If you have other children . . . .

[2much2luv]

How old are they?

Where were they born and what were the births like?

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house?

Anything else about them we should know?

[springbabes]

How old are they?
9.5 DD (Lilly), 7.5 DD (Sophie), and 3.5 DS(Henry)

Where were they born and what were the births like?
My first was born in the hospital, drug-free, CNM-assisted. Labor was 12 hours start to finish. Got to the hospital at 3cm, she was born 4 hours later, 30 minutes of pushing. My second was a home-waterbirth with a midwife. Labor was about 7 hours long, she was born in one big push. Third was also a homebirth with a midwife. Labor was about 8 hours long but I didn't know I was in labor until about 2.5 hours before he was born (tons of false labor, plus he was earlier than my other two). 9 minutes of pushing. I think I'm pretty lucky to have such easy labors, even though they seem like a lot of work at the time .

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house?
All of my kids are super excited. A couple of weeks ago, DS said to me, out of the blue, that he wished we could have a baby come live at our house. I was pregnant then, but didn't know it. They're all busy trying to come up with names.

Anything else about them we should know?
I started homeschooling my girls half-way through the school year last year and so far we are loving it. Also, I'm planning on having my girls watch the birth .

[2much2luv]

How old are they?
Serra is 6. Hero is 4, almost five. Eden is 2, almost 3.

Where were they born and what were the births like?
My first was induced at 41 weeks. It was a 27 hour labor with an epidural and two hours of pushing. My second was a home waterbirth with a midwife, about a 6 hour labor and 2 great pushes to get her out. My third was a home water unassisted birth, about a 10 hour labor and a few minutes of pushing.

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house?
They'll all be so excited when we tell them we're expecting. I'm pretty sure the older two will be super excited when the baby actually arrives too. They all adore babies. I'm a little concerned that my youngest might have some trouble feel displaced when the baby comes. She is very much the baby of the family and she likes it that way

Anything else about them we should know?
We homeschool as well, springbabes. I would be happy for them all to be there for the birth, but last time went so well with my two sleeping through it. We'll just see what happens when the time comes.

[sleet76]

How old are they?
Nora is 3.5 and Henry is 18 months

Where were they born and what were the births like?

*Nora was born in a hospital, I was 2 weeks late, induced with pitocin, and had an epidural. (7lbs 6oz 20.5 in.) We went in at 8am and she was born at about 10pm with 1 hr of pushing--no complications with the birth, but I did have granulation tissue where my tear was healing, and it took about 5-6 months to heal up and resolve. That motivated me to learn about how I'd be less likely to tear the next time. That led me to:

*Henry was also born in a hospital (different one) with a CNM, 6 days late, totally natural birth (no drugs, no IV, no hep lock, no monitoring, etc...). (8lbs 9oz, 21inches) Contractions started at 4am, and I went in to the hospital at about 10:00 and was at 8 cm. I did end up pushing him for about 1.5 hrs--he was having a hard time making it through my pelvis and was starting to turn posterior. With some creative pushing positions, we were able to get him to turn the right way and finally slip by. He was born at 1:30 pm. It was hard, but totally doable! Looking forward to a natural childbirth again.

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house?
I think they will be fine. Henry will be so young that he'll just go with the flow (his typical personality anyway), and Nora will have some challenges, but will love the baby. She's been asking for a sister lately.

Anything else about them we should know? They're sweet!

[springbabes]

Originally Posted by 2much2luv

I would be happy for them all to be there for the birth, but last time went so well with my two sleeping through it.

That's exactly how it went for us last time. DS came in the middle of the night and we just let the girls sleep. They were 6 and 4 and I worried how they'd handle it. This time, my oldest DD has already made me promise to wake her up. She'll be 10 and my other DD will be 8 so I think they will be fine. I'm going to find somewhere for DS to go though, I think.

[beana's mommy]

How old are they?
We have one dd who is 14 1/2 months old.

Where were they born and what were the births like?
She was born in a hospital. I was induced two days shy of my due date. She was getting on the large side, I was already dialating and starting to efface, so we and our OB were both comfortable with the decision. And I was VERY anxious for her arrival and constantly worried that something was going to happen to her.

Anyways, we went in the night before for cervidil, 2 hours later I started getting very painful contractions that came every 2-3 minutes and never stopped. When they checked me 5 hours later, and I was now at a good two (almost 2 for the last week) I decided I wanted that epidural when they would give it to me! The pitocin started a few hours later, and I didn't really notice my contractions being any worse (though I don't think they could have been! LOL) And then got the epidural about an hour later. 3 hours later she was born after 30 minutes of pushing. I had a wonderful epidural, never felt a single thing until hours after she was born. I watched it all on a big mirror. Next time I want to help catch, I was a little overwhelmed and in shock last time, so I passed up on the opportunity to touch her head and help catch her.

It was a very special experience for us. My sister is a labor and delivery nurse at our hospital. A close friend of her's was my nurse, and my sister did all of my checks once my family got there in the morning. She got to tell me when I was complete and would get to push soon! And I didn't believe her!

My mom, 2 sisters, mom-in-law and of course, dh were all there for the delivery. My dad was in the room during the labor, but, left before I started pushing by his own choice. I really didn't mind him being there. Although, my sisters say they would have! LOL

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house?
Our dd should be about 23 months. She LOVES children and babies. I know there will be an adjustment to sharing us, but, I think it will all go well. I'm most worried about leaving her for the night, it will be her first sleepover somewhere. Though, we'll probably have it arranged with her cousins, so she'll hopefully have a blast!

Anything else about them we should know?
She's the most wonderful 14 month old in the world!

[mirthfulmum]

How old are they?
Alias (as in he dosen't use his real name he uses an alias, it's a bob dylan reference) is 4 and Harrison is 2.

Where were they born and what were the births like?
Alias was born at a hospital with a midwife and an OB. His labour went really well, and went relatively quick. Hard labour started around 8pm and I was pushing around 1am. But I just couldn't push him past crowning. For 4 hours I pushed and all you could see was a dollar coin sized bit of his head. My midwife asked if it was time to call an OB and I, exhausted said yes. The OB came, performed a vacuum extraction and Alias was born at 6am. He was born blue and needed a bit of help getting his breathing regular but I had contact with him almost immediately, I think it took about 2 to 5 minutes of them rubbing and pumping him to get a good reponse from Alias. But as soon as I held him he was pink, and beautiful and very alert. And an instant champion nurser.
Harrison was a surprise home birth. We were too nervous from our experience with Alias to trust a home birth. We wanted to birth in a hospital again. But with Harrison labour and delivery all went so fast. I woke with contractions at 4 am but they were very mild and managable. I woke up Dh around 7 am to tell him labour had started. By 10:30am I had made Alias his lunch and had gotten him ready and out the door to spend the day with my mom. Once he was gone and I relaxed the big contractions came. It all went so fast and furious, by the time the midwife came and started us out the door to the hospital it was too late, I was already pushing. Harrison was born at 12:30 in the afternoon.

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house?
Alias has been asking for another baby for about a year, I'm pretty sure he'll be thrilled. Harrison will have a tough time adjusting. I'm trying to give him tons of baby time now. I want to just fill him up with my love and attention now so that we have a strong enough connection so that when the baby comes, he'll trust me to know that he's still very special in my heart.

Anything else about them we should know?
I'm not planning to have the boys at the birth. I think it'll be to distracting for me. But I am planning to bring them to many of my midwife appointments. I want them to be apart of the amazing change that is hapening to our family.

[trmpetplaya]

How old are they? She'll be one year old on November 10th

Where were they born and what were the births like? She was born at home under water in a rubbermaid feeding trough. It was wonderful. I had about 7 hours of active labour and about 2 days of inactive labour. Not bad for the first baby!

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house? She loves babies. I think she'll be fine. I'm planning on tandem nursing them.

love and peace.

[Lissybug]

How old are they?
James is 18 mos.
Where were they born and what were the births like?
I had a homebirth with midwives, but it was at the home the midwives use for their office, not my own. They were so excited that I was finally in labor that eventually all three of them from the practice showed up at the birth even though one wasn't on call. I was 18 days overdue and had been going around 4 cm dialated for days. Finally my water broke at 5:30 am but I didn't go into labor until that night around 8. After about 9 hours of labor-six of them in a bathtub (water!! now!!!) I pushed for an hour. He was born at 5:50 am- just about 24 hours after my water broke. He was very healthy and nursed right away. I didn't tear (hope to repeat that!). This time I'll get to have the baby at my own home since we've moved.
How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house?
Well- he'll be 2yrs 3mos. Ultimately I'm sure it'lll be fine. I'm guessing we'll have some adjustment, but he's pretty easy going.

Anything else about them we should know?
His nickname is the Squeak, though lately we think it should be Crash!

[mommy-X-2]

How old are they? My SS Ruben is 10 other SS Mitchell is 7 and DD Railee is 14 months.

Where were they born and what were the births like? Railee was born in our local hospital. I started having contractions at 10pm. woke up at 3 with contractions every 2 to 3 minutes. Went to the hospital and they stopped. So at 9 am we went home and rested as much as possible. At 4 pm went back with heavy contractions. Got an epidural and went from 6 to 9 in 30 minutes. Started pushing and after 3 1/2 hours of pushing when the baby didnt move the doctor gave me an episeotimy and pulled her out. Found out after delivery that my pelvis is to small for a natural birth.

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house? The boys are so excited. They cant wait to have another baby and have been asking for one for a while now. Railee is still to young to understand but loves babies and has a loving nature about her. I think she will be ok.

Anything else about them we should know? Even though I didn give birth to them the boys mean just as much to me.

[IamPink]

How old are they? DS1 (bonus son) is 8, ds2 just turned 5, dd is 19 months.

Where were they born and what were the births like? ds1's was the easiest for me . haha
ds2 was augmented with Pitocin after prodromal labor. At the time I didn't know any better and my OB was willing. : Got an epidural after 9 or so hours. Of course it didn't work but I was told not to get out of bed. That sucked! Stayed at 4 cm all day. OB tried to persuade me into a c-s, but I'm too damn stubborn! Finally knew something was happening around 8:45pm. Asked to be checked again, RN wouldn't b/c she had just checked at 8:30. Said fine I'll just have him by myself. Came in and I started pushing at 8:55. He was born at 9:07pm. No epis or tears. 8lbs 7.5 oz (they said 37 weeks! )
DD was induced after 10 weeks on complete bed rest for pre-eclampsia. Again, I didn't know better : . I had Cytotec the night before (again- stupid, stupid, stupid) then Pit was started the next morning when I was 4cm. Since my epi didn't work with ds2, I didn't get another one. She was OP and it hurt like hell, but without drugs I was able to get up and move around on my bed (pre-e) and make it manageable.

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house? They don't know yet, but ds2 will be so excited!! DS1 ignores his sister the way it is, so I don't think he'll pay to much attention to the new baby. DD will just turn 2 so I have no idea how that's going to go!!

Anything else about them we should know? They know that we are going to be getting pregnant sometime soon so they are already excited.

[gr8tfulmom]

How old are they
Riley is 11, Mason is 10, Taite is 13 mo

Their Births
R: 6 hours active labor, AROM (I was young), 45 minutes of pushing, inconsequential tear because I wouldn't slow down, in a hospital w/ mws, 7lb3oz
M: 5 hours active labor, hour of pushing, hospital w/ mws, 7lb5oz
T: 2 weeks before our date I measured way big (according to medwives), had to have another ultrasound, they thought I had too much fluid, then a huge baby, freaked me out with talk of emergency c/s, switched me to the big hospital...went into labor spontaneously, got to 5cm at home before we went in, hit the wall and remained at 5 for 7 hours of active painful please shoot me labor, recieved pit, then an epi, half an hour later, about 10 pushes, and we had our 9lb11oz boy

Handling a new babe
The girls will be great, they love babies. Hopefully ds will be out of the eye poking phase by then

Anything else
R & M have been in Montessori schools since childrens' house, but with a 30 min. commute one way we are entertaining the option of homeschooling.

[Ellarae]

How old are they?
DD is almost 8 months old.

Where were they born and what were the births like?
Home Water Birth. Wonderful! I went into labor naturally 4 days before my due date, and she was born about 10 hours later. For the most part, it was a very good experience, and I'm going to do it exactly the same way this time, just with a different midwife.

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house?
Not sure. That's my biggest fear right now. She's still so young that she really has no experience with babies younger than her. She's always the youngest! She's also very high-needs, so I'm not sure how she'll feel about sharing me. Hopefully it will be a smooth transition!

[2much2luv]

My first two are 18 months apart and the transition was really easy on my oldest. She was an easy going baby, which might not be true for your dd, but she really just accepted the new baby easily and we had no problem with jealousy or things like that.

[Lissybug]

Originally Posted by gr8tfulmom

Their Births
R: 6 hours active labor, AROM (I was young), 45 minutes of pushing, inconsequential tear because I wouldn't slow down, in a hospital w/ mws, 7lb3oz

What does AROM mean? Thanks

[pilllowhead]

Oscar will be 5 in 15 days (he is counting down now)

When my waters leaked with him it took 2 days before he popped out, but no hard contrations until about the last 2 hours. We were at home in our flat in Paddington, London and I had to fight, tooth and nail, to be allowed to have him at home. I was very much in control and there were no real problems.

I'm looking forward to enjoying the whole of this pregnancy, as we had originally decided on adoption last time (as I was still at University).
I'm also looking forward to telling people this time and their being genuinely happy for me without any doubts this time.

He has been patiently awaiting his little sister (as his is convinced that the sibling eventually coming is a girl). For a while it was quite embarassing, he would tell people in the banks, on the street, that his baby sister was in mummy's tummy and I would have to reassure the surprised person I was not pg. One day my tummy rumbled and Oscar said that was his baby sister. When we said his baby sister must be a bear, he got so angry, he stormed away to his room and demanded an apology.

Sorry, this has been a bit long. He's going to be great

[gr8tfulmom]

Originally Posted by Lissybug

What does AROM mean? Thanks

Artificial Rupture of Membranes - they broke my amniotic sack with a plastic poker and while they did that, scratched my poor little babes head.

[goddessjulia]

How old are they?

ds will be 4 at the end of november.

Where were they born and what were the births like?

he was born in a hospital, with a CNM. his birth was loooong and sloooowwww almost 26 hours. after dilating all day, starting at 5:30 am, arrived at the H at 3 cm at 9pm. getting to 5 got really intense. don't know what happened between 5 and 10. then the pushing, I didn't really know how to do it right (in hindsight), so maybe it could have been faster... I pushed for almost 4 hours. his head got stuck, then his shoulder. had decels at the end that I could recognize. I remember the nurse, at my left side, saying very calmly, "you need to get him out now, Julia. it's important." at that moment, I became a mother, willing to die for my baby. I got him out in one or two more pushes, at 7:19 am.

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house?

we've had 2 cousins born this summer, so he's getting a little bit of baby experience, and we've been talking about it. before I got pg, I would ask, and he would say yes, it would be fun, etc. by the time this one gets here, he'll be past 4.5, so I think he'll do ok. but who knows-- he's very intense!

Anything else about them we should know?

he's still nursing, so it will be interesting to see how that unfolds over time... and I sure do hope he gets the hang of pooping in the potty before the baby comes! :

[maylea_moon]

How old are they?
26 months

Where were they born and what were the births like?
in the hospital. the birth was fine, but what i know now, it *could* have been better. it was medicated, and a pretty typical hospital vaginal birth.

How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house?
i have NO idea. i can't say i'm not a little worried!

[tripmom+]

How old are they?
Trisha, Jonathan and Jaden are 9. Ryan is 6.

Where were they born and what were the births like?

Triplets were born in a hospital via csection at 32 weeks. They were really doing well and didn't spend too much extra time in the hospital, although I did go home without them, which was devastation. Ryan was born in a hospital, also. It was a wonderful VBAC. Perfect experience. I hope this one goes just as well.


How do you think they'll handle having a new baby in the house?
I hope they'll be happy. I know Trisha will be thrilled. I'm not sure how Ryan is going to handle it since he has had "baby" status for so long!

Anything else about them we should know?
This babe is due on July 9th and Ryan's bday is July 10th. He's actually always complained that the triplets get to be bday buddies and he doesn't have one, so maybe, just maybe...