UP/UCers?

[MommaGreenBean]

Anyone else here a UP/UCer?

(UP is unassisted pregnancy- doing your own prenatal care, UC is unassisted childbirth- having the baby without the assistance of a doctor or midwife)

We UP/UCd our 18 month old. I like it. There are some things I'll change, I am going to meet with a naturopath to talk about my diet a little more, and maybe check my iron and whatnot before birth. I hemorrhaged last time, and I'd like to see if she has insight on what I can do nutritionally to try and prevent that this time. I think it may have been partly stress (marriage problems that have since been resolved) and partly nutrition (Sept baby- I just didn't feel like eating much since it was so hot!) that contributed to it so I want to cover all my bases.

What supplies are you getting? What do you do for prenatals?

I'm already poking around my uterus to see if I can feel it. I checked my fundal height for fun last time, and it was nice and reassuring that the baby was growing. I used a fetascope from about 22 weeks on, and loved that. I don't know where mine is, I'll have to go find it. I need to get a scale, I like to at least have the ability to track my weight

Anyone else?

[Patchfire]

Me!

I am glad I am not the only one poking around to find the uterus! Dh was laughing at me yesterday - nicely, of course.

I may or may not check my BP. My mom needs to buy a BP monitor and if she does, I'll get her to bring it over periodically, but if she doesn't, I'm not going to buy one myself. I do want to get a fetoscope. Both of my others have had anterior placentas which has really interfered with the fetoscope, so I spent the days post-O visualizing a posterior implantation. We'll see if it worked!

I did the Brewer diet with my first and didn't as much with my second - I really want to do it again because my first pregnancy was the healthiest I have *ever* been, I think. I've been doing a little bit of reading and making notes for issues that I know dh will ask about in, oh, September, but I won't want to deal with by then.

[MommaGreenBean]

Yay!

I forgot about the blood pressure. I did buy a cuff last time because we have a family history of preeclampsia so I wanted to watch it, but I didn't get it last time so it's very unlikely I'd get it with #2. That and I loaned it out to someone who most likely forgot that it wasn't a gift and I don't feel like dealing with it

I love doing prenatals whenever I feel like it! When I got to the 3rd trimester last time, I'd listen to her heartbeat every afternoon

ETA I tried the brewer diet until morning sickness started. It was modified because dairy gives me sinus infections, and a lot of the diet is based on dairy, but it was really healthy!

[nurnur]

me, I have lots of supplies from being a mw apprentice for the last 7 months. I quit the apprenticeship the day before I found out, that was def. meant to be! I too bled quite heavily last time, It was not a UC but I have no blood work done so it could be that my iron was low. I think that the water temp (waterbirth) could make a difference in bleeding, vaso-dilation. I didn't really "hemmorage" and didn't get any pit or methragine from the MW but I remember it being one of those tense moments. I also think that any interference...including observation from outsiders! can mess up that preciouse postpartum moment when the flood of oxytocin is supposed to be there to contract the uterus as you first lay eyes and discover your baby. Just having all the people around that I did I instatntly took my attention from baby to talking to them, this time I just want that moment to be right. Can I ask what the management was for your hemmorage?

[MommaGreenBean]

Shepard's purse stopped it immediately. But it also caused me to retain my placenta. I chose to use SP prior to delivering the placenta because Angelica didn't work to get the placenta out and I needed to stop bleeding. I really didn't want to go to the hospital, so I figured we'd deal with the placenta later and just get the bleeding fixed now.

I'm treating this last birth as a learning experience, and not fearing the next one. I believe that stress hormones had a big interference with oxytocin, because later on I had trouble letting down with nursing when my husband was around (he's since changed, but we had a patchy couple months).

[nurnur]

I really want to go into this birth with trust and not be thinking now do I have all my herbs ready just in case this or that happens, for me I think that way of thinking contradicts the philosohpy of uc, I wish Laura Shannley would chime in here! But at the same time it is a hard thing to overcome. Last pregnancy I worked for 9 months just processing all my fears of actually having a baby come out of my vagina and then doing it at home, but at the end any fears that had been there were gone and uterine rupture(which was my only big fear during that preg.) never entered my mind. So this time, I can already see some fears creaping up for me about bleeding, and all the normal what ifs, but I think that is the universe really chanllenging me, putting my trust of birth to the test. It's one thing to go around saying I trust birth and my bodies innate wisdom and another to really walk that path!

[MommaGreenBean]

I have a little bit different beliefs. I do like Laura Shanney's site, and learned from it, but I just believe a little differently.

Personally, I believe that people were created perfectly, and that there was no death until there was sin. Once there was sin, our bodies became susceptible to death, hurt, sickness, etc. I believe that by doing things as much as possible as my God intended, we can avoid a LOT of sickness, death, and hurt, but it's still going to be there. For that reason I try to be careful about what foods I eat (are cheetos really what God intended me to eat?) and what I do (like is it really God's intention for me to be going 70 mph over ice with no seatbelt on?).

I believe that God gave us herbs for healing, and gave people gifts to understand the herbs. So I try to look to those first if I have a problem that isn't solved by a normal lifestyle change. For me it's not that I don't trust my body to birth a baby, I understand that my body was designed to birth that baby, but I also understand that my body can fail and outside influences can affect me beyond my control, so I research what I can and prepare how I can for those with God-given medicine as my first resort, and the hospital as a second resort.

I'm not uptight and nervous, but I have researched some of the most common things that could go wrong in a UC (hemorrhage, sticky shoulders, baby born blue, etc) and found the most natural solutions to those problems that I could use. (respectively: Shepard's purse, hands-and-knees birthing, rubbing/talking to baby or cayenne on the tongue if absolutely needed)

I personally don't believe that my thoughts are 100% indicative of how my birth turns out. So I do try to prepare a little and trust a lot, in a balance that works for me and my family. Well, not my extended family but my family here in this house.

Not preaching (is this even allowed on MDC?) just saying my own thoughts and how I came to this conclusion.

[nurnur]

I think that there is surely a balance. I have just completed reading Laura's book and am still pondering it. I want o clarify that I do know...first hand that emergencies happen and will have "things" on hand to help with those possibilites, I just hope that in my mind I will not be overly focused on these things and able to relax and trust but at the same time be watchful and alert. I don't doubt that when the time comes I will be able to do this, but these are just my concerns today.