UC suppport #4, May - Page 2

[karenpl]

Congratulations, Amanda!! Sounds like a wonderful birth! Glad everything went so well!

I am 38 weeks now, how did that happen???? Luckily I always go overdue, so I feel that I still have some time left. I finally ordered some birthing supplies two days ago, and I bought stuff like chux pads. Nothing that I couldn't do without, but things that would be nice to have around, it might even get used

My friends know about my UC plans, but I have not told my family, and I am not going to either. I know they will not be supportive, actually they will be horrified and worried, so I guess I better tell them after the fact, when it's too late to worry about it :-)

Feeling great and full of energy, and not ready for the baby at all yet, so I really hope to keep this little one inside a bit longer. So much gardening and decluttering to do :-)

Karen

[bookwormmama]

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS to amyamanda on your wonderful birth!!

I am getting so anxious now, i'm 37wks give or take a few days. I can't wait!!

And Sheacoby, i too met a real life uc'er the other day! While waiting at my daughter's dance class of all places. It was too weird. There she was, a lady with a tiny babe, whom i just ~had~ to strike up a conversation with, lol. We got to talking about chiropractic care, and all of a sudden she busts out with all of this talk of homebirths (this was her 4th!, and her 1st UC) and homeschooling, etc. I was totally floored. It just goes to show, you can't judge a book, lol.

anyway, i suppose i'm next in line huh?

[majazama]

Congrats Amyamanda!~~ ... that's a good idea to go to the chiropractor as soon as possible after the birth. I wish I had done that last time, maybe this time I will.

[ChildoftheMoon]

Amyamanda-Congratulations! What a beautiful birth. Welcome Avery

Blueviolet-thank you for adding in the list, I had forgotten about it!

Bookworm and Karen-wow you two are next! It is really exciting to be waiting and reading along with you. I still have ten weeks, so it feels close, but I still have time to sit back and relax.

I saw my midwife yesterday because I have been having an extreme pain in my right ribs. I think I pulled something with all the coughing and sneezing I have been doing with my horrible allergies. I cannot wait for the season to pass! I sit her right now with tissue stuffed up my nose so I don't drip on the keyboard. She said that I need to slow down and restrict my lifting to give it a chance to heal. It has been bothering me for a month now, with no improvement from hot and cold compresses or arnica. But every time I cough and sneeze I feel it getting worse. She ruled out any liver problems, and thinks it may be a floating rib? Anyway, it looks like my placenta is right below the achey rib, so could be adding extra strain along with my growing belly. I have a high tolerance for pain, but this has become chronic and it makes me very irritable (as if the allergies aren't enough!) ok, sorry about the complaints, just feeling worn out and sick of feeling sick. Everything else is pretty good. Hopefully I will be back soon, I have been having computer problems, not able to receive email or even log onto the internet. Hopefully it will get straightened out soon!

Love to you all, and hugs to those that I did not have a chance to comment to this time!
Brandi

[ChildoftheMoon]

Forgot to mention that last night on my way to bed, I spotted a very pregnant deer grazing alone in our yard. I took it as a nice sign. Also made me think of you Karenpl!!!!!

Brandi

[luna13mama]

Thanks for the info, blueviolet. Where did you get the fetoscope? That does sound helpful. I feel like a lot of the birth kit supplies are pretty uneccessary, really, but I guess it doesn't hurt to have them around. I thought I had posted on this new thread but I guess not, so I pasted it again, below.

Hi mamas! I am due in early July and am planning to be at home unattended. It will be me, my partner and our 5yo daughter unless I feel the need for complete solitude. This is our first uc and I am getting excited now that I am 32 weeks. I have had 3 prenatal apointments with some wonderful hands-off midwifes but then decided to go uc without furhter prenatal care in part because of the $ issue with them but really that was just an excuse because I have been wanting to do a uc since before I got pregnant. dd was born in a birth center in NYC and I am relishing in the thought of being at home, with no interference at all!

I have occasionally read through the UC posts here and I have decided that I really would enjoy the support and connection with other uc moms during these last couple months so I wanted to jump in and say hi. I am inspired by what I read here and it is so exciting to see so many women taking responsibility for their births!

I do have a few questions that have been going around in my head, like:

How many birth supplies do you *really* need? (I know this depends on the individual and the situation. I am ordering a basic birth kit plus have lots of helpful herbs on hand. I decided I don't want to mess with a birth tub and will use the clawfoot bathtub if desired)

How do you get a birth certificate for a uc baby?

What about a postpartum checkup for baby? I was just thinking of asking a midwife come on the 1st or 2nd day after birth. I really don't like the idea of bringing baby to see a ped, but perhaps an ND?

Juliette

*

[CincoDeMama]

i don't post much on this forum, but i wanna start
i'm pg w/#5 (sept) and THIS ONE WILL BE BORN FREE. i say that in caps, because my last birth was supposed to be a uc-but we ended up calling a mw i had seen for the last few wks of pg & she was present & i absolutely hated her being there, as i desperately wanted to be alone.

i've always supported hb & uc, and i want MINE! this time i will have it~finally.

anyway, hiya!

[cottonwood]

It's so exciting to me to see how many people we have here! I remember when there were only a few of us here talking about UC. This is great!

Brandi, ugh, that sounds awful. I hope it resolves itself soon.

Juliette, I actually don't have a fetoscope right now, I borrowed one before. This is the type I plan on getting: http://www.1cascade.com/fetoscope?fo...type_fetoscope

Hi Kas, I added you to the roster! (I'm due in September too...)

[Hathor]

Hi Everyone,
Blueviolet, I wanted you to know that my edd is actually June 11th, but I have always been 2 weeks late! So you can update my name on the list so that it actually reminds me how close I am.
We just moved from NC to CA and I am surrounded by boxes, which is very satisfying during my nesting phase, but I am also getting really tired and weepy. I am still working an uphill battle to get dh 100% behind UC and the weepy thing freaks him out, as if it corroborates that I'm not strong enough to do it alone. You wouldn't ever guess he'd been present at 2 births already.

I'm very glad to be back online to see all of the amazing new stories here... and welcome to the list Juliette, how fun to have you here! (we lived in the same house last year for a few months!)

Oh, and does anyone know about California Birth sufferticates and law, etc?
I just moved into a porous non-soundproof apartment and feel kinda wiggy about the sounds of birth and neighbors, any ideas?
Heather

[laurata]

Hathor, try looking up your local vital statistics office. Usually what it takes is you fax in your info (date, time of birth, parents names, prenatal info, etc) and possibly set up an appointment. You may need "proof of pregnancy." I haven't taken care of it myself (last time I transfered post birth, and the hospital filed for me) but it seems pretty easy. FWIW though, make sure you check into what is needed for a SS card. I had to scramble to find something with Nova's name on it (ie no baptismal record or anything like that; We luckily had one pedi bill with her name as the "Patient")

[wildthing]

Hathor,
Welcome to CA! I live in San Diego.

I have gotten birth certificates for my homebirths, but never a UC. All I needed was a letter from the mw or a dr confirming the pregnancy, 3 notarized letters from people (non-family memebers) who knew that I was pregnant, and proof of my residency in the form of utility bills, mortgage statement or rental agreement. Then, I had to go to the Vital Records Department with the baby and my witness (dh each time, although it can be one of my children if they are old enough to sign their names), and fill out the paperwork. The last time, we got our copy when we were there.

The only annoying part was that they would not send me any info or make an appointment for me until AFTER the baby was born....yeah, I have all the time in the world to think about making this stupid appointment after he baby is here. You have up to a year to get it done.

It may be different in LA, I can't guarantee.

Oh, also, I am due June 10, officially, but I don't tell anyone else that. I also go late, so this time I am just hoping to have the baby before my birthday (June 24th)

[amyamanda]

Okay, I posted Avery's birth story in the Birth Stories forum here at MDC - http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...29#post1428929 - enjoy!

Oh, and DH corrected me - as far as supplies go, we used 3 chux pads, not 2 {rolls eyes} and for those who are assembling supplies, I should probably note that we also used a few flannel receiving blankets, a few bath towels, a bathrobe, two cotton baby hats, homeopathic Arnica for postpartum aches and pains, an ice pack for postpartum perineal swelling, and a large metal bowl to catch the placenta.

Hope all is well with everyone, both those who are still waiting and those whose babies have already greeted the world!

[madrone]

I have found a new use for the stuffed lamb that I have started using to help DS adjust to the baby (the lamb was already occupying a place in our family bed and gets to nurse with DS some). His new use is for me to practice how I will catch our baby at birth. Thank you all who have suggested ways or said how you did it.

I have to see someone for pre-natal care because of paper stuff. I had an appointment yesterday with the OB. Birth certificates here MUST be signed by an OB. I presented him with a very reasonable birth plan and he barely looked at it before he said that he would not do my birth. Not like I ever planned on him doing the birth anyway, but still an obstacle just the same. I had been thinking quite a bit that I would just say *oops, I thought it would take a lot longer than it did* and present myself at the hospital after the birth for all of the paperwork.

DH and I are thinking we will not be able to do the birth here. Even if we go to a different area in France, we will have problems getting a birth certificate. I'm going to ask some of the Dutch mommies about their laws. About how I could get a certificate for a UC without residency in the Netherlands or about how I could find a midwife that would do the birth in her home or someplace like that in Holland. If I can get a valid birth certificate from another country then the French consulate in that country will have to recognize the certificate and add the baby to our family book.

Man, this is such a hazzle. But no way can I comply and have a medicalized hospital birth.

[cottonwood]

I read a story a long time ago about a couple who did a UC in France and had all kinds of trouble because of it. I also heard somewhere that Michel Odent finally got fed up and moved his practice elsewhere. I hope you can work it out -- the Netherlands seem more enlightened about birth in general, and have more of an attitude of do what you like as long as it doesn't hurt anybody else, you know? So maybe going there is exactly what you need to do. I agree, though, what a hassle!

So why did the doctor not want to do your birth?

[madrone]

Michael Odent did get fed up and moved to England. England would be quite a bit more expensive to go to, so that's why we are not thinking too much of going there instead. There was a couple that didn't live very far from me that did a UC here and they were on the verge of losing their child and never got a birth certificate. They booted it to England also and I think ended up getting legal papers for their baby there.

The doctor said that the baby would bleed to death if the cord isn't clamped off immediately after the child's birth and that he wouldn't be involved.

[StacyL]

Possibly dumb question...

Hi everyone,

This is my first baby, and I am 20 1/2 weeks. I am feeling two different types of movement. One is the fluttering, wiggly type inside, and the other is like a tightening of a section of my belly into one hard point that lasts several seconds. So, my question is: is that tightening a Braxton-Hicks type of thing, or is it the baby pressing outward with a limb or something? Also, my belly is definitely lopsided at times, bigger on the right side than the left. Why is that? I can't tell what's what when I feel around!

Stacy

[Hathor]

Thank you laurata and Wildthing, It is crazy-making to think that you have to go through such a song and dance to prove the baby is yours! 6 billion people on this planet, what could the percentage be of people actually getting a birth certificate for a baby that isn't their own? What happens if your baby doesn't get a birth certificate? Are they a non-person?
Heather

[Hathor]

Hi StacyL, the butterflies wiggling definitely sound like baby movements and the tightening are BH contractions IMO, aren't they groovy? All spontaneous and breathless and unexpected and stuff.
Heather

[indigolilybear]

Hi all.

As for birth certificates, Hathor, we have gotten HB certifcates and Wildthing is right about SD county. It is actually easier in the two other counties where we got certificates--Orange and Ventura--and these were our freebirths too!! Our assited HB in SD was the hardest w/the three notarized letters.

You do need proof of pregnancy, some mail from before the baby was born (around a month), and the rest is just Driver's license, etc. We didn't need the notarized letters in these two counties. NOt sure about LA but it'll probably be closer to Ventura and OC's rules than SD I"m guessing. HTH And yes, you call after the baby is born and get sent a packet.

hope everyone has a wonderful mother's day.

[nikirj]

I WANT A FREEBIRTH!!! DH would never go for it :-(

I'm so sad about how our previous two births left DH so peripheral. He is sad too. But he thinks a professional is necessary.

There - got it out of my system.

Returning to lurking.