i will be here!

[hch]

have discussed with my mw about having a home birth and she is very happy for me to have one! With my last 2 babies i have had to be induced at 42 weeks and both times i wasnt anywhere near ready for labour! first labour was 48 hours long with every drug going second labour was an hour and natural but that was after 3 attempts at being induced and baby was in shock after literally just shooting out! so this time im not wanting to be induced which suprisingly my mw is happy with as she against having to induce woman who are not ready for labour but to make sure i dont go over she is willing to do a few stretch and sweeps to try and get me going which tbh im not keen on either as i have had then done before and were extremely painful but if means getting my homebirth then it can only be a good thing! plus with my 2nd baby my OH was kicked out after 30 minutes and i felt awful for him!

anyway! im looking for advice as to what i need at home , sheets , towels etc places where i can get bargains, how the midwifes work, when will they get to mine , how long after baby is born will they stay for, where is the best place to labour, (i was thinking about doing it in my front room on the floor) and any other advice would be great


sorry for the rambling

 

[sam#3]

Great news! I went 2 weeks over with #3 and i had 5 S&S but got there in the end! With my homebirths i have set up a sort of nest in the lounge, this has been made up of layers on the floor... double duvet then shower curtain for waterproofing and then layers of towels/blankets...... all of them have been tesco value or something like that cheap and cheerful. Ive kept the duvet but the rest of it got bundled up and thrown away each time. I havent actually given birth on it either time but its nice and comfy for labouring on, especially when you are wanting to throw yourself round in different positions... much more comfy than carpet/wooden flooring.
I called the midwives when i felt i needed to - i just sort of 'knew' when i needed them there. They stayed for a total of about 1.5 hours after the borth to do the checks/weighing/clearing up etc then they tucked us al up in bed and made us tea and toast bless them!! I havent had a natural 3rd stage with the other 2 but will be with this one and i imagine this can influence how long they are there for.
I used a lot of towels so thats something i would recommend having a lot of and with anything else its prob stuff you will have there anyway - thats the great bonus of being at home you cant forget to take things with you!!
With where to labour i would choose somewhere in the house you enjoy being and feel calm in - i chose my lounge both times but had my #2 on the bathroom floor but preferably would be the lounge for me

 

[PeanutBean]

Welcome to the club!

 

[Bournefree]

YAY big welcome!
There is lots of info on here for everything you might need or want to ask.
Check out the first page of the home birth and home birth hopefuls sticky, some links you might be interested in.
Xxx

 

[MummyMagoo]

Wooohooo welcome hun!
x

 

[hch]

thanks girls! i find myself really excited about doing it one day and the next day thinking omg!! will be discussing it more in depth with the mw next week!