First home birth, questions

[Ktietje85]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here. My name is Kate and I am expecting my second baby (first at home) in 7 weeks, give or take. DD was born in the hospital and despite totally uncomplicated labor, they pushed many interventions on me -- pitocin, water broken, IV, etc. Needless to say we're going a different route this time.

I have a team of midwives who will be attending the birth, and we only started seeing them around 27 weeks so I feel like we're really playing catch-up here (yes we had prenatal care prior to that, but it was CNM and OB, they do not do home birth). I did read several of the "stickie'd" threads and have talked to some friends who had home births. I am NOT worried about it at all, I trust my body and I know I can do it. But there are some practical matters I'd love to know more about....

1. DD will be only 18 months (maybe) when DS arrives. She is still nursing. Did anyone else tandem nurse right after delivery? If your kids were close together, how did they handle the birth? We will (hopefully) have a friend there just for her but I know she won't like that much, she will want me.

2. What herbs make a good bath afterward? I was not really sore after only 6 - 8 hours and did not bleed too heavily, but I tore (granted I was on my back and I won't be this time) and recovery from that was AWFUL. I've read about people taking herbal baths and I've seen golden seal, chamomile, and comfrey root mentioned, but what else? I would prefer to mix my own than buy a mix.

3. What essential oils work well for massage during? I have several, including lavender, clove, peppermint, lemon, orange, etc. I would prefer to mix my own blend and I have heard clove is good.

4. Carrier oils -- what works best for perineal massage before and during the birth? I have heard about vitamin E oil. I have olive, coconut, sweet almond, and evening primrose already and would prefer to use one of those instead of buying something new.

5. Cloth -- some people say it's really better to just use disposable pads or even depends, but I really didn't bleed that heavily the first time and I never leaked. I didn't even use hospital pads after the first 24 hours, just regular ones and still no problems. I sewed up 12 large (12") pads and 18 small (9") pads to use. DH knows how to do the laundry just fine and will do it no problem. Same with diapers, he washes DD's all the time so he won't have any issue with that. I just don't see why cloth wouldn't be softer/better to use. I even sewed cloth wipes and what will become cloth ice packs too. (I sew just about everything for us.)

6. Food/drink -- what did you really enjoy having during labor? I was thinking of keeping soup ingredients in the freezer so someone could toss it in the crock pot (I have two luckily, so one will be with me for compresses) whenever, and I always bake bread so I'll keep some frozen. I also want to keep some tea and lemonade and cranberry juice around. Was anything else helpful?

7. Pregnancy/raspberry leaf tea -- If you drank this, did it help you? Especially if you had one pregnancy/birth where you didn't and one where you did, did you notice a difference? I have been drinking a mixture since around 25 - 26 weeks and I'm now drinking 32 oz. or more per day (I'm 33 weeks now). I'm curious if it really helped anyone.

8. Blankets -- since I'm delivering in July and we don't have a/c do I REALLY need to warm up the blankets when I'm in labor? It is frequently 80 degrees in this house, plus of course I'll be holding the baby skin-to-skin. I feel like I'll be so hot already from labor that I won't even want warm blankets. I had night sweats the first few days after DD was born, I was so hot, and that was January. I suppose we could always have a cool day and I should be prepared but I kind of feel like we won't need that.

Any other thoughts would be very helpful. Thanks!

[averlee]

Hello, welcome, and best wishes!
I'll do my best to answer all your questions!
1. I've known lots of women who keep on nursing with no problems. Some women say the breasts seem to "know" which child is nursing. Even nursing during labor is OK and may actually help.
2.witch hazel, hands down. Also plantain, uva ursi, red clover, and garlic. I also used regular tea- black, green, whatever. Some women swear by coffee. All herbs have tannins, which will help to some extent. I added the brew to my sitz baths and also to my wash bottle. It helped A LOT.
3. Any essential oil you like would be fine, but I could not stand smells- even my favorite smells- during the birth. I'd recommend a plain almond oil, or another carrier oil, for body massage.
4. All the oils you mentioned for perinneal massage would be fine, but what worked magic for me was an entire bottle of arnica essential oil, poured on and rubbed in late in the pushing phase.
5. Cloth is fine for post-partum. I didn't really have much bleeding, either, but was often too lazy/blissed out/sore to change my pads frequently enough. But honestly, it was no big deal- we washed everything together (diapers, pads, sheets, clothes) those first few weeks and had no problems, without sorting or doing anything special.
6. I liked: chocolate almond milk, yogurt, bananas, hard-boiled eggs, and avocado. After the birth, I wanted Chinese food. It was the first few weeks with a newborn that my frozen soups & casseroles came in handy. The lasagna I made a few days before the birth was SO GOOD, when we were too tired to cook, but very hungry.
7. My midwives "prescribed" a pregnancy tea for me with rasberry leaf, red clover, alfalfa and oatgrass, and a bunch of other herbs. I drank it faithfully- with rosehips and other stuff added to cover the grassy flavor. I grew to love my Mama's tea and it was fun to make.
8. You're probably right that the blankets won't need to be warmed. But, you will probably need TONS of blankets and towels. Somehow, they all end up soaking wet and covered with who-knows-what within minutes.

Happy to tell you what I think!

[littlebb]

I wanted to mention that I've been using Red Raspberry Leaf tincture in addition to the tea. With the tea, it has to steep 8 hours to get the full effect and if I forget to brew and steep, it gets lost in the shuffle. With the tincture, it's 60 drops per day (split up into two 30-drop doses). I put it into a gulp of water - tastes just like tea. I can tell a HUGE difference on the days I don't take it. The days I do, I have tons of toning contractions (just tightening uterine muscles). Also, my midwife started me on Alfalfa at week 32, then I'll be adding Poly-Jean at 36 weeks through the duration of my PG.

Also, for the peri massage oil, my MW has a blend she's been personally making and using for years - passed down from generations of MW's she trained with over the years. I think it has a base of Jojoba Oil. DH and I have been using olive, coconut and almond oil (whatever is handy) for stretching exercises and for pelvic massage (I have serious hot spots on my butt under my pelvic bones due to the way they sit).

As for food, we're going to make a huge batch of Minestrone to freeze and have around during and after labor for us and for the MWs. I know I'll have plenty of fruit and fresh produce options. My MW suggested having white grape juice and fresh fruit to keep blood sugar up and in a good place during labor. We're going to keep a bunch of berries and fruit and yogurt and bloody mary mix on hand for placenta smoothies after, too.

I feel the same way about blankets - it's hard to imagine me or baby being cold considering it's 90 degrees or higher outside right now. But our birth supply list calls for 4 receiving blankets, so I made some real simple ones. I don't plan to have much more than that around, but I figure it's best to be prepared.

[ColoradoMama]

Here's a picture to answer your first question!

I've used this herb combo after my last three births. It may be included in your midwife's birth supplies list.

For blankets, I would definitely have them around. Your baby will be wet when he/she comes out, and even if it's warm in the room will probably need blankets. As for having them warm ahead of time, I doubt that's as important.

Good luck!

[littlebb]

Okay, for the perineum massage oil for both before and during the birth, here's what's listed on my MW's personal concoction I mentioned above: The essential oils are Bulgarian Lavender, Clary Sage, Blue Chamomile, Roman Chamomile, and Jasmine. The essential oils are blended in pure Jojoba oil. Her label says she chose these oils for their calming, antiseptic, healing and anti-inflammatory qualities as well as for their beautiful scent. And the oil can be used diluted as a baby oil.

[Comtessa]

Hi Kate! Welcome to MDC!

Originally Posted by Ktietje85

we only started seeing them around 27 weeks so I feel like we're really playing catch-up here

We did the same - except we booked with our MW's at 30 weeks. Don't worry, 27 weeks is totally okay for 'catch-up'

3. What essential oils work well for massage during? I have several, including lavender, clove, peppermint, lemon, orange, etc. I would prefer to mix my own blend and I have heard clove is good.

Be careful with clove oil! I've tried to use it many times for massage because I love the scent, but I've yet to find a dilution small enough that doesn't burn my skin. I'd recommend ginger instead, it has similar warming properties to clove, and can help increase blood flow and reduce nausea, too.

I found that clary sage and rosemary in a burner worked really well for me during transition. However, the PP was right - any scent can be overwhelming when you're in labor. I had to have someone put the burner in the bathroom and half-close the door - that was just about the right level of essential oil for me.

4. Carrier oils -- what works best for perineal massage before and during the birth? I have heard about vitamin E oil. I have olive, coconut, sweet almond, and evening primrose already and would prefer to use one of those instead of buying something new.

I'd vote for the evening primrose, since it has natural prostaglandins in it. Could help, and can't hurt.

5. Cloth -- some people say it's really better to just use disposable pads or even depends

I've been using cloth pads. I prefer them to the plasticky feel of disposable pads. I just wish I had more, especially because the lochia has a more unpleasant odor (to me) than regular menstrual flow, so I've been changing pads much more regularly than with a normal period. My small collection of cloth pads hasn't been able to keep up, so in between laundry days I've had to use disposable pads (yuck).

6. Food/drink -- what did you really enjoy having during labor?

Banana & yogurt smoothies with lots of raw honey, frozen grapes, white grape juice, plain toast with butter, peach sorbet, raspberry-leaf-tea popsicles. I never would have made it through labor without these things. I had lots of other stuff on hand, but these were the only things I could stomach. I tried honey sticks, too, but all they did was make me vomit.

Good luck and happy birthing!

[donutmolly]

I don't have any answers to some of your questions, but in regards to tandemn nursing, yes, I nursed DD1 shortly after DD2 was born. I didn't end up nursing them together very often (I couldn't figure out how to hold them comfortably). Never had any issues, and having a nursing toddler makes engorgement much more manageable -- DD1 was in heaven when I kept asking her to nurse a bit more!

I never ate during labor, but was super hungry afterwards. All I drank was water. But I also had short active labors.

I've used only disposable pads, but am planning on trying cloth this time around. I've heard many, many good thingsd about cloth pads PP, and I personally hated the feel of paper/plastic. It got really old, really fast.

[stormborn]

I can only answer a few~
#4: I liked arnica with both my hosp and home birth and the leftover is great for bruises later on.
#5: I bought some overnight cloth and disposables but ended up just stuffing prefolds into my underwear.
#8: I needed heated blankets for my (pit. induced hospital birth but not for my homebirth...even in transition I never got the shakes like with my first. If you have an electric dryer it sould be easy enough to heat some up if you want though.

I hope you have a great birth!