Anybody here planning a homebirth? - Page 11 « Back to Group Discussions

[Loogiejane]

Question what you guys think. My upstairs neighbor just had a hospital birth and has all these pairs of unused disposable underwear that she offered me. It's what they use in the hospital, or at least what she was given. She said they're good because you don't have to ruin your own underwear. She showed them to me...they're quite shapeless and she said I might have to cut them on the sides to make them fit better as they were rather snug around her legs. 

Should I take them from her? Do you ladies plan to wear your regular underwear after birth with those thick pads in them?

[berrymama]

Originally Posted by PhilsBabyMama 

I had Recharge for my son's birth, but have been drinking lots of coconut water recently, so I think that is what I'll go with. My home away from home (birthing on my midwife's farm) birth is still the plan. We've been working on getting my hemoglobin count up recently. My midwife does not seem worried, she thinks it's probably a B12 deficiency causing me not to absorb much. I've also ramped up my iron intake (green smoothies with chlorophyll and spinach daily, taking Florodix, eating more red meat). I hope it helps because, while my midwife doesn't seem worried yet, I know if I'm too low I'll probably be risked out. :/ Trying not to stress too much, though.

Have you started a sublingual B12 supp?

I have been reading a lot of nutrition books lately (transitioning to veg/vegan). From what I have been reading, certain greens, while they are good for you, contain oxalic acid or oxalates that impede iron absorption (beet greens, spinach, swiss chard, parsley). These foods should be boiled (cooking water discarded) to reduce their oxalate content and make the iron more usable. Low-oxalate leafies include boy choy, broccoli, collards, kale, white and savoy cabbage. So maybe switch to kale in your green smoothies, and cook your spinach.  Other veggie choices with high iron: soy-beans, lentils, blackstrap molasses (add it to oatmeal), beans.

[scary biscuits]

Question what you guys think. My upstairs neighbor just had a hospital birth and has all these pairs of unused disposable underwear that she offered me. It's what they use in the hospital, or at least what she was given. She said they're good because you don't have to ruin your own underwear. She showed them to me...they're quite shapeless and she said I might have to cut them on the sides to make them fit better as they were rather snug around her legs. 

Should I take them from her? Do you ladies plan to wear your regular underwear after birth with those thick pads in them?

 

When I had my son in the hospital that is what they gave me after to wear. And while they are for sure not pretty, they work really well. I found, especially in the first few days, that they were more comfortable and it was nice not to worry about getting blood on my own underwear. The less laundry with a newborn, the better imho:) I planned on buying some myself, but a friend who is lending me her birth pool has unused leftovers that she offered me and I will take her up on the offer.

[PhilsBabyMama]

Originally Posted by berrymama 

Have you started a sublingual B12 supp?

I have been reading a lot of nutrition books lately (transitioning to veg/vegan). From what I have been reading, certain greens, while they are good for you, contain oxalic acid or oxalates that impede iron absorption (beet greens, spinach, swiss chard, parsley). These foods should be boiled (cooking water discarded) to reduce their oxalate content and make the iron more usable. Low-oxalate leafies include boy choy, broccoli, collards, kale, white and savoy cabbage. So maybe switch to kale in your green smoothies, and cook your spinach.  Other veggie choices with high iron: soy-beans, lentils, blackstrap molasses (add it to oatmeal), beans.

Yup! The Sublingual B Total is what my midwife gave me to use when we found my iron was super low (6.6 when it should be 11 at least), even though I was taking Hema-Plex. Hoping it does the trick! After my first week of taking it, I did feel like I had more energy. I'm going to meet up with my midwife's assistant this week to test again and see if my levels have gone up.

That's interesting about cooking the spinach. I had been sautéing spinach with pine nuts and raisins daily before I had the low results, so I assumed eating it raw would be better. I'll have to try cooking it again, maybe differently! Thanks for the heads up! Switching to kale in the smoothies would be no big deal and nice to have in the house, too, since I'm partial to kale chips with smoked paprika anyway!

[SteeleTig]

Yes, I also had those disposable underwear after having my daughter and a friend recently gave me her leftovers which I'll use this time too. I also bought a package of Depends pants to use those first few days because sometimes I would gush so much that there was no way a pad could contain it. My midwife recommended the Depends and from my research they seem pretty common to use after birth. So I'll probably use up the Depends and then switch to the disposable mesh underwear and huge pads and if i'm still bleeding lochia after that i'll go to regular underwear. I bled for 8 weeks last time... Hopefully this time will be shorter since I'm drinking RRL tea and I didn't last time. 

[nstewart]

The Depends idea is really smart.  I only used the giant mesh panties in the hospital last time.  I bought a pack of el-cheapo underwear to use with giant pads in case I leaked.  I don't remember ever leaking though.  I didn't bleed very much after the first day or two, or for very long if I recall correctly.  Going to pick up depends for the first few days for sure, and then some cheapo cotton panties for after that.

[pastormama]

Originally Posted by nstewart 

The Depends idea is really smart.  I only used the giant mesh panties in the hospital last time.  I bought a pack of el-cheapo underwear to use with giant pads in case I leaked.  I don't remember ever leaking though.  I didn't bleed very much after the first day or two, or for very long if I recall correctly.  Going to pick up depends for the first few days for sure, and then some cheapo cotton panties for after that.

Yep, I did this too.  Bought several pairs of cheap black cotton underwear.  That way if they stain - who cares?  But the Depends underpants is a good idea too.  I found the mesh underwear from the hospital to be a bit flimsy - it couldn't hold my mega-pad in place very securely.  

[amlikam]

I loved my mesh panties in the hospital... I wanted to wear them forever... LOL.... My husband said they should make them black and then they'd go nicely with a pair of fish net stockings....   I don't remember bleeding much more than one of my pre-pregnancy periods (they used to be so bad before I swtiched to cloth).  I wonder if that had to do with DD being so tiny? I don't think I will do depends, but I like the idea.

I perpetually use those cheap cotton granny panties myself.... I have a bunch on hand and toss them if needed.

ETA: I used pads with wings or the hospital pads, which seemed to have some kind of industrial glue on them.

[pastormama]

Blerg. Just came from appt with midwives, and it was not good.  Baby is breech (not such a concern at this point, 33w1d, but still), and my blood pressure is quite high.  140/80.  I'm not showing any other troublesome signs (no protein spilling, no noticeable swelling), but the words "it can't go any higher" were uttered.  They mentioned drinking more nettle tea (not sure how this could be possible!), eating more celery, cucumber, watermelon, cantaloupe, and other watery fruit & veg, swimming two to three times a week, and continuing to walk several miles a few times a week.  I'm feeling really discouraged, and just like this whole home birth thing is not going to be in the cards for me.  I am, of course, willing to go with whatever outcome, but I'm bummed.  And feeling like, "well should I just cut my losses (i.e. prorated cost I will have to pay before switching care), and switch over to the hospital-based midwives across town now, rather than waiting until they tell me I have to?"  Sigh. 

[nstewart]

Originally Posted by pastormama 

Blerg. Just came from appt with midwives, and it was not good.  Baby is breech (not such a concern at this point, 33w1d, but still), and my blood pressure is quite high.  140/80.  I'm not showing any other troublesome signs (no protein spilling, no noticeable swelling), but the words "it can't go any higher" were uttered.  They mentioned drinking more nettle tea (not sure how this could be possible!), eating more celery, cucumber, watermelon, cantaloupe, and other watery fruit & veg, swimming two to three times a week, and continuing to walk several miles a few times a week.  I'm feeling really discouraged, and just like this whole home birth thing is not going to be in the cards for me.  I am, of course, willing to go with whatever outcome, but I'm bummed.  And feeling like, "well should I just cut my losses (i.e. prorated cost I will have to pay before switching care), and switch over to the hospital-based midwives across town now, rather than waiting until they tell me I have to?"  Sigh. 

I'm so sorry to hear this PM!!  I would say give it one more appointment before giving up!  Do what you can to spin baby and get your BP down, and then see what happens.

I kindof know how you feel.  I started thinking about "what if" baby stays heads up after my apt last week (at 33 wks) and felt so bummed about the prospect of not having a HB.  But I am just going to do what I can to get baby heads down and hope that I still get the birth I want.  I hope you do too!!

[cadybh]

Originally Posted by Loogiejane 

Question what you guys think. My upstairs neighbor just had a hospital birth and has all these pairs of unused disposable underwear that she offered me. It's what they use in the hospital, or at least what she was given. She said they're good because you don't have to ruin your own underwear. She showed them to me...they're quite shapeless and she said I might have to cut them on the sides to make them fit better as they were rather snug around her legs. 

Should I take them from her? Do you ladies plan to wear your regular underwear after birth with those thick pads in them?

Take, yes!  I wore the hospital mesh undies last time and they were honestly quite a relief to not be worrying about for a few days.  

This may sound TERRIBLE... but recently my grandmother passed, and when I was helping my mother clean out her apartment, we found a whole case of (unused, obviously) Depends... so I took them for post-partum.  Eek!  I hope that doesn't weird anyone out.

[SteeleTig]

This may sound TERRIBLE... but recently my grandmother passed, and when I was helping my mother clean out her apartment, we found a whole case of (unused, obviously) Depends... so I took them for post-partum.  Eek!  I hope that doesn't weird anyone out.

Not at all! I was at a church rummage sale yesterday (my daughter's school is in a church basement) and saw a pile of chuks and almost grabbed them but it's cheaper to buy another pack of puppy pads if I need them. 

[SplashingPuddle]

I am also worried about not being able to have a homebirth anymore after my last bloodtest showed hemoglobin at 85 or 8.5 (depending on how you measure). I was told it needs to be 100 to have a homebirth. Has anyone else had experience with this? How quickly did you increase your hemoglobin?

Thanks

[berrymama]

Originally Posted by cadybh 

This may sound TERRIBLE... but recently my grandmother passed, and when I was helping my mother clean out her apartment, we found a whole case of (unused, obviously) Depends... so I took them for post-partum.  Eek!  I hope that doesn't weird anyone out.

I have some of my Dad's unused chux (like puddlepads) from hospice, too. I think it is resourceful :)

[PhilsBabyMama]

Just had my hemoglobin tested again today! It was way low (6.6) a little over two weeks ago but today it was a 12.2! Whoot! I'll just keep taking the supplements and incorporating iron rich foods in to my diet. SplashingPuddle, something I try to keep in mind is that calcium blocks iron absorption, while vitamin C helps your body absorb iron. I made sure to do most of my dairy for the day in the morning, and take the Floradix 30 minutes before lunch and dinner.
Edited by PhilsBabyMama - 3/20/13 at 12:58pm

[nstewart]

Originally Posted by PhilsBabyMama 

Just had my hemoglobin tested again today! It was way low (6.6) a little over two weeks ago but today it was a 12.2! Whoot! I'll just keep taking the supplements and incorporating iron rich foods in to my diet. SplashingPuddle, something I try to keep in mind is that calcium blocks iron absorption, while vitamin C helps your body absorb iron. I made sure to do most of my dairy for the day in the morning, and take the Floradix 30 minutes before lunch and dinner.

Wow!  Great news!!  That's almost double!

I also got some good news today...went to see my Chiro and she is pretty sure that baby is heads down!  YAY!  The only reason she isn't 100% sure is because baby is posterior right now, so while she could feel the head down low, she couldn't feel the bum, just feet and legs up top.  This is what I am feeling too.  So I am pretty sure that baby flipped last Friday night after I did those Spinning Baby inversions a few times and then went to bed.  I layed in bed the same way I had been laying when babe flipped the first time, and I could feel him or her trying to flip, then a big turn, and I am pretty sure that was it!  Note to self: don't lay that way anymore now that babe is heads down!!

ETA: My doula just left from a short visit.  It's the first time she's been to our house.  I think she'll be a good match.    She has me thinking I really need to work on some lists and a birth plan though, and I KNOW I need to work on some relaxation techniques/associations for at home.  Just need to find the time...

[PhilsBabyMama]

That's awesome! Spinning Babies rocks!

[Loogiejane]

Forgive me if this has been discussed in the forum already. Anyone plan a music mix yet? All I can come up with so far is Enya and this one Moby song from the movie The Beach that I've always liked lol. Oh yeah, and a couple songs from the Amelie soundtrack, La Valse D'Amelie, ugh, I could cry it's so good. 

[Loogiejane]

Add to my list Living in the Moment by Jorma Kaukonen. It's the song DH and I walked down the aisle to. Very peaceful. 

[Loogiejane]

I also love the music from Love Story but....I shouldn't...too depressing...right?