I have my first prenatal appt today with my midwife and I am super excited. Should be quite different then the Ob visits!
Hope all went well! How did it go and how was it different?
Hi! Thank you for asking!
It went great. My midwife was here for 2 hours! I love and value the whole body approach to midwifery.
Perhaps the only thing that was wrong with the whole thing was the chaos of a toddler running around, pulling papers out of files, etc. But over time I am hoping that will settle.
I am really nervous about telling family, and will not be doing so for a while.
How is everyone else?
Midwives can be so great. Two hours! Where else would you get that level of care??
Midwives can be so great. Two hours! Where else would you get that level of care??
Hi! Thank you for asking!
It went great. My midwife was here for 2 hours! I love and value the whole body approach to midwifery.
Perhaps the only thing that was wrong with the whole thing was the chaos of a toddler running around, pulling papers out of files, etc. But over time I am hoping that will settle.
I am really nervous about telling family, and will not be doing so for a while.
How is everyone else?
LOL at my last midwife appointment DS was running around their office opening and closing all the doors. I think midwives are generally used to it!
I did not tell my mother that I was having a HB until after DS was born when she asked, "Are you home yet?" and I said, "Mom I never left!" I just knew she would worry. I was very nervous with my first pregnancy about telling people I was having a homebirth but I find myself way less self-conscious about it this time around.
How is everyone doing? Anyone doing much to prepare for your out of hospital birth?
I am wondering what I will do with my 2 year old at the time, but not stressing. I really want her to be present, but I am not sure I want dh distracted with her. I suppose this is why you ask a friend to come over & watch. Or maybe it will just happen during resting hours.
This pregnancy is flying by!
hello to you all!
Congratulations on your getting midwives! I really love homebirth :)
We are planning on having our 4th homebirth, 3rd water birth this time around. Each time has been a good experience, two were only 2/3 hours each. The other was a start stop labor that went through the night and ended with a morning birth. Something about the safety and comfort of home just makes the whole experience more empowering for me. Plus I don't want to deal with interventions being pushed at me while I am in the zone.
I just hate being messed with, so being at home allows me to just labor peacefully.
I ordered my birth kit. Shipping was pretty high from America, but I've used the same company for my other births and didnt even bother looking anywhere else. I got some afterbirth homeopathics. Supposed to help with afterbirth pains. Guess we'll see.
I just hate being messed with, so being at home allows me to just labor peacefully.
I ordered my birth kit. Shipping was pretty high from America, but I've used the same company for my other births and didnt even bother looking anywhere else. I got some afterbirth homeopathics. Supposed to help with afterbirth pains. Guess we'll see.
Totally agree. I hate being messed with too.
Woohoo for birth kits!!!
How is everyone doing? Anyone doing much to prepare for your out of hospital birth?
I am wondering what I will do with my 2 year old at the time, but not stressing. I really want her to be present, but I am not sure I want dh distracted with her. I suppose this is why you ask a friend to come over & watch. Or maybe it will just happen during resting hours.
This pregnancy is flying by!
hello to you all!
I haven't done much at all! I have a prenatal on May 11, and then another one on June 1 where we'll go over the supplies list. And we just moved into a new house last month and we still don't have living room curtains which don't bother me right now but I know I'm going to want to block the world out once I'm in labor.
No idea what we are going to do with DS who will be just turning 2 at the time. I don't think he would do well being present at the birth. He gets really upset when one of us hurts ourselves and he's just too little to have "pain with a purpose" explained to him in any meaningful way. It really is going to depend on what time of day I go into active labor, but I expect he'll probably go stay with MIL.
My oldest daughter's birthday is May 11, then Mother's day.
Hi ladies! My dh and I currently live in Chicago where we have a wonderful midwife. Unfortunately we will be moving to Oregon, where I'm from, July 1 when I am 36 weeks pregnant. 
The timing is in no way ideal, but we long to get out of Chicago for many reasons and it's the very earliest date we can (I graduate from my Master's program on June 28). Anyway, this leaves us in the precarious position of switching care really late it the game. We are committed to home birth, but also want to make sure we are supported and comfortable as this is our first birth. We have interviewed several midwife's in one city in Oregon, but there's a good possibility that dh's job will take us elsewhere and we may not know until the last minute where we will be moving. This would leave me at 36 weeks pregnant, moving across the country, scrambling to find a house AND a care provider. It's enough to make my head spin! Another alternative, that my mom has been suggesting, is choosing a birth center in each city (Eugene of Portland really) that we feel like we can trust and just count on that. The benefit with a birth center is that the one's I've called so far are happy to bring on new clients (as long as they have good records of prior care) and don't need much notice in advance. It would also alleviate us needing to have our house in "perfect order" if I were to go into labor early. Additionally, our insurance will cover 90% of our care at a birthing center, but won't cover a midwife as they are all lay midwife's in Oregon. They cover our midwife here in Chicago because she is a CNM. So the idea of using a birth center this time around makes sense logically, but I feel pretty attached to birthing at home and don't really want to gve it up unless we have to. I guess I'm looking for advise. What would you do? Any opinions or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Aww who do you have Justchanti? Is it Hillary? she used to work with the midwives I go to. (IF we have a 3rd I will consider home birth and hire her, my 1st birth was not high risk or anything but it was horrifically difficult and I want to get 1 natural birth under my belt before I attempt it)
I'd definitely go with the birth center. ~ You won't hardly be unpacked!!! Too much stress!!! I know someone who went into labor ON MOVING DAY and had a HBAC- it was NUTS.
Yes we have Hillary and LOVE her!!! Really couldn't be happier. It's the saddest part about moving for sure! We considered moving after the baby is born, but we need to get to Oregon in the early summer so that get DH can enroll in a masters program as a resident next summer.
WOW, rough spot. I would probably just go to the birthing center. I'm all about home birth, but when i first got pregnant and had to figure otu what our choices were I acknowledged that I might have to go the hospital route. I checked out all my options. But I think I'm okay ot homebirth here. NOt a huge homebirth population but it is done.
For those of you who have had homebirths, what would you say is your favorite aspect of it? Or compared to the hospital what do you like better/prefer at home? For first births, what is something you are really looking forward to about birthing at home.
Yes we have Hillary and LOVE her!!! Really couldn't be happier. It's the saddest part about moving for sure! We considered moving after the baby is born, but we need to get to Oregon in the early summer so that get DH can enroll in a masters program as a resident next summer.
If she knows that you're moving... could she maybe recommend someone she knows?
Or barring that, this is gonna sound crazy... could your husband go ahead of you, and you stay with a friend here? If I had a friend in that situation, i'd totally let em have a home birth at my house!!!!
Justchanti: Andaluz Birthing Center in Portland (if you end up there) is exceptional. I never delivered there as we moved to California. However, the midwives I saw were so warm & comforting. I highly suggest it. I imagine they could fit you in late too. They also have one in Tualitin. http://www.waterbirth.net/
Intime, can't answer your question yet because I have only birthed in the hospital. (and didn't like it)
I had an awful dream last night that I had to go to the hospital and I was reprimanded and informed about how unsafe my midwives were. Ugh. It was exhausting and disheartening. I was happy it was just a dream. It is the second one I have had in regards to home vs. hospital.
intime - great questions!
I think what I like the most is that I can do what I want. I know where everything is, I can eat/drink what I want, go for a walk outside or stay inside, shower/bath when I feel I need to, wear my own clothes or nothing at all if I want with no inhibitions. I love baking a birthday cake while I'm in early labour so we can all have a piece after to celebrate, I also love that I can shower and go to my OWN bed with however many pillows and blankets I need to sleep with baby. It's also great that if I want to stay in bed the wholllleeee day, I can, or I can get up and do stuff without any restrictions! Last time I was mowing the lawn when DD was 18hrs old, I just felt that good!
For family bonding, it is amazing too. DS2 was just a couple days shy of turning 2 with his little sister was born, both kids were asleep but he woke up and got to hold her when she was half an hour old. It was such a special time for him and I really feel that the reason we don't have "new baby syndrome" with our kids is because it's such a non-event. They're not shuttled off somewhere else while this alien invades their territory and takes up their parent's time. It's just a new person joining our family, not a big deal.
Being a first timer myself (for both birthing and a homebirth), I have no tips for you. But I'm feeling very similarly. I have a friend who will be loaning me a la bassine too. She said that she had no interest in staying in the water with her last birth, but I've heard of so many mamas who swear by it. I at least want the option of having it there, in case it ends up being a lifesaver. I'm not sure how all the logistics work in terms of keeping the water at a comfortable/stable temp. Our midwife kind of wanted us to rent a fancier pool with rigid sides and a water temp. controller, but it costs $250 or more to rent them!
I'm with you on the financial hardship too. It looks like you live in the Bay Area too, and it's certainly expensive to live here. We're in the same boat: a hospital birth would be 100% covered, but midwives have to be paid out of our own pocket. It's even more maddening because using midwives is actually so much cheaper than birthing in a hospital--you'd think insurance companies would be all over that. I know that trying to have a homebirth is extremely important for me. I get very uptight in hospitals, no matter what, and the hospital that I would have to go to is notorious for being unfriendly towards natural birth. I think my biggest source of anxiety right now is that I'll have to transfer for some reason, and that we'll end up getting stuck with a hospital bill too (which I think the insurance would try to get out of paying since I haven't been using an OB on the PPO list).
Right now, I'm just trying to stay positive. I really like my midwife, and I appreciate how personalized the care is.
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