my OH is a DJ and she said she´ll have a party one day he can DJ for free for her instead! there wont be any sweeps for me, shes a complete hippy and just doesnt do them. in my first birth I kept having to have internals which was the worst part for me, really distressing and so painful, but my womb was posterior and they said they had to keep bringing it forward as I wasnt progressing, which was horrific I could feel them pulling the whole thing and baby! how necessary was this I wonder now?

rmar thanks for the link, its not my first birth but I was very clueless the first time and am into reading anything like this at the moment to be more clued up!

 

[cranberry987]

Thanks for that article. Do you think the midwife will get pissed off if I print it out for her lol? Don't wanna get her back up but rly, would she actually know all this or have just had one lesson on it 5yrs ago.

 

[murmur]

Reading everyones oppionions and experiences with sweeps is making me seriously think about whether or not I would have one if it were offered. My sister in law had planned a home birth and when she went 6 days over had a sweep. Within a couple of hours she had started to have contractions, but when after labouring at home for 27 hours she hadn't given birth and was exhausted she was transferred to hospital for 'Failiure to Progress' (such a horrible phrase). At the hospital she had an epidural, which did not go to plan (is it called a spinal headache?) and it was another 8 hours before she gave birth to her son.

I spoke to her the other day and she said that if she was to fall pregnant again she would like to try for a home birth again, I wonder if she would say no to a sweep now if it was offered to her?

 

[indigo_fairy]

Indigo - had a bit of an upset tummy last 2 days and also getting crampy/period pain type feelings on and off for the last week, bit of a sore lower back on and off. I keep thinking something is going to start and then it doesn't. And as I didn't go into labour naturally last time, I'm really not sure what to expect. Haven't lost any plug yet and when I've been inserting my Starflower capsules, it seems a long way to put them in without bumping into my cervix!

Have you had anything going on yet? I'm trying my best to keep the getting fed-up feelings at bay, but it's hard

You know I haven't had any crampy period type pain at all yet, which is what I had last time from 37weeks every evening leading up to the big day. I've had loads of pressure on my cervix, including stabbing sharp pains quite often throughout the day, especially if I'm in that sitting on a ball upright position. So I think I might be a little dilated. I had constant braxton hicks yesterday afternoon and all through the night, when it was only last week I mentioned to my MW I hadn't had (or felt at least) any of them at all!

I've had lower back ache on and off, not at all yesterday though weirdly. Hormones are quite mad. And nesting has taken over my life. I see Bourne is the same, I've got my sewing machine out too I've now got an obsession with everything being tidy and keep reminding DH to clean up after himself as the consequences could be dire at the moment lol

When you put the starflower capsules in have you felt your cervix? Mine seems quite high too, but last time I felt it was really soft and squishy.

 

[indigo_fairy]

Smokey and Indigo are closer than me - and I'll happily bring up the rear!

Don't feel as though I'll be any time soon.. thank god! We've only just dug the birth pool out of the garage and it needs a good clean.. plus the garage is so full of cr*p that I can't find the newborn clothes that I put aside.

But on a positive-ish note, I have been doing what could only be described as nesting! I have been making curtains and cusion covers, not all the important things that we need to get organised... oh no.. that would be silly! Making everything look pretty with soft furnishings and fairy lights is far more productive! hahaha.

I've got a list - So i've no doubt that I'll be getting some nipple pads, maternity pads and clothes for baby soon.. I think?! Though OH thinks that we can get away with wrapping baby in a sheet for a few days ;-)
XxX

Definitely, I've been making a patch work blanket out of old duvet covers and sheets, not for the baby, for our bed lol Although I am going to make one for baby too.. eventually! Have some lovely new fabric somewhere but I have no idea where I put it... I've also got a sling to sew which is waiting in the pile of material somewhere.