Havent had time to read he thread, but the quick low-down; first 2 in hospital. Last 3 @ home. Im actually considering going back to the hospital because of the cost. Though even as I write this, I am thinking there has to be a way to stay home.
Last homebirth we lived in the country. This time we're in townhouses ("student housing") so I'm a little nervous about the close proximity of people. It's good to hear no one thought anything of it with you ;)
zuzusplace, I gave birth to my second in a birthing pool out on our back deck. At the time, we lived next to a stodgy 55 year old bachelor, whose yard was in very close proximity to our own. I hadn't intended to deliver in the water (harhar!) but once I got in, I talked at length about how I was never getting out again. I hadn't intended to deliver out in the backyard, but I did, and I wasn't quiet about it.
Apparently, Neal was in and out of his house during the birth (I found out later from my husband.) The next time I saw him, I was unloading groceries from the car and I blushed 18 shades of red and introduced him to the baby. I wasn't going to bring anything up, but he said, "Born outside, eh? Well that was an experience I'd never expected to have! Good for you!" And he whapped me on the back and went into his house chuckling. :)
• Have you had (or planned) a homebirth before?
My first four were hospital births, the last 3 homebirths.
• If yes, are you seeing the same midwife as before?
Yes, she is one of my favorite people!
• If you've had a homebirth before, what was your favorite thing that you had, and what did you wish that you would have had?
I wish I would have had a person to do photos. As it was I have 1 photo of the baby from my first, one from the second, and a few of baby from the third. None of labor or me pregnant that day. I also would like to have music on, which just hasn't happened yet. Oh, and I would like to have something extravagent and lovely put up to eat for after baby is born. Oatmeal and lasagna were good, but a real treat would just be nice.Like a big bowl of fresh fruit with all the expensive fruits I normally skip ;) I loved having my shower, and labored in there for all 3.
Alethia, I love that you delivered outside! I have always daydreamed about it...there is such an awesome feel to the idea.
wendy- it was really nice. it was a warm, sunny morning and I had planted alyssum all around the deck, so the air not only felt nice-- it smelled lovely!
one of the three midwives that ended up attending my birth was also a photographer, so I ended up getting about 4 or 5 pictures every minute during pushing, birth, and immediately afterwards. such a treat!
this time, though, i think it's safe to say we will be delivering inside!
Another homebirth mama here!
• Have you had (or planned) a homebirth before?
Yes, DD1, DD2 and DS2 were all born at home.
• If yes, are you seeing the same midwife as before?
No, it's not in the budget this time. 
I'll be getting prenatal care at the local military hospital (ugh, I can see a lot of butting of heads coming) and will have a UC.
• If you've had a homebirth before, what was your favorite thing that you had, and what did you wish that you would have had?
My favorite thing was definitely my birth tub.
• Do you have any fears that you feel you need to work through?
My fear doesn't deal with the birth itself, but from dealing with prenatal care from the Naval Hospital. I don't do testing, vaginal exams, ultrasounds, etc. and I know from dealing with them before that they don't like that. I won't be going in to get the pregnancy confirmed or for a prenatal for quite a while. I love the birth itself, as long as I'm left alone and nobody talks to me or touches me.
• Have you had (or planned) a homebirth before?
My first was a birthing center, second at home, third at hospital (blanket insurance coverage), fourth at home, fifth at home, sixth at home w/different midwife
• If yes, are you seeing the same midwife as before?
NO! I had a horrible birth last time. Due to complete mismanagement of the third stage, I had a complete uterine prolapse. Horrible recovery.
• If you've had a homebirth before, what was your favorite thing that you had, and what did you wish that you would have had?
My midwife from Texas!
Frankly, I may never homebirth again. If I might have a repeat of last time I may as well go to the hospital and get mismanaged for less out of pocket! That is why I'm reading this thread! I want to remember why I WAS a fervent home birth supporter.
My dd, who was at my last three births and saw the difference between midwives, the mismanagement of my labor and held my brand new baby while the midwife 'fisted' my uterus back inside me, is using the same midwife. This has been very tough for me. It finally came down to me telling myself, "It's her pregnancy, she is a grown woman and entitled to make her own birth choices."
I'm sorry for all the negativity and I certainly don't want to discourage anyone from home birthing!
I'm wondering if using a different midwife and having another wonderful homebirth may be a way for me to 'heal'?
Itsasecret, I have a friend who wanted so desperately wanted a homebirth. She went with the midwife who looked better on paper. Her experience was unpleasant to say the least,including a badly mismanaged labor and delivery. She just had another baby,at home with a different midwife, and it very much helped her heal. She was very upfront with her about what had happened and what she needed and it was everything she had wanted.I am so sorry for your trauma and hope my friend's story helps. I think just talking to a different midwife might help,even if you did plan to go to the hospital.
• Have you had (or planned) a homebirth before? My daughter's birth was planned as a home birth, but we ended up transferring to a hospital. I was GBS+, which would have been fine, but my water broke and with no real signs of labour after 8+ hours I went in for an induction.
• If yes, are you seeing the same midwife as before? Planning a home birth again this time, and we've got the same primary midwife.
• If you've had a homebirth before, what was your favorite thing that you had, and what did you wish that you would have had? I was really looking forward to using the birthing tub for a water birth or help with contractions. Hopefully this time!
• If you haven't had a homebirth before, what are you most looking forward to? A more peaceful and natural birth.
• Do you have any fears that you feel you need to work through? Yes, I don't want things to go the way they did last time. I am really worried that something similar will happen and we will have to transfer again. I had total faith in my body the first time around, and now I don't. :( I know I can get through the labour without pain medication (did it last time even though I was induced) but I worry my body will fail me in other ways.
Laura, did you get antibiotics at the hospital for your GBS? I've had a crazy and varied experience with GBS in my pregnancies and I'm always interested to hear how other mamas deal with it.
i have had a hospital birth in the past which i did not enjoy. i had no where to walk around and there were students poking their heads through the doors and the midwives acted like i was an inconvenience to them. they just wanted to be in the staff room drinking tea! i really hope i get a home birth this time. i cant imagine anything better that being in my comfortable home with my new baby. this also allows close family to pop round during my labour whenever they please which i find comforting.
i hated hospital last time. there was no point in being there. the midwife left me alone most of the time, i had no pain releif, my husband got sent home as soon as DS was born and i was placed on a ward full of people who snored so loud that i had no sleep at all. the next day i had to wait untill evening for the doctor the check DS before i was allowed home. to me it was a lot of stress for something which could have been straight forward.
im looking forward to making my house comfortable with blankets, candles and hot chocolate.
it can be slightly worrying incase something goes wrong which is only a natural feeling but knowing that an ambulance can be called at any time is comforting.
i cant wait!!! x
Oh, I'm so sorry you had a birth like that! I think your homebirth will be like night and day. 
• Have you had (or planned) a homebirth before?
My first four were hospital births, the last 3 homebirths.
• If yes, are you seeing the same midwife as before?
Yes, she is one of my favorite people!
• If you've had a homebirth before, what was your favorite thing that you had, and what did you wish that you would have had?
I wish I would have had a person to do photos. As it was I have 1 photo of the baby from my first, one from the second, and a few of baby from the third. None of labor or me pregnant that day. I also would like to have music on, which just hasn't happened yet. Oh, and I would like to have something extravagent and lovely put up to eat for after baby is born. Oatmeal and lasagna were good, but a real treat would just be nice.Like a big bowl of fresh fruit with all the expensive fruits I normally skip ;) I loved having my shower, and labored in there for all 3.
Wendybird, I felt the same way about photos, I had pretty much none of any of my births, and when I thought my previous baby was going to be my last (ha!) I asked my friend who's a professional photographer to come take pictures. I am SO GLAD she did! The pictures I have from DD's birth are amazing and I truly treasure them. So I would say, get a photographer if you can. =]
(If anyone's interested, here's the pics from DD's homebirth: THE BIRTH & AFTER THE BIRTH)
• Have you had (or planned) a homebirth before?
My first was a birthing center, second at home, third at hospital (blanket insurance coverage), fourth at home, fifth at home, sixth at home w/different midwife
• If yes, are you seeing the same midwife as before?
NO! I had a horrible birth last time. Due to complete mismanagement of the third stage, I had a complete uterine prolapse. Horrible recovery.
• If you've had a homebirth before, what was your favorite thing that you had, and what did you wish that you would have had?
My midwife from Texas!
Frankly, I may never homebirth again. If I might have a repeat of last time I may as well go to the hospital and get mismanaged for less out of pocket! That is why I'm reading this thread! I want to remember why I WAS a fervent home birth supporter.
My dd, who was at my last three births and saw the difference between midwives, the mismanagement of my labor and held my brand new baby while the midwife 'fisted' my uterus back inside me, is using the same midwife. This has been very tough for me. It finally came down to me telling myself, "It's her pregnancy, she is a grown woman and entitled to make her own birth choices."
I hope this birth is very healing for you, mama!
Has anyone had one homebirth with no birthtub, and then the next *with* a tub?? Any preference? I had my first HB with no tub because I didn't think it would make enough difference to be worth the cost, but for the second (my most recent birth) I bought an actual birth tub and LOVED it!! I will never get rid of it until I'm in menopause and absolutely SURE I'll never give birth again. =]
I actually got antibiotics starting at home with an IV, and would have birthed there like that if labour had started to get going. After the transfer to hospital they continued the IV antibiotics. For this pregnancy I`m going to see what I can do to avoid a GBS positive test result. Anyone have any luck with that?
Laura, did you get antibiotics at the hospital for your GBS? I've had a crazy and varied experience with GBS in my pregnancies and I'm always interested to hear how other mamas deal with it.
I've been Group B unknown for both my labours, and so avoided a lot of the stress of it, but one of the things I did read was to do garlic suppositories. You should look it up, but I think the directions were to thread a needle through a peeled clove of garlic and stick it into your vaginal cavity like a tampon overnight. It's supposed to get rid of GBS. Never tried it, but meant to if I was positive.
With DD1 I labored in the tub but she wasn't born in the tub. My midwife got to my house and I wasn't sure if I was really in labor or not. She asked if I wanted to be checked (I usually don't do any VEs), and I said yes just to see if I had started dilating yet. I climbed out of the birth tub and 2 steps away my water broke as she crowned, 2 contractions and ~5 minutes later she was out. (So yes, I was definitely in labor, LOL.) My next two were born in the tub, and I definitely preferred it that way.
• Have you had (or planned) a homebirth before? No. I really wanted one w/ DD, but was in FL at the time, and I could not find a willing MW to do it. :( I did have a hospital birth w/ a midwife, and it was ok. My aftercare totally sucked. DD was born in December, so all the nurses were on vacation, and they had the floor staffed w/ 1st and 2nd semester community college students. They knew nothing, unfortunately, and the one nurse we did have came in and talked to me and DH for about an hour about how we should enjoy DD while she's a baby b/c her 8 y/o son is a terror and talks back, then she started crying about how she didn't know where she went wrong, and just wouldn't leave us to enjoy our new baby that we had to wait 6 hours for the nursery to bring us b/c she was "cold."
• If yes, are you seeing the same midwife as before? No, different states.
• If you haven't had a homebirth before, what are you most looking forward to? Being in control of the environment, will likely water birth in our giant garden tub, (a major selling point of this house was b/c I could birth in the tub, lol), and eating/drinking and moving around if I want to. And sleeping in my own bed w/out people constantly trying to take the baby to the nursery so I can "rest" yet waking me up every hour to check my temps/blood pressure. My after care was terrible, did I mention that already?
• Do you have any fears that you feel you need to work through? I am nervous about potential complications, but I feel I've proven myself already, even though DD's birth will have been 8 years before this baby's birth. I know I can do it, I'm a little older, but I'm a lot wiser, and I know I can do this.
• Have you had (or planned) a homebirth before? - Planning a homebirth for our first baby.
• If yes, are you seeing the same midwife as before? - N/A
• If you've had a homebirth before, what was your favorite thing that you had, and what did you wish that you would have had? N/A
• If you haven't had a homebirth before, what are you most looking forward to? - Being in control, not having someone in my face all the time. Basically, looking forward to greeting our new little one in our new home together.
• Do you have any fears that you feel you need to work through? - Honestly, no. Maybe I am being naive, but I really don't. I just feel confident. I am sure things will surface and I will just have to work through them as they come.
• Have you had (or planned) a homebirth before? - yes, DS was born at home, planned
• If yes, are you seeing the same midwife as before? - no, wah, my MW is moving
• If you've had a homebirth before, what was your favorite thing that you had, and what did you wish that you would have had? Liked having the fishy pool, don't think we missed anything
• If you haven't had a homebirth before, what are you most looking forward to? NA
• Do you have any fears that you feel you need to work through? - I do actually. I was really positive and used hypnobirthing for my first birth. But this time, I am really afraid of tearing my perineum for some reason, LOL.
• Have you had (or planned) a homebirth before? - Yes. I had a homebirth for my first baby.
• If yes, are you seeing the same midwife as before? - Yes! I feel very comfortable with her and her partner. I am confident that they are highly qualified.
• If you've had a homebirth before, what was your favorite thing that you had, and what did you wish that you would have had? The birth pool. Ahhh, wonderful warm water. I don't know what I would have done without it. It was wonderful. I wish we would have conveyed to the midwives better how far along I was so she would have gotten there a little sooner. She actually got there after I couldn't help but push and my baby was born 30 minutes later or less.
• Do you have any fears that you feel you need to work through? - Not really. I had full dual care last time and want to have back up this time and some testing, but mostly just see the midwives.
• Do you have any fears that you feel you need to work through? I am nervous about potential complications, but I feel I've proven myself already, even though DD's birth will have been 8 years before this baby's birth. I know I can do it, I'm a little older, but I'm a lot wiser, and I know I can do this.
Hey Christy - I just wanted to mention that at my first birth (homebirth), there were various complications right after the birth, including bad tearing for me, and baby needing deep suction a few times and oxygen - and you know, the midwives had all of the gear right there at the birth, and were able to do most of it with her right on my chest. So it's completely normal to worry about complications, but don't stress too much about it in terms of having a homebirth.
For me, the moment of birth is such a minor aspect of the whole experience - the prenatal visits and the postnatal care makes SUCH an impact on the changing family, and THAT is the reason I always advocate for my friends to get a midwife:-) Who can beat 45 minute appointments over cups of tea, and home visits in that first week? PLUS, the empowered care where the MOM is in charge is SOOOOOOOOOOOO awesome. From the first moments my first was born, they were asking MY permission to check her out and it was clear this was my show. My sil had a totally different experience with an OBYGYN in a hospital, where she was asking, 'do you think it's okay if I pick him up?' To me, this subtle difference makes all the difference in the world. Anyways, you don't need my rant, just thought I'd try to put your mind at ease a little!!!!!
I'm through half of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. The first half is all birth stories of women who birthed at the Farm. It seems really early for this, but I have a feeling I'll be renewing this library book many times, going over the stories, and bolstering my resolve and beliefs about birthing. I'm getting pretty well convinced that I need to prepare my mind really really well, and if I do that, my labor will go really really well. :D
• Have you had (or planned) a homebirth before? - yes, all three of my births so far have been planned homebirths
• If yes, are you seeing the same midwife as before? - I WISH. We moved across the country, and now that we're pregnant, I'm feeling particularly homesick. I knew what to expect with them, and they knew how I birthed, and we had a great system going....
• If you've had a homebirth before, what was your favorite thing that you had, and what did you wish that you would have had? We had the fishy pool from Canadian Tire for each birth, and I LOVED labouring in that. Loved my exercise ball, my music, my own bathroom, and my bed to collapse into:-) I can't think of anything I wish I had - perhaps a professional photographer. That's one thing I've always wanted, as I LOVE seeing the story of peoples' labours and births!
• If you haven't had a homebirth before, what are you most looking forward to? NA
• Do you have any fears that you feel you need to work through? - I feel pretty confident that I'll be able to stand my ground and have the birth I want (helps that I tend to be pretty quick!) but I do have fears that I'll get a new or inexperienced midwife who will try to interfere too much or not leave me alone. Also, I would like to focus a lot on not tearing this time around. That was my big focus with my last birth, and I panted and slowly eased his head out no problems, was so proud of how much I slowed that down, but then in turning his shoulders got totally stuck, he bruised my pubic bone hard and then I had to shift and push HARD just to get him out before he got too stuck, and I ended up tearing. Better, for sure, than having him get totally stuck, but still disappointing.
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