Any homebirthers here? - Page 3

[impromptukiss]

Originally Posted by mama2babybeans

Oh, that reminds me that I need to add that to my list! I know that will really hit the spot.

i only bought 3 little bottles last time, and it was SO good after the birth. i went for the 3rd one later that night & couldn't find it. asked dh, and "oh, i drank it." you WHAT?! lol. i got an 8 pack this time. i'll put his name on one lid, and one lid only. lol.

[impromptukiss]

Originally Posted by 3xx1xyFamily

HA HA HA.... that's been my daily mantra for weeks!!! Currently, I'm 22 months of either PG and/or nursing and counting!

yeah, i'm at .... 63 months of pregnant and/or nursing, lol.
dd nursed for 2 years, ds was born when she was 22mo old. then ds nursed until he was 2y2mo which was when i was about 3mo pregnant this time.

my g-ma was telling me the other day i need ot get some sleep, ect ... but i really think my body is just used to it at this point. i've been waking every few hours for 5 straight years now, lol.

[impromptukiss]

Originally Posted by mama2babybeans

ok, one more question then I really will shut up
How many chux pads do you usually keep on hand? (if you use them, that is!)
TIA!

we only used the chux when my mw was stitching me up, and cleaning me out (i had some pieces of placenta still in there afterwards that didn't want to come out, and were causing some bleeding) ... we probably used about 4? i bought like 4 packs, so i still have a bunch left over, lol.

[riverundine]

with dd we used an oral vitamin k that the midwife had. this time we're skipping it entirely. i've been going strong on alfalfa to supplement.
my sister, who is due in march, called today. she asked her midwife about oral vit k and her midwife told her that she only knew of it being available in europe. i posted on "i'm preg" and got a link to this company. anyone know of any other sources?

[3xx1xyFamily]

Originally Posted by impromptukiss

yeah, i'm at .... 63 months of pregnant and/or nursing, lol.

owie, you're my hero! Last week I caught myself telling DH that I'm almost tempted not to BF this one cause I want my body back... but I full well know the benefits and can't deny that to my girls. GRRRRR, damn morals! I guess I'll just keep counting.....

[starry_mama]

Hi mamas! I mostly hang in the December DDC (I'm due on the 31st), but I could very easily have this baby in January. Planning a homebirth, this will be my first (last baby was a UP/UC transport). I have been having a UP, and planning a UC, but last week hired a midwife who will be here for the birth.

[neverdoingitagain]

I'm so excited for all you ladies who are homebirthing!
A homebirth was my first option with this baby, but sadly we can't afford the mw : and while I'm now feeling brave enough to UC, my dh is so NOT! Oh well.
Anyway, here to a great labour and delivery ladies! I can't wait to hear all the birth stories

[impromptukiss]

Originally Posted by 3xx1xyFamily

owie, you're my hero! Last week I caught myself telling DH that I'm almost tempted not to BF this one cause I want my body back... but I full well know the benefits and can't deny that to my girls. GRRRRR, damn morals! I guess I'll just keep counting.....

i know, lol. our plan was to ttc in january '08. that would give me a good 6 months with no one in or on me, lol ... but it didn't work that way, haha. it is nice to not be nursing through this pregnancy this time. i did not enjoy tandeming at all, and weaned dd when ds was a week old.

when i found out i was pregnant this time (on DS' second birthday & mother's day!), i knew i wanted to try and wean him soon because i couldn't imagine nursing him through the pregnancy, dh being deployed, and then possibly having to wean after baby came when dh left again. so far it has worked out well!

[Pilgrim]

I'm so excited - more "nesting" getting done around here. DH removed all of the toys & clutter out of the room with the birth tub. We've got clear bins in there, ready to fill with supplies. We've filled the tub 3 times now.

1st time - did a partial "lukewarm bath" fill for DD to play in. Couple hours later, filled it the rest of the way, and it ended up too hot, but it was a very nice soak! I only realized after I had been in there a bit that I was overheating.

2nd time - used a timer and filled it from start to finish without stopping. Sometime after 30 minutes of filling, the water ran cold into the tub. It was so late at night that we knew we wouldn't have time to drain out some cold water and boil pots to warm it back up again. Nobody got to play in there, and I was really bummed because I wanted a nice warm floaty soak!!

Third time - did a partial lukewarm fill again. Came back several hours later and water was pretty cool, but DH thought the hot would make it balance perfectly. But it did not, and it got up to slightly more than lukewarm. I was able to get in without freezing, and DD was able to get in without burning. (I like a very hot bath, DD likes one that's just about "room temperature," which seems freezing to me.) DH pulled out a few buckets and put in some boiling water for us, and it got very nice in there! But it was awesome, as DD and I usually don't bathe together because our water comfort zone seems sooo opposite. We were both happy to discover it could be done!!

Anyway, I'm glad we're doing these "practice runs!" I know it's widely recommended to do at least one, but I'm glad I read about the idea, because I don't know if I would have done it.

I also finally ordered my cloth diaper supplies. That felt like a huge chore - so many choices, options, & prices! I decided to go w/ prefolds & wool covers. I think we're going to partially EC.

[allnaturalmama]

I'm with all the procrastinators. When preparing for my last HB, I think I had all my birth supplies neatly organized and cataloged (LOL!) by 33 weeks or so. I'm now 37 weeks, and hoping to get to it this weekend.

As far as Chux pads, I bought the motherlode for my last birth because they were cheap, cheap, cheap in bulk from some website, I knew the extras would keep forever, and I'm planning on more babies. We used them everywhere - to protect the carpet during the birth, on the bed after the birth (great for the first few days postpartum) and on the couch and glider where I nursed the first few days. I'm a heavy bleeder in the beginning, and they did catch a few oops moments.

Oh, I also sweat like a marathon runner the first couple of nights after the birth, so it's nice to be able to change them out and not sleep on soaked sheets.

[lilylove]

For those planning water births or to labor in tubs, what are you using to empty the tub afterward? I thought my midwife had a little pump but she doesn't.

[starry_mama]

Originally Posted by lilylove

For those planning water births or to labor in tubs, what are you using to empty the tub afterward? I thought my midwife had a little pump but she doesn't.

I bought "H". http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...tt=python&Np=1

[Gunter]

we're planning another homebirth here!

[momonthebeach]

Good morning all! Add me to the list of people who haven't bought anything!! My midwife had a pretty short list of things that I needed to buy last time so I'm not expecting it to be too much. I bought 2 packages of chux pads last time because they are nice for the bed for after the baby is born. I used them under my chest so I didn't leak milk all over the bed when I fall asleep nursing. I had some reusable ones but got sick of washing them and went with the disposable since it doesn't last too long.
We are doing the trial runs with the birth pool next weekend. We didn't do one last time and never got the pool that warm although it really didn't bother me. This time, being in January, I think that I will want a warm pool!! I did get one that is a little smaller this time. We also didn't start filling up the pool until late since I thought that labor was going to last a lot longer than it did. We just used the hose and drained the water out the window afterwords (although you could drain it down the sink/tub). Once you (not really you but someone!!) get the water flowing out of the hose (suck on it for a second), it will just flow out. Once it got down really low, they just carried it outside and dumped the very end.
I also ate jalapeno pizza right before I went into labor with DS2!! I had been contracting off and on all morning. As I stood up from eating, my water broke (one of those huge balloon-sounding pops and a huge gush). Thank God I was on the tile!! Give me a couple more weeks and I will be bringing on the pizza!!
Katie

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by lilylove

For those planning water births or to labor in tubs, what are you using to empty the tub afterward? I thought my midwife had a little pump but she doesn't.

we have been taking family soaks over the past week or so, and we use the hose that we fill it with to siphon it back out. We were totally impressed the first time we saw that it really siphons it nearly dry!! (once the siphon broke with about a foot of water left, but we just started it back up again.) We have the tub set up in the master bedroom, and siphon it out into the shower. We are going to buy a second hose, so that in case I need/want adjustments, we can have water coming in *and* water going out at the same time.

My midwife does have a pump, and said she'd bring it. But after I thought about it, I wouldn't want her to use it. I'm sure that pump has been stuck into bloody water, and it's not been sterilized. I don't want *that* put into my tub!

[Michelle*]

Hi ladies! I just wanted to get in on this too

We are planning our first homebirth (unassisted) with our little girl, due January 7th. (29days! wow)

We have most of our supplies, I think. I still want to stock the freezer with quite a few of those 'voila!' meals and things for DH, and I want to buy some snacks for labor but apart from that we have amassed quite a stash of linens, chux, pads, etc etc. I have a few shower curtains to put down. We have a fishy pool, all the hoses and accessories and a tarp to protect the floor.

We did a half-trial run with the pool and it all seems to work GREAT.

Now we're just waiting. It's so exciting to imagine giving birth at home this time My first experience was a great one at a birth center, but the idea of NOT being in a car sounds wonderful.

Just wanted to say HI!

M

[lilylove]

Thanks, siphoning is what I suggested but Dh didn't think it would work. Not sure why

[SharonAnne]

Planning home birth #2 here.

Oh gosh, what do I still have to do....let's see....

Clean my bedroom so there's enough room to give birth in it.
Rearrange some furniture to sidecar dd's old crib. (Rearrange a LOT of furniture. Maybe get rid of some furniture. Oh where the HECK is that stupid thing going to go? )
Get the infant seat in the car. Just in case.
Oh, um, order the birth box. Right. Must do.
Get pads for post partum.
Get some shower curtains for, well, the shower. And for the bed. But I really need to change the one in my shower; it's getting gross.
Which reminds me, I have to recaulk the tub...or I have to have DH recaulk the tub. Because I did it in a nesting frenzy a couple weeks ago, and I did a crappy job. I guess some people just can't caulk. :
Figure on some food and get that done. Soup sounds good....hmmm
Stock up on protein filled snacks that I won't eat before I go into labor. (There's protein in chocolate, right? )
Penetrate the creepiness of the basement long enough to find DDs gender neutral infant stuff. Make DH carry it upstairs.
Wash that stuff. Blech.
Get the baby swing out of the basement, too. Put it someplace where dd won't climb all over it and break it.....the ceiling maybe?

I htink that's it. I'll come back and add more if I think of anything :

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

I'm so excited - more "nesting" getting done around here. DH removed all of the toys & clutter out of the room with the birth tub. We've got clear bins in there, ready to fill with supplies. We've filled the tub 3 times now.

Wow, I'm impressed! I hadn't even thought of doing a practice run with filling up the tub, but I did wonder how we'd know how long it would take. Our tub is going in the kitchen/dining room. Dh and the mw both thought that'd be the best place to put it. I haven't asked him yet, but I'm wondering where exactly he's going to put the table and the chairs.

Originally Posted by lilylove

Thanks, siphoning is what I suggested but Dh didn't think it would work. Not sure why

Another vote for siphoning here. My mw usually lends out a pump, but in the event she forgets to bring it, the instruction sheet that comes with the tub (aka a 150 gallon stock tank) tells you how to use the siphon method.

I'm in the middle of loads of laundry today. Yesterday I sorted through a whole bunch of paperwork and shredded up a ton of it. While I was doing that dh and ds (ok...mostly dh) were getting the boxes of baby clothes out and other supply type stuff we had packed away.

We really don't know if babe will be a boy or girl so for now I just pulled out all of the more gender neutral type stuff figuring that I can have someone else dig out the rest. I don't know why I feel the need to wash it all as I did wash it before we put it away.

[allnaturalmama]

Originally Posted by lilylove

Thanks, siphoning is what I suggested but Dh didn't think it would work. Not sure why

We've siphoned successfully several times, and it's soooo, soooo simple:

Rather than having to use mouth suction to get the siphoning going, we use the outdoor spigot to fill the hose completely full, from the end of the hose that the pool will be draining out of, backflowing to the pool. Once the hose is full with no air bubbles coming out in the pool, carefully disconnect the hose from the outdoor spigot and cover it with your thumb so no water leaks out. Lay it down at a point that is lower than the birth pool, and the flow starts immediately, without stopping, until the pool is just about dry. Voila!