Nov. homebirth momma's in November-ACK! - Page 3

[ShwarmaQueen]

Originally Posted by Juliacat

I usually wash my hair every 2 or 3 days--I dislike washing my hair so that's my compromise between not having to wash it every day and not having it get totally gross

Omg me too! So I should expect it to get gross during labor? Sweat or gunk? I hadn't thought of this!

[ExuberantDaffodil]

Originally Posted by Juliacat

I usually wash my hair every 2 or 3 days--I dislike washing my hair so that's my compromise between not having to wash it every day and not having it get totally gross--but starting next week I am going to wash it every day, just because I know I will definitely not want to wash it when I go into labor, and with dd my hair did get totally gross.

I usually wash my hair every two or three days, too. Otherwise it gets all dried out and crispy. But by day 3 it looks a bit ripe up near the roots... Unless I have a freakishly short labor, I imagine I'll have time to soak in the tub or stand in the shower and get as squeaky clean as I so desire.

Originally Posted by ShwarmaQueen

Tell me about ginger in the crock pot. I have a huge root in my pantry and it's so not on my list of cravings lately. Do you slice it and soak it with the hot rags? Can I do it before hand?

My midwife recommends it sliced and "brewed" in the crockpot with a few rags (3 or 4?), yes. I had never heard of it before, but it is on her list of birth preparations. She said to start the crockpot when I feel like I am starting into labor.

[brightonwoman]

Still nothin here...

Yesterday I tried to come up with some time consuming projects to keep myself busy (made bread, uploaded a ton of new smilies for another forum I'm admin on). I took a nap with the Bear in case I was going to be up all night, visualized the baby in my arms...got some decent contractions in the afternoon/evening, got DH to give me a prostoglandin application and had about 45min of pretty good ctx after that. But since it was 10pm and I'd only had a 90min nap I knew I should try to rest/sleep in case it was labor. I decided if it kept up for a whole hour then I'd get up and walk around and try to stimulate things, but they quit and I fell asleep before the hour was up, so that tells me that my body isn't quite ready to labor yet i guess. I admit that when I woke up this morning I was a little surprised to be waking up pregnant--the last thing I remembered was glancing at the clock last night amid contractions and thinking "hmm, this might be it!"
Oh well, tomorrow is my sister's birthday, and that's the date I've kinda been thinking on for the entire pregnancy (it's 39wks and the last kiddo was born at 39...)

[stilllearning85]

Originally Posted by ShwarmaQueen

Tell me about ginger in the crock pot...I have a huge root in my pantry and it's so not on my list of cravings lately. Do you slice it and soak it with the hot rags? Can I do it before hand?

Yeah, my midwife is having me do this too. She said not only does it make the room smell good (which I guess can get pretty stale smelling...) but it is really good for the perineal compresses. She said you coould peel it and slice it ahead of time and keep it in the freezer until you go into labor, and then dump it in the crock pot with some water and wash cloths!

[vegasgrl]

Originally Posted by brightonwoman

got DH to give me a prostoglandin application

Happy 39 weeks! Me too! I woke up this morning and I actually thought today was the day! Sadly, I'm now thinking I just had to poop. It's a good thing actually - my mom's not coming until Saturday and I have a ton of work to get done this week at work, but I was so excited for a while!

The upper ring of my Aquaborn has a leak. But Waterbirth Solutions sent me out a replacement pool yesterday, that should be here on Thursday. (AWESOME customer service, for reals.) So I'd like to at least make it until then I guess...it would be WAY better than continually re-inflating the upper ring of the pool I have set up now.

I've been seriously out of control with the birth art, which is hilarious because I'm so not right-brained. I've actually grounded myself from glue at this point - I spilled the rubber cement AND the elmer's, and I got glue stick everywhere too. But all in all I'm INCREDIBLY happy with how my birth space is coming together, and I'm really, really excited for my LO to get here! (This is a huge deal for me; I was freaking out bad enough to still be considering adoption just a few weeks ago!)

[ExuberantDaffodil]

Originally Posted by vegasgrl

I woke up this morning and I actually thought today was the day! Sadly, I'm now thinking I just had to poop.

I am so glad I am not the only one who does this. :

[ExuberantDaffodil]

Originally Posted by brightonwoman

got DH to give me a prostoglandin application

This afternoon, I used a similar phrase with my mom ("prostoglandin application to my cervix..."), and she innocently said, "Oh? Where did you get that?" And I smirked and said, "My husband."

[brightonwoman]

Originally Posted by ExuberantDaffodil

This afternoon, I used a similar phrase with my mom ("prostoglandin application to my cervix..."), and she innocently said, "Oh? Where did you get that?" And I smirked and said, "My husband."

He referred to it as "putting his daddy juices on my mommy parts" but hey, whatever works.

Since my toddler is weaned I may have to have daddy help with a little nipple stimulation tonight too *ahem*

[brightonwoman]

just found out that my midwife is catching another baby today, so I guess I'm glad I'm not in labor at the moment...hopefully that baby will hurry up, so midwife can go home and get some rest and I can call her tonight.

[ShwarmaQueen]

Originally Posted by brightonwoman

He referred to it as "putting his daddy juices on my mommy parts" but hey, whatever works.

We refer to it as him making his "deposit"...

I love hearing everyone's nicknames!

[Lily's_Mom]

Oh my, we have a frisky ddc!

No wonder all these babies are popping out the last few days...with all this 'cervical ripening' going on.

[Juliacat]

Originally Posted by ShwarmaQueen

Omg me too! So I should expect it to get gross during labor? Sweat or gunk? I hadn't thought of this!

No, it's just that it had been probably 3 days since I washed my hair when I went into labor, and it was probably 3 days after the birth until I got the chance to wash it again (by which point dh was practically shoving me into the shower). I don't mind tub baths so much but I dislike showers and getting my hair wet a LOT.

I finished my schoolwork as much as I can get it done! I would say this gives the baby permission to come whenever it wants, but the personnel lady came to visit me at work today and basically the longer I stay pregnant, the more holiday and vacation pay I will get once I'm out.

BTW, I take back something I said in another thread about FMLA paperwork fees being bogus. The paperwork I got to take to my midwife is long and unnecessarily complicated. I think $25 is not unreasonable given the amount of staff time it takes to fill out stuff like that. Not saying anyone should be happy about it, though.

[Sonneva]

So I've been having intense BH since about noon anytime I stand or walk. I checked my cervix and I's say I'm about 2-3 cm dilated. Stay put until Sunday Baby! (Although this could all mean nothing as I was dilated 3cm with my DD for 6 weeks before she was born)

[athenalove46]

I'm curious about that ginger in the crock pot! Is that used down there after you give birth? All my midwife wants me to do is freeze some pads with witch hazel and water to help with the swelling. What exactly does the ginger do????

[Beppie]

Originally Posted by stilllearning85

Yeah, my midwife is having me do this too. She said not only does it make the room smell good (which I guess can get pretty stale smelling...) but it is really good for the perineal compresses. She said you coould peel it and slice it ahead of time and keep it in the freezer until you go into labor, and then dump it in the crock pot with some water and wash cloths!

My MW has me grate the ginger, wrap it in cheesecloth, and freeze in a ziplock bag. She used ginger compresses during my last homebirth (soaked in the crockpot beforehand) and the warmth on the perineum felt SO GOOD! This time around I froze 4 separate cheesecloth bundles of ginger. And yes it does smell very good, too!

[ShwarmaQueen]

I'm going to put the ginger on my to-do list today.

I've been having lots of irregular BHs for the last couple of days, so I'm hoping they'll be leading me somewhere, soon. Although 2 weeks if VERY far away, I'm NOT even able to cope with the thought of losing my HBAC. So, today is more manual labor, a walk at the mall, DTD, etc.

[Youngfrankenstein]

I am 37+2. I had an OB visit today to get a GBS test and an internal. My mw wanted me to get a vaginal-only swab as well as the "triple" swab but the Doc wouldn't do it.

I am measuring 40 cms which is normal for me. She did an internal without asking, I wasn't going to have one, and she said I was 1 cm dialated. I didn't need that info. My body really has shown no signs at all that anything is going on.

My hb mw had to cancel my appt yesterday because she had a birth. I don't know when I'll see her.

Now I'm wondering if they will call me with my GBS test results!? I guess I'll call them in a few days. Of course they don't know I'm having a homebirth and that if I'm positive, I'll probably just do the whole hibiclens thing.

Birth bed is made. I'll post pics of the room later.

[Shell_Ell]

After all that drama, I had a nice visit with my midwife and apprentice last night (all is well with me and baby, and yes, these contractions have been bringing him down!) I got together for coffee with her apprentice/my friend and she came with me and my kids to the grocery coop. Low and behold, we also ran into my other friend, who is the other midwife likely assisting at our birth. It was really funny- my 4 yo DS is really trying to grasp who all of these people are and what their roles are. I think he was wondering if I was going to have the baby in the coop. LOL!

I feel very, very lucky to have this birth team.

My contractions started again last night around midnight and lasted a few hours. Some of them came with a sharp pain on my left side... I am thinking ligament/nerve pain or something. Regardless, they were the most intense yet and I don't see being pregnant more than a few more days. Anyone's guess though. My midwife joked they will be hurrying to my house when I finally call-- but I don't think I've done THAT much work.

[stilllearning85]

just waiting around here... having no signes what-so-ever that are any different from the rest of the pregnancy! Does this mean I am going to go over due? Or is there really no correlation? I guess I am only 37 weeks so no hurry, but I have never even felt a BH contraction!

[ExuberantDaffodil]

Amy -- I didn't get a call about my GBS test. I had to find out at my next appointment. And I've been "1cm dilated" since 38 weeks, though I could be more now, I just refuse to find out. I don't want to know! I can't take the suspense! Ahhhhhh!!!!

stilllearning -- "No signs" are just as hard to interpret as "signs." I have BH contractions all day, every day. Sometimes pinchy ones wake me up at night. Sometimes they are so strong and tight and full of pressure that they take my breath away. And here I am two days shy of 40 weeks. *sigh*

Honestly, for me, I think the waiting game is one of the worst parts of (a nice, healthy, uncomplicated) pregnancy. Today I had a twinge of nervousness about the birth. I don't want to feel nervous. I quickly said several pregnancy/birthing affirmations to myself and then redirected my thoughts. I just have to remind myself to breathe Peeeeaaaaaace... I'll make it!