cranberry987
Mum after ttc 16 cycles
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- Jul 17, 2010
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Quick update after my home birth assessment. Was a bit of an onslaught of ‘heres a massive list of things which could go wrong’ they did actually say that there were benefits of a hb (shock horror) but didn’t list them of course. Nothing I didn’t know really. SoM and my MW came out and SoM went over the list of issues which might occur (low calcium etc) and said that I was pretty much right about my responses, they wouldn’t test for a lot of the things in hospital (eg iron, calcium) unless they thought there was an obvious problem.
Apparently the neonatologist has said that its not the case that if my levels are well controlled that baby has a low chance of a hypo, I assume he means because baby might be hypo for a number of other reasons as thats different from everything else Ive read and been told at the hospital. Hes v negative about the whole birthing outside of a hospital thing tho (as youd assume, neonatologists aren’t going to see healthy babies after all) and actually said that surely Im not allowed. Seems theyre having lots of meetings and emails about me, the legal team is involved to make sure that the midwifes are covered by what they can and cant do etc. Anyway, Sue Sellers (obstetrician) said well actually yes she can do whatever she likes and its obviously an informed choice.
So theyre supportive of our decision but being careful to cover themselves which is fair enough. SoM is making a kinda protocol for her midwifes so that they know what the plans are (eg, self testing hourly) and also making a list of things to look out for postnatally. Shes offered me a meeting with the neonatologist but Ive said no all my questions are answered and really if I thought it was a massive risky issue then I wouldn’t be birthing at home, so just gonna draw a line under it.
If I call a MW during the day then it will be my MW and probably SoM (theyve said Ill probably get two for the entire time just because of me being awkward and going against medical advice, so might need some MW wrangling there by the doula). If its during the night/weekend then itll be (probably) two of whoever is on call but they do home births every 6 weeks on average so its very unlikely that one of the two will be my old shit MW. I thought that they would be out every night but it seems not.
The only thing they said was about vaginal exams when they arrive and roughly every 4 hrs. I didn’t argue with it as I may actually want them when Im in labour, you never know, and also I couldn’t be bothered. When it comes to it Ill just say no thanks or yes please, theyve been respectful of choice up to now and I don’t think theyd bully me into it even if they tried.
Also Im going on the child protection list hehe! Well, not really, but they asked if they could put my details on their internal emergency duty desk child protection database, just so that if after birth baby is ill and they want to transfer but I refuse they can take him off me easier as theyve already done the paperwork. Ive said fine as Im not really bothered, what would they put on there ‘Helen has made an informed decision and is going against medical advice’.... happens every day. Also I would be as concerned as they were if there was some issue and would want to transfer. I also thought that it shows that Im happy to be flexible, theyre just covering their ass with a lot of it and I understand that, Id be exactly the same.
One thing they said is that toes/fingers might not actually give any blood as newborns circulation focuses on their core (for testing babys sugar levels at 4 hrs). Theyd love to teach me how to milk a foot (they also said side of the heel, ha! I hadn’t thought about the side) but legally not allowed to, so Ill be youtubing heel milking.
Baby slightly back to back but Ive been a bit lazy today so will get jiggling on the ball once I get some energy back after the meeting. Hes only slightly posterior tho and is kinda on the left side so I think a good enough position, nothing disasterous. Wee/BP etc fine and Ill have another appt Monday with the MW (38w) then its diabetic clinic week after.
Colostrum going great, got 4ml yesterday but nips a bit sore as it was a bit of a mammoth session so I think Ill be giving it a miss tonight. Have about 8ml now in the freezer after just a week. Aiming for 15ml so we’re doing fine.
All good tho, Im quite chilled about it, I realise that theyre a bit twitchy but end of the day the midwifes will be fine on the day and Ill just get on with birthing a baby same as billions of others before me.
PS, haha. Baby just turned bum out while I was typing this. Saves me getting down on all fours then!
Apparently the neonatologist has said that its not the case that if my levels are well controlled that baby has a low chance of a hypo, I assume he means because baby might be hypo for a number of other reasons as thats different from everything else Ive read and been told at the hospital. Hes v negative about the whole birthing outside of a hospital thing tho (as youd assume, neonatologists aren’t going to see healthy babies after all) and actually said that surely Im not allowed. Seems theyre having lots of meetings and emails about me, the legal team is involved to make sure that the midwifes are covered by what they can and cant do etc. Anyway, Sue Sellers (obstetrician) said well actually yes she can do whatever she likes and its obviously an informed choice.
So theyre supportive of our decision but being careful to cover themselves which is fair enough. SoM is making a kinda protocol for her midwifes so that they know what the plans are (eg, self testing hourly) and also making a list of things to look out for postnatally. Shes offered me a meeting with the neonatologist but Ive said no all my questions are answered and really if I thought it was a massive risky issue then I wouldn’t be birthing at home, so just gonna draw a line under it.
If I call a MW during the day then it will be my MW and probably SoM (theyve said Ill probably get two for the entire time just because of me being awkward and going against medical advice, so might need some MW wrangling there by the doula). If its during the night/weekend then itll be (probably) two of whoever is on call but they do home births every 6 weeks on average so its very unlikely that one of the two will be my old shit MW. I thought that they would be out every night but it seems not.
The only thing they said was about vaginal exams when they arrive and roughly every 4 hrs. I didn’t argue with it as I may actually want them when Im in labour, you never know, and also I couldn’t be bothered. When it comes to it Ill just say no thanks or yes please, theyve been respectful of choice up to now and I don’t think theyd bully me into it even if they tried.
Also Im going on the child protection list hehe! Well, not really, but they asked if they could put my details on their internal emergency duty desk child protection database, just so that if after birth baby is ill and they want to transfer but I refuse they can take him off me easier as theyve already done the paperwork. Ive said fine as Im not really bothered, what would they put on there ‘Helen has made an informed decision and is going against medical advice’.... happens every day. Also I would be as concerned as they were if there was some issue and would want to transfer. I also thought that it shows that Im happy to be flexible, theyre just covering their ass with a lot of it and I understand that, Id be exactly the same.
One thing they said is that toes/fingers might not actually give any blood as newborns circulation focuses on their core (for testing babys sugar levels at 4 hrs). Theyd love to teach me how to milk a foot (they also said side of the heel, ha! I hadn’t thought about the side) but legally not allowed to, so Ill be youtubing heel milking.
Baby slightly back to back but Ive been a bit lazy today so will get jiggling on the ball once I get some energy back after the meeting. Hes only slightly posterior tho and is kinda on the left side so I think a good enough position, nothing disasterous. Wee/BP etc fine and Ill have another appt Monday with the MW (38w) then its diabetic clinic week after.
Colostrum going great, got 4ml yesterday but nips a bit sore as it was a bit of a mammoth session so I think Ill be giving it a miss tonight. Have about 8ml now in the freezer after just a week. Aiming for 15ml so we’re doing fine.
All good tho, Im quite chilled about it, I realise that theyre a bit twitchy but end of the day the midwifes will be fine on the day and Ill just get on with birthing a baby same as billions of others before me.
PS, haha. Baby just turned bum out while I was typing this. Saves me getting down on all fours then!
went to a shoe sale today and tried shoes on but they don't look so good with elephant feet! 
