UC suppport #4, May - Page 8

[Aura_Kitten]

it also make s agreat conversation piece later on at get togehters and family dinners!

:LOL "hey, cool bread bowl... does it keep the bread warm?"
"oh, no, that's not the bread bowl, that's our placenta bowl!" :LOL

[majazama]

I'm due in almost 5 weeks

Well, for birthing supplies, today I bought dental floss for tying off the cord
I checked my grama's food scale to see if it's accurate (enough for me) while she wasn't home and I was doing my laundry. I'm going to ask her if I can borrow it a few days before I go "ding". She'll learn afterwards what the scale was used for.

I'm thinking about giving birth again every day at least 10 times. I'm trying to get pychologicaly prepared for the "happy" pains of labour. hehehe.

<---my DD is still awake......... it's 11:45........ my back hurts..... I still have a movie to watch before I go to bed........ Arg:

[Aura_Kitten]

question ~

how much blood is "too much" to lose?

how do i gauge how much blood i've lost after the baby's born?

i've been reading birth story after birth story (UC's) and some of them say "i bled pretty heavily" (or variations thereof) but don't actually explain how much is ok to lose, and at what point you should go to an ER...

i had read months ago something like, if you fill a postpartum sized pad in 10 minutes to under an hour (like *filled*, soaked) then you're hemmoraghing and have to get to a doctor...

but are there actual guidelines??

[bookwormmama]

hey everyone,

overdue sue here. blech. i'm only 40 w. 1 day and i'm feeling so drained. please send me some labor vibes! i wanna give birth! wah!

alot of my friends and acquaintances (sp?) have given birth in the last few months, so it makes it really hard, feeling like i'm the absolute ~last~ one to pop, ya know? a friend of mine had her baby UNPLANNED UNASSISTED the day before yesterday! I read the message about her and just got depressed that it wasn't me, lol. I mean, i'm happy for her, just jealous, lol.


anyway, about the birth kit, i got a few things from that same site, but mostly things that i thought would just be convienent to have, like those stretch postpartum underwear. Those things were so comfy! I had alot of chux left over from ds's birth, and i figure old towels would work well too. I think most of the stuff in the birth kits is really pretty unneccesary.

about bleeding, i'd say you'd have to be bleeding REALLY heavily to have to go the ER. I think it's about 2 cups an hour, but i don't know what that would look like on pads or anything. We have shepards purse on hand for bleeding, but i'm not worried about it. Our bodies really do have alot of blood in them.


Well, dd wants to add a few smilies...so here goes...

: :

[laurata]

Originally Posted by klothos

i mean... is there anything in the kit that can't be found at home? i'm looking over their list and i see stuff like plastic backed sheets (would towels, or an old shower curtain, do the trick?)... bulb syringe (already have one)... infant tape measure (how is this different from a normal seamstress tape measure?)... straws (is there something i don't know about birth?? why do you need straws?)... sterile gloves (if you wash your hands, do you really need gloves to handle your baby? when would you take them off? never?)...

LOL! Ok, here's my take on the birth kit: I did NOT order one for our last UC born babe. Instead of plastic backed sheets, I bought a flannel backed tablecloth. Had a bulb syringe (dh didn't know where it was, so just used a clean towel to wipe out baby's mouth, very gentle). The measuring tape is probably paper so you can quickly tear it w/o annoying squirmy baby who doesn't like being stretched out.

Now the straws... I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you get the bendable staws. In my LONG transition, I was getting dehydrated, because I didn't have the ability to lift my abnormally heavy arms. The water bottle was too much. Dh would hold the cup sometimes, but again, the heavy arms prevented me from tipping it up. It was very frustrating because I didn't want to talk to explain my problem. I think a straw would have solved the problem, and I'd have been able to get more water in me.

As for the gloves, I don't think they're necessary for the baby, but nice for squimish husbands doing cleanup of any messes. You can get a box of gloves at the drugstore for very cheap, and then keep them in the car for maintence. (My dh keeps a box in the car in case he stops to help somebody w/ car troubles.)

Although, it may be wise NOT to spend the day you are due (and not laboring) weeding your yard without gloves, getting your nails all dirty and grimy!

So get the straws, and if you don't use them, no big deal.

[cottonwood]

Gushing bleeding that doesn't stop fairly quickly is bad (an initial gush of blood is normal.) Soaking two sanitary pads in half an hour is considered bad. If you have a blood pressure cuff, a drop in blood pressure with an increase in pulse can signal hemorrhage. Personally, I never have more blood that I do with a regular period, so that is my gauge. Also how I feel. If I felt dizzy or like I was going to pass out, that would be a clear signal to me that something was not right. The first things I'd do would be to eat some placenta. Heck, I might do that anyway if I don't do a lotus birth. Some books list chills as a possible sign, but I have gotten those with every birth (intense shivering) and never even been close to a hemorrhage.

Re: birth kits, no, there's nothing in them you really need. Some people find some of the items convenient; I just consider it more garbage to have to deal with. I mean, literally. For me it's kind of a waste issue. Well, also a comfort one I guess. Things that look like they might belong in a hospital makes me edgy.

[Hathor]

Hi Everyone,
I ordered a standard birthkit from Cascade Health which is full of the same things you are all describing and looks absolutely unnecessary. I got it for $30
and really did it because it offers dh some strange comfort. (I'm not sure he'd know what to do with any of it?)

Speaking of dh (who has STILL not read the Emergency Childbirth book I ordered him to set his mind at ease, ahem week 39, I think he is trying to get fired from my pit crew!) The other night he said something negative about risks and birth and when I called him on it he said "look, I know you don't want me to be just a yes man " Uh yeah. I think under the circumstances that is precisely his job. I've already got a friend coming to be his doula, now I'm wondering if he might not need an epidural too (perhaps twilight sleep?)! hee hee hee.

Also, Luna13mama, I'm with you on the announcing of my UC plans before the birth, I've mentioned it out loud to relatively hip, radical associates twice and both times had to endure really horrible birth stories. Although I'm usually prepared to respond with outrage at their insensitivity, I found myself just wanting to cry. and then I dwelled on it for days and it took alot of chanting to get back in a positive space. Suzanne Arms (who wrote Immaculate Deception) told me that pregnant women are like absorbant sponges, it is sooooo important to protect ourselves from negativity. I for one will be announcing my UC AFTER the fact...

Heather
:LOL

[sprinkle pocket]

i'm sooo excited to find this uc thread (and the 4th volume too!)!!!

while i'm happy following my body's wisdom, my dh sometimes needs help to trust that this is enough. he was raised that if you can't see/measure it, it doesn't exist. so even though we're not pregnant just yet, i've started early preparing him for a homebirth, ec, ap, no vax/md's, etc. he's really open to it all, just needs to be exposed and have time to process it all. we've been planning to ttc in july, either this one or next, but i've been having some internal experiences that have me thinking that this june or july will be it. also, dh has begun nesting, though i don't think he's noticed it himself. (we're planning the month as best we can b/c we live pretty 'rustically' and need to plan labor away from the intense cold of winter and heat of summer). i can't wait to read through all 4 threads of this!! i've been led to the idea of uc since before i knew it was something that many others did on purpose.

but, i do have a question...any of you feel surges of energy, moods, hormones prior to conceiving? i feel like my body's opening & really preparing to conceive. it's pretty d*** exciting!

are there any books you would recommend? i prefer intuitive, supportive, spiritual over the medical/factual/month-by-month mainstream books.

i'm inspired just knowing that there's about 40 pages of input from amazing women to look forward to. my thanks to all of you!

[cottonwood]

Hathor, I can sympathize, that would drive me buggy if someone thought they should have a say in something without having previously put any thought or research into it. By the way, Emergency Childbirth was the ONLY thing my husband would read, but I had to get him going by reading some of the good parts out loud. He said he liked it because it was so to the point and practical.

Hi pinosaltos, I've also been looking for more spiritually-inclined stuff to read. Jeannine Parvati Baker? I've been reading her Prenatal Yoga and Natural Birth. Recently I've enjoyed Sarah Buckley's UC birth story: http://www.womenofspirit.asn.au/docs/sb_maias_story.txt and Ingrid Bauer's article "Birth As Sheer Pleasure": http://natural-wisdom.com/birthpleasure.htm

[georgia]

Linda, Wow! Ingrid's article is amazing! It's just what I needed tonight. Thank you so much for posting that.

[Aura_Kitten]

thanks for your replies.

we already have bendy straws! which is one of the other things i thought was kind of redundant. i bought a whole bunch when they were on sale a few weeks ago, because my son loves drinking water through a straw. that's the only way i can get him to drink water now actually. so unless he manages to use up all 1000+ straws before i give birth.... i think we're set. :LOL

as for books... i'd recommend Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. even though it focuses heavily on the midwife involvement, it has a ton of really positive birth stories, and i think the explanations of what the midwives did to help the mamas along really is informative, and gave me the confidence that i can do it by myself. (after all, a lot of the women who learned to be midwives Back In The Day really learned by delivering their own babies, then their neighbors and friends...) it's a great read.

i also love the birth stories on http://www.unassistedchildbirth.com/

it's a great site.

[wildthing]

I haven't been around to post much, but I wanted to pop in anyway.

Heather, I have my birth kit too, and I keep thinking "Um, the baby will come out whether we have all thus stuff or not. So it is necessary because???????" I have an awesome UC birth tape, and I hardly ever see anyone on the tape use anything other than the chux pads, and maybe the syringe. Anyway.....

I am 38 weeks, and I am going to the Area La Leche League conference for the weekend, I will be gone from tonight until Monday afternoon. My dh and I handle the registration, so we will be working, but it is fun. Now I really do not want to give birth in a hotel room (even a niceone like a Hilton), but wouldn't it make an interesting story? :LOL

As far as announcing, FIL knows and is very supportive. My 2 best friends also know and are supportive. MIL sort of knows....she knows we don't care if the baby comes before the mw, but she cringes and makes worried comments that I don't need/want to hear, so we don't discuss it. Other family members don't know. They will afterwards, and whatever their feelings are on it, it doesn't really matter.

Like I said, I have 2 weeks left until the..ahem..."due" date. I have always gone over, and I expect and plan on it this time as well, which I am actually looking forward to. I am a bit physically uncomfortable, but I love being pregnant.

Anywya, we are out the door now. I will be back and posting more now that conference will be over next week. Talk to you all soon!

[lovemygirl]

Have fun Donna! Wishing you peaceful birthing vibes whenever your little bean is ready to come out...I hope its after the conference!!

[cottonwood]

Does anyone here know of any midwives who have had UCs themselves? Or just who support UC? I am making a presentation on UC to some midwives later this year, and think it would be awesome to give them some perspective from some of "their own kind" if you know what I mean. If you can think of any names, please email or PM their email address, or if they prefer to look over the survey before handing out their email addresses, I can email it to you and you can forward it to them.

[Aura_Kitten]

Does anyone here know of any midwives who have had UCs themselves? Or just who support UC?

didn't Ina May originally give birth unassisted? (or rather, assisted only by the other women traveling with her?)

my gut reaction to the second question would be "no" ~ simply because i'm a little jaded when it comes to people supporting anything that would cause them to make less money. it seems to me that no midwife would actively support UC because that's money that would (probably) otherwise be going to them, to assist the woman in the birth....

[cottonwood]

Actually, I do know of midwives who support unassisted birth! Apparently not all of them are in it just for the money.

Ina May's first birth was assisted by her husband and a midwife-in-training on the caravan. They'd gotten some pointers from a doctor about assisting birth. But it was not professionally assisted, no. Unfortunately the baby was premature and died shortly thereafter. Ina May does not support planned unassisted childbirth -- in fact she wrote an awful article about it for Midwifery Today.

[majazama]

Jeannine Parvati Baker is really supportive of "freebirthing", a term that she coined for UC. That's where I first heard of it.

[majazama]

Ina May wrote a nasty article on UC? Now that stinks. Maybe she was just jaded because her only UC ended badly. Do you know where I could find that article on the net?

different subject~have any of you seen this site?www.breastandbelly.com

[LavenderMae]

Mamajaza, I have been to that site before. I love the UC birth stories there!!

[cottonwood]

Mamajaza, the article is not online. It was in the Summer 2003 issue of Midwifery Today. Here the letter to the editor I wrote about it: http://home.earthlink.net/~eaglefalc...terInaMay.html