Homebirthin' Mama's Thread...April 22,2004!!! - Page 5

[banana girl]

Joining in on the fun!

Hello everyone!

I wanted to drop in and introduce myself. I'm Anna Banana, been posting regularily in my due date club, but now that we have finally and officially decided to go ahead with a homebirth... i thought it was time to branch out!

We are expecting our first child in September. my hubby and I have been married less than a year and are feeling pretty overwhelmed, excited but overwhelmed. Thankfully we have the powerful example of my older sister's happy healthy home birthed kids to comfort our fears.

Since we have made this decision to birth at home, i have felt a marked rise in enthusiasm and joy about the upcoming experience. Lurking in this homebirth forum has been very fun, I love the celebrity thread! You ladies seem to have great attitudes about life and family. I look forward to sharing more with you at time passes.

Anna Banana

[chrissy]

Anna! It's great to see you over here!

Harriett, I hope it's more of a lifestyle change than a phase too!

[nikirj]

Just wanted to say :hi to everyone. I am not due until the very end of December, but we are already excited about planning a homebirth this time. My first two were hospital births but with minimal intervention (my mom was there basically just to shoo away nurses) and now that we are in a state where professionally-attended homebirths are legal, we are happy to be planning a homebirth.

The daddy/kid thing isn't just a phase - it totally evolves. My 4 yo has her daddy-stuff too. It is sooo cute. But DH has been sharing kid-duty with me a lot - I went back to school full-time when DD was 4mo, and again when DS was 6mo. Not like he did nothing before that, but he's comfortable taking the kids for long stretches without me because he happens to be *gasp* a parent, too! People always tell me 'that's so great' but my DH is as much a parent as I am (despite the obvious lack of breasts). There are things that the kids prefer him for and they always will, although they are different things as they get older.

[Mummoth]

(despite the obvious lack of breasts).

When Ds was a few months old, DH came rushing up to me to hand him over saying urgently "I have to put on a shirt" and then disapeared down the hallway. He & DS had been snuggling tummy to tummy. DS always gravitated toward DH left side, to listen to his heartbeat. This particular day, though, DS discovered DH's nipple... he had latched on & tried to nurse!!! It was a big issue for DH... for about a month after that he wouldn't hold DS until he had a shirt on!!

(yes, I know it's been shown that it's possible for men to nurse, too... it's not happening in *this* family!!)

[ilovebeingamom]

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to add myself to the list! We just decided to do HBAC, and are very excited. I have went through three OB's and finally decided that nothing compares to the philosophy and methods of midwives. I knew that I would not be able to birth comfortably in the hospital since they would all be viewing me as this uterus that is going to rupture at any moment. Such a sense of relief and calm has come over me since we made this decision. I have been reading Ina May's Childbirth book and LOVE it.

I haven't had time to read all the pages of this thread, so I apologize, but wanted to join the group. Yea!

[karenpl]

welcome, Melissa!!!! I had similar issues to yours, I had a myomectomy last year, and now I am suddenly 'high risk' and can explode any moment when I go into labor. So to avoid the planned c-section they were trying to push on me, I am just staying home and sticking out my tongue at the drs.

I had the same sense of relief and rightness after I made that decision.

I am 38 weeks now, suddenly this feels really really close to birth. I am not ready at all yet though, so I hope this little one will stay inside for a bit more. Since I went overdue with all my others, I am pretty sure that this will happen again this time. So much gardening to do, and my house is being overrun by tomato seedlings and such now, I really want them to be out in the garden before this baby is here.

Karen

[adventuregirl]

Yay Anna! So great to see you here! Welcome to ALL the new additions here!

Just wanted to check in as I have been MIA with a computer worm and life getting crazy busy!

Everyone's thoughts on labor/birth pain, etc were really great to hear. I haven't thought too deeply on that subject quite yet, but I know I will be delving in soon, so thanks!

[ketilave]

Hi all. I have to share this card with you DH gave me for Mothers' Day.

http://home.comcast.net/~semp1502/ws...D-1565919.html

[majazama]

That is hilarious!:

[Mummoth]

Hi all!

I had another midwife appointment last week... all is well. My mom has decided to keep my dads cell phone with her for the last few weeks (she's almost always within 10 - 15 minutes of my house) and I'm giving her a key. The midwives seem to think this baby is going to come FAST. My labour with Roland was 9 hours, and I'm certain a trip to the hospital & back home for antibiotics (GBS) slowed it down. I wonder... if I call an ambulance, because the midwives aren't going to make it in time, and then everything is okay, do they insist on transporting to the hospital anyway? I doubt they could move me against my will, anyway... but it would be nice to avoid a post-birth brawl, kwim?

Roland is at *such* a good stage to become a big brother. He's been playing with "Baby Ted" (his cabbage patch doll) He gives him snuggles, and pretends the laundry basket is a stroller to push him around in, and he's been teaching him to touch with "One finger!"

We went to a family gathering... my cousin & her daughter (Chloe--14 mo.s) were there & Roland played 'Round the little garden', and 'Here is the Church' with her (which we've been practising with Baby Ted, & on the picture of the baby in Welcome with Love) and they crawled around under the diningroom table together... it was *really* cute to watch them interact.

[2BMamaof3]

Why call the ambulance if the midwives don't get there in time? I know you, you'll call them as soon as you feel the first twinge and even if it happens in an hour...You can handle it...and they would sure to be there shortly thereafter...I certainly trust in YOURS and your Hubby's ability to catch the baby should you have to do such a thing Those ambulance folks MIGHT slow it down though

[Mummoth]

Oh, Kevin & I have decided that we'd 'forget' to call them if he were home... but what if he's at work? It would take hime even longer to get here than the midwives! I don't know how my mom would feel about not calling, and just waiting for the midwives to get here...

Ugh... I hope Kevins' plan works out & this *is* a Fathers Day baby! Then we'll be together for sure!

[tanjarine]

to all of you getting close to meeting your babies!
Tanja

[mollyeilis]

Oh Tanjerine, how sweet! That was sweet of you to post those pix.

Today is my "official" due date, and we have a midwife appointment later. I've been feeling so junky (overall malaise) and last night I threw up my dinner (AGAIN) which makes me sad, and yet there are no regular b/h contractions or anything.

I said from the beginning that I thought I was going to go late, and I think I am. I was so naive back then, didn't realize how big and uncomfortable and etc I could get. Crazy me....

Come out little bay-bee, come join the world!!!!!!

[adventuregirl]

Tanja, Maiya is so adorable! Thanks for sharing such sweet pics!

Molly, sending you great labor vibes!

Harriet, what do you think ambulence people can do for you if no one else can arrive in time? My inital impression is that they would cause you stress when you least need it, I am sure they would try to transport, I guess unless the baby is on its way out, in which case, do you really think you'd need them at that point? Hopefully baby cames when your dh is home and you don't even have to think about it!

[tanjarine]

Harriet I would never call the ambulance i would way rather take my chances unassisted.. I would think they would be right in there yanking and clamping and cutting the cord and carting you off to hospital regardless of how good things are going. Start researching about being prepared for unassisted so that you feel comfortable and confident in your own abilites. Try and find someone close by who can be there fast that you trust. Thats strange that the midwives are assuming your baby will come that fast, thats hard to guess that. Even my birth with maiya was considerably faster than my other births i knew something was up hours before she was born, and even when she was born as long as we all remained calm nothing got out of hand.. i think we were home and set up in about 15 minutes after getting home from the midwife then she was born shortly after with no chaos at all!
Tanja

[mollyeilis]

Request for those who have had babies...

Besides water breaking, increasingly consistent contractions, the baby coming out, and so on, what are the LESS obvious signs that labor is approaching?

For instance, the last two days I've had a sort of general malaise, my uterus is contracting and getting "in the way" of movement more (but no obvious stop/start that I can time), and last night I tossed my cookies after waking from a sound sleep.

I can't help but wonder if those symptoms mean something. LOL at self, I know.

Is there anyone out there who can fuel my fire about this, by giving me all sorts of symptoms you had right before or as labor started "for real"?

[cottonwood]

I vote for not calling the ambulance too (unless there are complications and you need help or a quick transport, of course.) EMTs are given a ridiculously small amount of training about birth, so they'd be likely to do more harm than good, unless, like I say, the point is just to get you to the hospital fast. I would never ever ever call an EMT to a homebirth unless it was a dire emergency! I second Tanja's suggestion to find out what to do in case you are alone (which could happen even if you are planning on calling an ambulance.)

Sorry, Molly, no help here, I had *no* idea that labor was about to start until it actually did. Your symptoms sound promising though.

[Greaseball]

I thought I'd better check in here...I'm 37.5 weeks!

With #1, I didn't really have too many of those labor signs you hear about. No braxton hicks, no diarrhea, no vomiting, no nesting urge. The only thing I noticed was that starting at 35 weeks, I was passing large amounts of mucus. The baby dropped at 38 weeks, and I went into unmistakable labor the next day.

So far this time, there has been no mucus and the head is still floating. No signs at all, except this time I have the nesting urge. Or is it an "I don't want to give birth in a filthy house" urge?

I wonder if I will go to full term this time?

[Mummoth]

I guess my big fear is that *if* I don't call (I'd call when I start to *really* want to push) is that I might pass out after the baby is born. Not that anything would go majorly wrong. I know I could handle it up to actually giving birth if I had to. I hadn't considered that the paramedics might arrive before the baby is actually out. We've read up a bit on emergency childbirth. If I passed out though, that would be *so* scary for DS... what would he do until the midwives *did* get there?

I planted the garden today, in the backyard (where I *want* to labour, at a comfortable pace, with the midwives my DH, DS, mom & sisters) so according to Murphys Law (have I mentioned DH wants to call this baby Murphy? ... it seems that particular law comes up quite often with this one...) the baby will be born in the dead of night, when I won't be able to see the flowers.