last minute switch to homebirth!

[NewAtThis]

I posted on another thread my predicament with my midwife closing up shop and closing her birth center this weekend. With 4 weeks to go...I have found another midwife and am switching to a homebirth! Eeeek!
I have pictured a birthcenter birth the whole time, and now my mind is just spinning while I adjust my brain and imagine the event right here. I meet with the new mw next Tuesday, and I'll get my list of supplies then, and my old mw is giving me her birth pool to use.

So HB mamas, first timers and experienced, what else besides getting the supplies from the HB list, did you do to prepare your home and mind for the big event?
I don't have much time to get everything ready...but I want to be as prepared as I can, and I would love to hear your suggestions!

[AmieV]

good for you!!! I know how hard it is to make a late game switch... we switched from an OB hospital birth to a birth center at 37 weeks, it was very stressful but totally, totally worth it!!! I am very happy for you, it takes a brave person to change plans this late in the game. You do get in a certain mindset and it's difficult to alter that.

as far as your question about h/b...this is my first one but I'm not really planning on doing anything other than getting my list of stuff together and maybe trying to make sure the house is generally clean/neat the last few weeks of pg so I'm not laboring in a dirty house. But I'm not even sure that I'd care about that.

[veganf]

How exciting!! I hope it all goes well for you.

From my personal experience, Id try not to imagine yourself birthing in a specific room or bed, because you just never know how youll feel or how youre labor will go. I never thought Id end up squatting over the hardwood floor in our bedroom for our first baby, or leaning back against my husband and the couch on the floor of the playroom for my second. So now I know to just leave all the supplies easily accessible in the middle of the first floor so that the midwife can find them quickly!
Otherwise, I dont have much advice, except that you probably have to do LESS to prepare now that youre going to have a homebirth because you dont have to go anywhere. I've never bothered cleaning much before a birth, except for the bathroom (don't know why, just had the urge). My midwife's home is about the same level of messiness as our's, so I'm not uncomfortable with the mess. Sure, it's nice to have it clean if you have the time, or the money, but I don't think it's a necessity.

[2 in August]

Sounds exciting! I don't have any btdt advice, just wanted to wish you a happy and peaceful birth.

[SummerTwilight]

I switched my mind about birth center birth to home birth back around 20 weeks and I am so glad I did so far. I am psyched! Although it is an adjustment in thinking. Mainly that is all I did to prepare beside buy what they told me to. I just started getting comfy with the thought. Oh and thinking about what kind of foods I would like to have on hand while laboring and I am hiring a cleaning person to scrub my house down about 1 week before my due date (unless I go earlier than that in which case, screw it). But that isn't a necessity. It is cause my cats have loads of cat hair and I want it tamed.
SO happy for you. We are in for an adventure!

[Meeshi Mama]

Oh how I wish I had followed my instincts and gone for a homebirth with my first!! Hooray for you!

Well, this goes for any Mama, homebirthing or hospital birthing, but I would read Ina May Gaskin's newest book ~ Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Lots of great, great info in there!

I am setting up a "birth nest" in our guest room, with some nice quotes, a birth altar of sorts, my supplies. I'm not totally sure where I will want to labor and birth, but I like the idea of having our set-up in a room that is seperate from the rest of the house in case things get too intense for my other daughters (ages 8 and 4)

[tatgurl]

one thing that we did that I would recomend is that we got a ton of those felt backed table cloths at the dollar store. We used duct tape and taped it down all over the floor in the bedroom, around the birth tub and in the hall on the way to the bathroom. it just eased my mind a little to not have to worry about gushing fluid all over the place. oh, and put them felt side up so you're not slipping all over the place.

[marymamma]

Originally Posted by NewAtThis

I posted on another thread my predicament with my midwife closing up shop and closing her birth center this weekend. With 4 weeks to go...I have found another midwife and am switching to a homebirth! Eeeek!
I have pictured a birthcenter birth the whole time, and now my mind is just spinning while I adjust my brain and imagine the event right here. I meet with the new mw next Tuesday, and I'll get my list of supplies then, and my old mw is giving me her birth pool to use.

So HB mamas, first timers and experienced, what else besides getting the supplies from the HB list, did you do to prepare your home and mind for the big event?
I don't have much time to get everything ready...but I want to be as prepared as I can, and I would love to hear your suggestions!

I would say the main thing is to get everything really clean, especially the bathroom and your bedroom. If I had the money I would hire someone to come and clean, but since I don't, I just harass DH to help me with the things I can't reach or bend down to

Think about the lighting and how you may want it. Get some good smelling candles, insense, or oils to have going. Have all your supplies for the birth and baby care organized and easy to get to so you don't have to get everything together at the last minute. The midwife will probably have a good list of stuff for you. Make sure the fridge and freezer is stocked with easy to make meals (its a good idea to have some food and drinks available for the midwife and her assistants) and some food and drinks for you during labor.

I had a homebirth with my first and I loved it! It really is nice not to have to go anywhere and just be able to labor in a familiar environment.

[NewAtThis]

Thanks for all the replies mamas! I've gotten my list from the mw and am busy trying to get everything in order. I like the ideas about the felt backed tablecloths and the birth altar. Now that I'm more in the mindset, I am SO glad we switched to a homebirth. I really like the new mw and I love thinking of how everthing I need is right here. I'm so excited for this babe!
Now..if it can just wait a week so I can get everything ready!!

[ColoradoMama]

My advice - relax! It was so wonderful to birth in my own home. I was so relaxed and calm and it just felt right. Yea, I'm a little fanatical about getting my house clean, but that's not really because of the birth! LOL. But, if it gets done, it gets done - if not, oh well!