UC support #14, February 05

[ChildoftheMoon]

uc thread #1 (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=100820)
uc thread #2 (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=112500)
uc thread #3 (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=129415)
uc thread #4 (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=142548)
uc thread #5 (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=152121)
uc thread #6 (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=163941)
uc thread #7 (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=171306)
uc thread #8 (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=177301)
uc thread #9 (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=188939)
uc thread #10 (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=202503)
uc thread #11 (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=212605)
uc thread #12 (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=223006)
uc thread #13 (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=2469875#post2469875)

roll call

andrea -- UC 8/03 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=751125#post751125)
Aurora -- UC 10/03 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=152779)
Whit -- UC 11/03
2much2luv -- UC 1/04
thechrysalis -- UC 1/04
Mothernature -- UC 1/04
indigolilybear -- UC 3/04 pics (http://home.earthlink.net/~eaglefalconlark/ILB/ILBbirthphotos.html) (first UC 5/01 story (http://www.compleatmother.com/homebirth/elaine.htm) )
citizenfong -- UC 3/04 pics (http://www.teamconner.com/Emerson.html)
Carrieanders -- UC 4/10/04 story (http://pages.ivillage.com/carrieanders/)
Chaka Falls -- UC 4/04
amyamanda -- UC 5/04 story (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=1428929#post1428929)
Karenpl -- UC 6/04 story (http://o-scientist.blogspot.com/2004_06_01_o-scientist_archive.html)
bookwormmama -- UC 6/04
wildthing -- midwife-attended 6/04 story (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=160091)
grnbn76 -- emergency cesarean, 7/04 story (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=164471)
Hathor -- UC 7/04 story (http://www.angelfire.com/comics/hathor/birthstory.html)
Mamajaza -- UC 7/04 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=167335&page=1&pp=20)
gr8fulmom -- UC 7/04 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=1786217#post1786217)
luna13mama -- UC 7/04
Chandar -- UC 7/04 story (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=189033)
Klothos -- UC 7/23/04 story (http://klothos.net/Birth.html)
madrone -- UC 8/19/04
TinyBabyBean -- midwife-attended 8/04 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=158478) (if you're still reading - you may want to relocate your birth story, as that forum is closing...)
violet -- UC 8/19/04
Oshunmama -- midwife-attended 8/04 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=198137)
lovemygirl -- UC 9/9/04 story (http://www.diaperbabies.com/birth_story.htm)
mellie-bellie -- UC 9/27/04
blueviolet -- UC 9/04 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=2071991#post2071991) (first UC 7/01, story (http://home.earthlink.net/~eaglefalconlark/birth/philosophy/willow.html) )
JesseMomme -- UC 9/21/04 (first UC 11/02, story (http://unassistedchildbirth.com/jesse.htm) )
StacyL -- Hospital transport 9/19/04 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=2109114#post2109114)
4xmamamia -- UC 9/30/04
amyjeans -- UC 10/9/04 story (http://thesillingspage.tripod.com/)
rachel -- UC 10/25/04 story (http://littlelovies.com/homebirth.html#joshie_birth_story)
lafemmedesfemmes -- UC 11/8/04 story (http://www.livejournal.com/users/lafemmedesfemme/110047.html)
DancerMom -- UC 11/12/04 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=2335018#post2335018)
Ame -- UC 12/9/04 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=231816)
laurata -- UC 12/10/04 story (http://smartaustin.com/~laura/elliottsbirth.html) (first UC 3/02, story (http://smartaustin.com/~laura/unabirth.html) )
Lula's Mom -- UC 12/12/04 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=227635)
AmyD -- UC December 04' story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=226242)
nikirj -- mw assisted 12/04 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=2431387#post2431387)
Asheville Mama -- EDD January 1 2005
mamamaya -- mid January 2005
zonapellucida -- late January 2005
Chiromom -- 2nd UC 1/23/05 story (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=2625268#post2625268) (first UC 2/03 story (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=42323) )
Dandylion -- UC Feb 1 2005 story (http://unschoolingmama.blogspot.com/2005_01_30_unschoolingmama_archive.html#1107385226 44998000)
Mama2Lennon -- hospital 2-8-05
Hayliesmom -- UC 2-16-05
mehndi mama -- UC 2-12-05
KateSt. -- UC 2-17-05

carlasher -- mid March 2005
sprinkle pocket -- late March 2005
jenniebug--end of March/early April
liamandpipersmama (Laura)--April 2005
FreeRangeMama -- April 2005 (first UC 9/03)
Selissa -- June/July 2005
Binah Yeteirah--July 2005
rainbowmoon -- August 2005
ChildoftheMoon (Brandi)-- late August 2005 (planned uc born still 7/19/04 peacefully at home with mwstory (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=163941&page=14&pp=20))
Quickening--Aug/Sept. 2005
--


Please PM me to make changes or add new story links :D .

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brandi :love

[ChildoftheMoon]

Just wanted to start off this thread with a big congratulations to Stephanie!!!
Wishing you a wonderfully peaceful babymoon. I can't wait to read your story.

Brandi :love

[FreeRangeMama]

:bag:
Subscribing

[majazama]

Brandi~ could you put the link to my new, improved, elaborated, detailed birth story in the UC list up there?:) It's http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=167335&page=1&pp=20 And could you also take my pics out, cause they're not relevent to my UC anymore.

[ChildoftheMoon]

Thanks for the update Mamajaza. I fixed it all up for you :love

[Dandylion]

Thanks for all the congrats everybody! Here (http://unschoolingmama.blogspot.com/2005_01_30_unschoolingmama_archive.html#1107385226 44998000) is a link to my birth story on my blog.

I'm in such bliss right now. So glad I decided to UC. :love

[Aura_Kitten]

!!!!! look at how the community has grown!!!!

:love

[Kundalini-Mama]

Much congratulations to you Stepahine :balloons I'm off to read Irina's birth story!! Enjoy your babymoon :baby

Amy

[Kundalini-Mama]

Brandi,

Owen was born on 11/26, I forgot to put in his birth story (b/c really after the fantabulous birth, how important is the day anyway :LOL ), you have him as dec, as that is when I was due. Thanks :love

Amy

[Hayliesmom]

Congrats Dandylion! I hope to be joining you soon :)

Stacey

[Quickening]

Put me down for UP/UC Aug/Sept 2005!

[BinahYeteirah]

Okay, Quickening went first, so I'll go, too.

Put me down for UC July 2005. ;)

[KateSt.]

Oh Stephanie -- what a beautiful birth story! :love I loved how you mentioned your grandmother would be guiding your baby into the world and I also loved how you compared your uc to Saren's and Harper's births. Thanks so much for sharing such a wonderful experience. With each story I read, I feel more and more ready.

Sprinkle-- been wanting to thank you for the giggle from the last thread about "startling your baby." How cute! Has your husband left yet on his "vision quest?" I've been thinking of you.

Stacey -- I hope you're hanging in there! I still don't feel like my baby will come within the next week -- but maybe the next 2 weeks. Heck, watch "him" be the first baby to be born on his actual EDD!

Brandi -- thanks so much for starting the new thread! Hope you are healthy and doing well.

So, I got a message from my mw yesterday morning (Jennie, you'll appreciate this). To refresh -- I had written her a letter a month ago saying that I had to cut all ties, because I was uncomfortable with the arrangments we were trying to make just to have her as back-up. She called to let me know that "of course" she supports my decision and she'll be there for me in any way I need her -- whether before my baby comes or after. She also shared with me a story of a former client of hers that had moved away and couldn't find a mw so decided to have up/uc. Her former client just gave birth to a very healthy girl who was a double-footling breech. Mama and baby are doing wonderfully. I thought that was a wonderful thing to share -- and just goes to show how even the "abnormal" can be perfectly normal when left up to nature.

Hope all you mamas are doing well.

[Thmom]

omgoodness! it is just SOO awesome to see all these UC birth stories! It's just so wonderful to see all these babies born into the loving hands of thier parents in the quiet of thier home :love Congratulations to you all!!
ftr: I've had 3 UC's the last one born on the toilet :D

[majazama]

Beautiful birth story, stephanie! :love

[sprinkle pocket]

dandylion~ :throb your bliss is so clearly palpable in your birth story. and like kate said, each story i read brings me more peace as i approach my uc. so for partially selfish reasons, thanks for sharing your story. how lucky for irina and how lucky for your other 2 girls to see a *real* nature-led birth. (even if she didn't get cereal right when she wanted it :LOL). wow. it was just beautiful. enjoy your babymoon.

kate~ yep, dh has been gone since before sunrise sunday. i'm looking forward to hearing about his reflections if they resurface after his return. sometimes they just bubble for a while and i only hear about them when he's on the phone with a guy friend. i went to the babyshower/blessingway that afternoon. not knowing many in town, i was blown away by the group of women that had gathered. all ages, & all so amazing. i actually chose to tell one neat woman that i was planning to be unassisted. she just said 'wow.' --like it took her into her own mind (she has a 6mo old), rather than projecting some judgement onto me. that was invigorating. only one woman was annoying, hounding me for a due date--i don't even know her. then she asked me if i was planning on going "totally unassisted". it really put me on the spot, asking me when there were like 20 other women around in a circle (though in reality they probably weren't paying attention). so i just said yes. i didn't know how to be assertive without sounding aggressive or defensive. so i just winged it, and tried to make it clear by my energy that further comments from her were unwelcome. so i went home and didn't have dh to vent to. it was really cool to work through her vibe and just being around so much estrogen and so many women/mamas/babies/pregnant women on my own. by morning, i couldn't really remember what bugged me about her...just the forwardness of her one comment and i'd already dealt with that. it made me smile that i was able to shake it. i'm not usually good at that. oh, one older woman said she had 2 kids and childbirth was totally painless and if it weren't for the pregnancy side of it and stuff (she's married to a woman, so i don't think she'd like the getting pg part) she'd give birth once a year. it was the most connected she'd ever felt to the creator. you could almost hear the silence when she was talking about the painless part. it was cool to hear. so kate, i feel like we're in a play together and you have to say your lines on stage 1st, or you're in line for a roller coaster in front of me. do you feel that way? i did realize though that you could go longer and i could go earlier and i could birth before you. are we going to see a belly pic before you birth? dh and i have been meaning to take one that i can post, but haven't and now he has the camera with him on his adventure.

mama2lennon~ what's going on? are you blissed out in babymoon-land and haven't gotten to a computer? or hanging out in a hot bathtub trying to get comfy?

jennie~i forgot about spring equinox. i keep thinking i'll birth a little early (maybe it's wishful thinking). the full moon is just a few days before my due date. either way, we'll be closing in on it together.

:dust birthing vibes to those who are chomping at the bit. :heartbeat

i'm off to the co-op to load up on protein and greens. :yum yum! beans! nuts! sprouted bread! broccoli! chard! kale! dandelion! :drool
sorry brandi, is your nausea gone yet?

[ChildoftheMoon]

Everyone has been added :love

Still feeling sick. 10.5 weeks now. Some days I am fine and then wham! I have a day that I can't keep anything down. Protien smoothies have been helping me out. I can feel my fundus now, that really made me happy. Any idea how high it should be? I can't remember if the cm mean anything this early or not.
Really enjoying hearing about all the babies entering peacefully into this world and eagerly awaiting to hear the stories of you all who are getting SO close!
Brandi :love

[KateSt.]

Brandi -- I have no insight on fundus height, but I'm so glad to hear you seem to be doing well.

Sprinkle -- good for you for being able to deflect that woman's energy!! I know that's not an easy task.
Hmmm...about being in a play or in line for a rollercoaster before you...I haven't really thought in terms of going "before you" for the exactly the reasons you stated. I more feel like we're kindred spirits on a similiar journey to perserve (or more accurately, ressurect) the integrity of the birthing process. I think that's most likely the role of most uc'ers. I love being a part of this thread in particular because there is a certain mentality among all the women -- one of spirituality, a trust and faith in nature and themselves. I feel so very fortunate to be a part of it. And sprinkle, I do feel a special bond with you, since we're both first time mamas and first time uc'ers. I'm looking forward to reading your birth story almost as much as I'm looking forward to finding out mine!

So, yesterday was a wonderful "birth confidence" day. I felt so empowered and excited and so decided to hold a special, intimate blessingway with dh. We lit a fire, we read to our baby for an hour, then I read to dh my "fear lists" that I'd written a couple of months ago and we talked about them. Then I tore them up and we burned them in the fire. I then smudged our house with sage and read dh my "belief lists" and we talked about those. It was such a wonderful experience -- we were surrounded by candles, flowers, and love. It left me feeling so euphoric -- like I was floating. I still feel that way this morning. I definitely feel more and more ready to have this baby -- though I know he'll come only when he's ready. It's just nice to feel less anxious and more joyful. Felt I had to share this with you wonderful mamas...

Have a wonderful Friday! :love

[ChildoftheMoon]

Kate what a beautiful day you had. Thank you so much for sharing that. I may have to borrow those ideas.. What a wonderful way to prepare for birth in the last weeks. I was calmed just reading about it!

Brandi :love

[Mama2Lennon]

Still no baby ... still waiting patiently ... ds is less patient ...

I will not have mw for the next baby, they are still so medicalized and having to follow so many rules and regulations, they are stressing me out! They have me scheduled for induction (non-drug) at a hospital (ugh!) Monday morning 9 am. My intuition had always told me the baby would be born Sunday or Monday and this hospital business is ridiculous. I really have to change that, just for peace of mind. I am officially at 42 weeks on Tuesday and they will not be allowed to handle my care after that "magical" date. I haven't told them of my plans not to call them and I don't want to be mid-labour Monday at 9 am and explain why they didn't get the "call". I thought of running off into the woods somewhere so I could have some peace!

I am laughing thinking about my baby being born on Superbowl Sunday - and I don't care a fig about football!!! Maybe Faenin will be a boy .... this baby is very active!
I will have my precious in my arms soon enough!

[Chiromom]

I have finally put together my birth story. I posted it in my EDD thread but I will try to put the link here:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=2625268#post2625268

I hope this works! Enjoy! I know I got so much out of all the birthstories I read!

Mar

[KateSt.]

Great story, Mar! I got so much out of it -- thanks so much for sharing. And your precious Ribh is sooooo delicious! Enjoy your baby moon. :love

[TRIBE]

Kate what a beautiful story!! I bought a sage stick a few weeks ago to smudge the house and we still have not done it. I think I may wait until after the 1st of March, closer to the time baby is due.
I saw Saras yesterday and she relayed to me the birth story she called you about. I love how supportive she is of UC. I did find out she may not be bale to be here for the birth, which I would much rather her than Vicki just because I feel saras is much more intune with my desire to be alone. Saras is supposed to be going to Argentine March 26 and Im due 23. I dont expect this baby on time, but then again i dont expect anything lol
I did have a very odd dream last night. I was in a futuristic type of hospital, no beds at all. But the sOB said I coul dnot deliver vaginally and they would have to slice the baby out of me. Had something to do with my birth canal but the details on that are fuzzy. Anyways my baby and I had a heart to heart and decided we would show him and out she came, 36 weeks gestation and nearly 9lbs! I don't know what to take from that but it was again another painless labor and fast panless delivery, as in my first dream. Only much colder since I was in this stark white hospital.

Sprinkle--I totally forgot about the equinox myself, I dont know how! And I even told you when the full moon is lol I have never delivered near a full moon, it seems to have no effect on me. Strange huh? But I have heard that when you deliver has more to d owith your own monthly cycles than it does with the moon. I dont recall the details on al lof that at the moment tho.

Congrats to our new mamas, welcome earthside new babes!!

[Hayliesmom]

Great story Mar! Loved the get this "blessed event" over with part :)

Well still no baby. And not much going on today as compared to yesterday. I think yesterday could have been it if the older kids had an extra few hours at school. I was having uncomfortable contractions and was a little worried about even leaving to go pick them up. But then they got in the car loud and full of excitement about the day and Peyton decided he would just stay put...lol. By the time they were in bed nothing at all was happening. I think I need to go run away. Maybe I can talk dh into taking them to the Mardi Gras parade tomorrow. I am very irritable today. Ugh!

Stacey

[Aura_Kitten]

in case it hasn't been addressed ~ for fundal height, i laid on my back + counted the number of fingerwidths from my pubic bone to the top of the uterus (which was always easy for me to feel but i don't know how universal this is)... the # should more or less coincide w/ your # of weeks ~ BUT your water / fluid intake totally influences this! :) hth

[CluckyInAZ]

I started seeing a midwife when I first became pregnant and thought that I wanted to deliver in a birth center. The more I have learned about everything (prenatal tests, labor, birth etc.) the less I have wanted to deal with going to the midwife and anything that it is related to.

After our appointment last month I told dh that our midwife doesn't remember us at all from our previous appointments and could care less. He didn't believe me and said that he thought she did remember us. Well we went again today and she made it completely appearent that she had no idea who we are at all. She started asking me questions about if I am feeling better after going to the hospital and other stuff that had appearently happened to some other person. Then she had my gestation wrong (she has it wrong every appointment) and couldn't find me in her palm pilot of due dates and wondered why I wasn't in there (she also does this every appointment). And she tried to use the doppler on me again even though she has it written and highlighted in neon yellow in my chart NO DOPPLER and I have to stop her every appointment.

My husband and I are completely committed to an UC at this point. Dh is all for firing the midwife at this point and continuing with UP. I am currently feeling weird about not going to her anymore, I am not exactly sure why. I definitely feel that she doesn't offer me anything in terms of care. I am not "high risk" and I have declined all tests and will continue to do so. All she does is measure my uterus and ask me if the baby is kicking a lot when we do go, it takes like 2 minutes. She has pressured me into taking the GTT in two weeks, and I am very unhappy about doing it.

I guess most of my fears are about not understanding what I have to do to get birth certificate paper work completed and maybe getting a newborn exam (I haven't decided yet whether I want that done).

Does anyone have any advice about stopping prenatal care, or any reasons why I might want to continue it? I am at 26 weeks gestation now. This is my first pregnancy.

[kinsey43]

Clucky - I stopped seeing my mw at 28 weeks. DH and I had already agreed we would UC, and *I* felt that the appts were a waste of time (and just more opportunity for the mw to pressure me into things I didn't want), but DH had been getting reassurance each visit that things were "okay". Like you and your DH, my DH didn't seem to see what I did from the mw (I felt fairly early on that she wasn't hearing me, didn't respect my wishes, etc, and DH sort of blew me off and thought I was overreacting/exaggerating). Well, at my 28ish week visit, the mw told us that she could no longer see us if I refused a) Doppler at EVERY visit and during labor and b) u/s at 37/38 weeks. Both of which I had been VERY clear about from our very first visit, that I would not be doing. So we just didn't go back, since it was clear that our wishes were not respected (nor was our time, since she had known for so long my standing on those points, and it was pretty clear that she thought she could just wait until it was "too late" for us to find other care and pressure me into it - guess not).


Anyway, I was VERY pleased that DH was finally able to see what I had been saying about the mw not respecting my wishes, and DH was glad that she had made it so clear. DH had been thinking that we could UC, but have the mw/birth center as a backup in case we (he, lol) thought things weren't quite right. He was glad that the mw outed herself before we got to that point (not that *I* was going along with his plan, but I'm glad that b/c of the mw's actions, the birth center is no longer in DH's head as a backup).



I must say that since we stopped the prenatal appts, *I* have been so much more at peace - in general! Going to the prenatals was causing me a lot of stress, some of which I realized, but some of which was sort of behind the scenes. It was hard for me b/c I didn't want to be going, but DH wanted to and I wanted to do everything I could to make him comfortable with UC, but yet I felt like I was lying to the mw (in the end, I don't care about that, b/c SHE was lying to us, but anyway) - I wasn't, I avoided talking about specific plans for the delivery b/c I knew I wouldn't be involving her in that.

I'm glad we're not doing prenatals anymore - I've looked at it as an opportunity to tune in to my intuition rather than depend on an outsider to tell me the baby's fine, or my fundus is XXX. I don't need someone else to tell me that my baby's growing - I can feel the kicks and see my belly expanding. I can be surprised when baby kicks a little higher than he/she has before, and know that he/she is growing just fine. If I really need to know, I can measure my fundus myself - but I've found that recently I'm not too concerned about it (when you feel like you're choking on baby feet, you don't really tend to believe that baby's not growing, yk? lol).


We have felt nothing but positive results from stopping the prenatal visits - remember, though, *I* was not loving my mw anyway. Someone who really liked her mw might feel differently - the visits might not be a stress, she might not feel she had to gear up to defend her wishes every month, she might be able to just relax and enjoy an hour of chit-chat about her pregnancy. That wasn't my experience, though, so quitting the prenatals was something we really should have done earlier.



As far as getting a birth certificate, well, *I* don't know what *I* have to do, either. I'm not letting that stop me. I've just told myself that I won't worry about it until I need to (after the baby's here) - I have to remind myself that babies are born UC all the time by accident - they still manage to get bcs, right. And we are doing a newborn exam, but I don't really see why that would be a hold-up to you - have you interviewed peds/family practitioners yet? Have someone in mind? Just give him/her a call after baby's here (whenever YOU decide) and set up that newborn appt. That is, if you want. We will do the PKU test about a week after birth, so we will have a newborn appt sometime before then. Our family practitioner wants us to call him as soon as the baby's born, but if we don't feel that's necessary, then we'll just wait a couple days and give us all a chance to adjust to the new one first. It'll still be a newborn exam, yk?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


Whew! A bunch of us are getting close! I've finally let myself acknowledge that the baby will be here sometime this month. I've not wanted to think it could be too soon, for fear I would start getting antsy if baby didn't appear when *I* thought it should..... but realistically, baby *should* get here sometime in February. My mom will be getting here the 16th, so anytime after that will be fine with me (there is a tiny part of me that wonders if that's cutting it too close, but I'm still feeling pretty spry - for as pregnant as I am, lol - and not as miserable as I think I would if baby's arrival were very imminent). I think I'll plan on going out to eat with either DH or my mom that next weekend, and either I'll have a nice evening out, or our plans will be interrupted by baby - either way will be fine by me, lol.


I need to sit down and find some time to read all the birthstories - maybe this weekend I can do that. DS tends to interrupt me when I try to read them, and I really want to give them my full attention. Congratulations to everyone, anyway!


Gotta go, DS is fussing around. I'm hoping to sit down with a nice cup of tea over the weekend and soak in the beauty of the birth stories.

Kinsey

[TRIBE]

Clucky
Call your local birth regsitrars office and find out exactly what you need to obtain a birth certificate. It can be a totally anonymous call and you can inform them you had/are having a baby at home. For the most part I think they just want proof of pregnancy and a witness to the birth other than youself.

If you do not want to take the GTT then dont! IMO opinion its one of those unnecessary tests that sgiven to everyone rather than just th eones at risk or having symptoms. If you feel the need you can buy a glucometer and test your fasting and after eating blood sugars. I did this with my last UP just as a precaution since it was never fully determined if I had had GD with the pregnancy before that.

Newborn exam can be done by any pediatricians office. I had one done with a midwife after my last birth, but she was helping me to obtain the birth certificate. The exam was the first time she had ever met me and I never saw her again after that. Its not necesary but if its something you want to do you can find a midiwfe or ped to do it.

There is a woman on here Kate St who is about in the same position as you are (fist pregnancy, first UP/UC) who can offer you some good advice :)

Do YOU feel you need to continue with prenatal care? What can't you do at home that a midwife or OB can? My answer to that is nothing! You can monitor your own weight gain, fundal height, BP. You are at the stage were you shoul dbe feeling regular fetal movements. If you need to hear the heartbeat you can get a fetoscope (or doppler altho many UCers are against the doppler use). Good luck in whatever decision you make!

[MamaGaia]

Gotta second everything the other mamas said,Clucky! :)

I'm a little hung up on the birth certificate issue,too but it's because the registrar's office is 45 minutes away and I have no car LOL and I *think* I have to actually go there to file it.At least that's my understanding.

I skipped the GTT with all but one previous pregnancy,as well as all other testing. I also didn't see the point of the GTT since I felt it just didn't apply to me.

I am still debating on whether or not to call the pediatrician's office to talk to them about how soon after birth they like to see homebirthed babies or wait until after the birth and just call them when WE are ready to have the baby be seen. But then again, we have the whole fear issue going on of someone calling CPS or some such nonsense . It is just so hard in my little world for me to gauge whether or not people are going to flip out and see UP/UC as being neglectful. I feel a little paranoid lately about that sort of thing :bag:

[lizzie]

Hi all,

Typically just lurk on the list... love the stories!! But Kinsey, I think I'll have to share your last post with my dh, if you don't mind! I was thinking initially "maybe I could find a mw or doc who would totally mislead us, then dh would be mad, and then he'd see the wisdom in UP/UC"

Then I thought, NO... he just needs to understand the stress a pg mama goes through when she has to constantly restate her intentions, convictions, etc. to someone who clearly thinks she's out to lunch. And he doesn't want me to be stressed out, does he?

I'm still amazed that the man that was quite comfortable with me in his Kenworth until I was 26 wks with our first baby - typically nowhere near any medical aid of any kind - is now acting nervous about just having the baby right here at home, with all the medical intervention he could ever want (and I would never want) just around the corner. Don't always get him, but I do always love him...

lizzie

[majazama]

Then I thought, NO... he just needs to understand the stress a pg mama goes through when she has to constantly restate her intentions, convictions, etc. to someone who clearly thinks she's out to lunch. And he doesn't want me to be stressed out, does he?


I wish I did this the first time around. I wanted my first baby unassisted, but my DP was not into the idea, and I admit, because he didn't really support the idea, and it was my first birth, it was an easy decision. We ended up with a MW-assisted birth which resulted in my DP realizing that we could have done it unassisted. She wouldn't let me birth how I wanted, popped the amniotic sac, gave the baby unneccessary O2, caught the baby... not want I wanted, but it showed DP, I guess, and since I've had my second baby unassisted, he totally believes in me. The MW also thought I was a nutcase (didn't say that, but she forgot her file on me at the house after H was born[hehe] stating that I was considering going unassisted).

[CluckyInAZ]

I just wrote a long post and then I accidentally clicked in a wrong place and lost it...

Well here it goes again!

Thank you so much Kinsey, Jenniebug and MamaGaia. Reading your posts has really helped me condense the thoughts in my mind.

I feel like the only "service" my midwife would be able to give to me would be telling me which position my baby is in, but I don't care about that because I think that the baby's position will either resolve itself or be just fine however it is when the time comes.

I have definitely been experiencing the stress before each visit, Kinsey. At first I was worried about meeting a new person and being comfortable enough to ask her the questions I wanted answers to. Then I was stressed about the answers she had given me and how she no longer represented my wishes and has no idea who I am.

In addition to those stresses, she also makes offhand comments that are very negative and keep replaying in my mind. When I first declined doppler, at 12 weeks or whenever they start that, and told her that I would not do any ultrasounds either she said something about hoping I would change my mind if I suddenly started bleeding. That was not an idea that I needed in my head! At our last appointment I inquired if she worked at any closer hospitals (in case I were to transfer to a hospital, but I didn't tell her that) and she said no, but that it didn't matter how far away my hospital was because this is my first pregnancy so I could "drive to LA and back before the baby is born." I felt like she was trying to hex me with a long labor, in addition to not caring about my concern for comfort by wanting a shorter car ride (which was the reason I had told her for wanting a closer hospital)

I have decided to cancel my next appointment with the GTT, and to not go to any more after that either.

Thank you so much for all of the support! :love

[Ravenmoon]

Thanks for the story Mar!I am due in the next few weeks and needed the inspiration.I read MamaJaza's story again and that released some tension for me as well.I am going to have a cranial sacral therapist/friend/doula (isn't she an all in one!) at my birthing to help me along and hearing how your adjustments help during labor makes me feel more at peace.All three of my other children were posterior and i am so looking forward to having a non posterior baby!

[TRIBE]

Ravenmoon
I have had 3 posteior births too! This baby is actually anterior with her back to my right side, unlike the last 3. Its amazing how different each child can be.
It does make me think that I may actually go early and have a very quik labor...which means my midwife may not make and I will get my full UC ( :D ) I am very much looking forward to not having a posterior baby. I can only imagine that the pushing stage goes much faster, not that my posterioor babes took long in the pushing department. I just had long 1st stage labors and then pretty quik active/transition labors.

[rainbowmoon]

Clucky- I think I could have written your post myself a little over a year ago..I so wish I had followed my intuition and went UC with my 1st baby! :hug to you.

btw for the BC here in az I think all you need is proof of pg.

[kinsey43]

I feel like the only "service" my midwife would be able to give to me would be telling me which position my baby is in, but I don't care about that because I think that the baby's position will either resolve itself or be just fine however it is when the time comes.

This was/is exactly how I feel as well. I occasionally poke around on my belly and try to figure out if baby's jabbing me with a knee or an elbow, but generally I am very content to just wait and trust. I've been doing some positioning exercises throughout the pregnancy (DS was posterior and I would prefer to avoid a repeat, lol), but other than that, I figure baby knows what he/she needs to do, and whatever position that ends up being will be best.

In addition to those stresses, she also makes offhand comments that are very negative and keep replaying in my mind.

My mw did that, too, as did my sister. I finally had to tell my sister (I figured the mw was a lost cause) that I did NOT want to hear the things she was saying, and that I really needed the energy around me to be positive. She got the picture and has quit making those comments.


I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes well - I can say that mine has been MUCH more enjoyable since we quit seeing the mw!



Lizzie - if my post helps you and your DH, go for it!! I want to put a disclaimer, though lol.... it took my DH nearly two years of hearing me talking about how the medical model was not right before he even remotely "got it". He still doesn't buy into my philosophy whole-heartedly, but he did at least see that that particular mw was not playing it straight.

He still doesn't quite "get" why it was so stressful to me, but at least he can acknowledge that it was - he sees the difference in me daily!


Gotta go - DS is wanting breakfast.

Kinsey

[lizzie]

Lizzie - if my post helps you and your DH, go for it!! I want to put a disclaimer, though lol.... it took my DH nearly two years of hearing me talking about how the medical model was not right before he even remotely "got it". He still doesn't buy into my philosophy whole-heartedly, but he did at least see that that particular mw was not playing it straight.

He still doesn't quite "get" why it was so stressful to me, but at least he can acknowledge that it was - he sees the difference in me daily!

Thank you! I will!

And I've been on his case for a homebirth since late 2001!! We actually had one planned for my ds until we moved (to a different state.. sadly, he stayed in the same *mental* state! :)) in my 7th month, and ended up in my parents house for a couple of months... since a peaceful relaxed happy birth of any kind just didn't seem possible in their home, I caved in and went to the hospital. By the grace of God, that went stunningly well, but how many times can lightning strike, yk? *IF ONLY* I'd known about UC then!! Can you imagine? It just never dawned on me that I could just do this myself!! :duh And wouldn't you know, we moved to our own place about a week before ds was born! AAARGH. But we're still just ttc, and I've been talking up UC for at least six months now... I've got him up to a mw in the next room.. Now I'm working on getting him up to a mw in the next town! :D

I just need to really throw down, show him the scientific reality of the safety of UC. And I don't know if I'll tell anyone about our UC now, any one I mention the concept to is like "But you'll have a mw, right?" Ummm NO, thanks though.. No one has been able to get their brains around that concept yet. :eyesroll

Except, of course, all you wild women! :thumb

lizzie

[majazama]

I am due in the next few weeks and needed the inspiration.I read MamaJaza's story again and that released some tension for me as well.

:D glad I could be of some help;)

[KateSt.]

There's so much I want to reply to -- I hope I remember everything!
Clucky -- You've already received such great advice and I just wanted to add that I saw my mw 4 times and then stopped going (after some long discussions with her). I could really relate to Kinsey's post, and I really LIKED my mw. Even though I liked her, I still found myself getting stressed before each appt. and having to get my energy levels back up after each visit (even though they were positive). I just felt like everything is okay -- so why did I need the mw to tell me that? It felt like with each visit I was giving up a piece of my own power and intuition (didn't Kinsey say the same thing?).
Once I stopped going, I felt like I owned my pregnancy again and it's been wonderful. I feel fully tuned in to my baby and *he* keeps giving me constant reassurances that everything is alright.

Like you, I thought I might go see my mw "one last time" to see what position the baby is in, but I've decided to fully trust and have faith that my baby is in the best position for his birth experience. (As an aside, the night before I saw my mw for the last time I was able to *see* my baby head down in my belly during a meditation, and my mw confirmed it the next day. But instead of feeling validated, I felt...I don't know...a bit undermined?)

So, for me -- going up has been the best decision I've made for my peace of mind. I don't monitor anything (not even my weight). I just eat well and do yoga/meditation 4 times a week and communicate with my baby on a daily basis.

As far as the birth certificate -- I went down to the town hall and asked the town clerk for a home birth certificate package. After her initial shock, she was very helpful. The packet itself is a bit maddening and I haven't filled it out yet, but I do have it.

Kinsey -- I could have written so much of your past 2 posts! I, too, know that my baby will be here sometime this month and am trying not to get too fixated on when because I don't want to get impatient. This is easier at some times than others!

Lizzie -- I'm sure many of us can relate to your reluctant dh woes. Mine finally came around full force in the beginning of December, but it was a hard road until then. We both grew a lot and learned so much, so I know it was a productive process, but it can be very hard. I do hope your dh comes around soon!

Jennie -- Saras is going to be gone during my "due date," too -- so I definitely hope I don't need any back-up!

Stacey -- thinking of you!

Hope all you mamas are doing well....

[amyjeans]

just hopping onboard
WOW! Lots of UC mamas and stories-
Are we on the cusp of a movement here?
Lots of warm fuzzy feelings out to you mamas to be...
Lots of huggies (not disposables either) to the new mamas, too!
Feeling kinda :nut ee and :bouncy :Hug

[rainbowmoon]

Katest.- I can totally relate to what you wrote about going UP. the stress, the energy levels, everything!

I am having a really hard time with this (going UP) and DH atm and explaining to him why I don't feel a mw is necessary. he knows full well our past mw's did little for me in many ways (and hindered my birthing process) how do I convey this to him so he will unerstand it better? he's just not getting it :shrug

[KateSt.]

Rainbowmoon -- I did my best to convince my dh, but what I found helped the most was having him coming to my mw visits with me. Pretty soon he was leaving each visit wondering "so...what was the point of that?" Esp since I declined all tests and monitoring, including weight checks. It turned out to be 90 minute visits having them reiterate things we already knew. I also left printouts of u/c material and highlighted passages from u/c books in the bathroom for him (where he does his "thinking") and that helped a bit. I found the worst thing was *pushing* him too hard -- I even received a message from my baby "don't push him too hard, he'll come around on his own," and thankfully he did. I have a link somewhere about the top 10 reasons not to have a midwife -- I'll see if I can find it...

[KateSt.]

Here's one link:
http://www.empoweredchildbirth.com/articles/birth/topten.html

And here's another good one about convincing your partner:
http://www.empoweredchildbirth.com/faq.html#8

I love this site -- it has all sorts of wonderful info -- including how to get birth certificates for those who are concerned...

[TRIBE]

Kate if you need anything please feel free to call me :)

With this babes current position and the messages she has sent me I dont think, even if I wanted Saras here and she was available, that she wouldn't make it. I have told this to my DH but I don't think he "gets" it lol I ordered the birthkit and even tho I dont need anything from it, it will be nice to have it here, kind of as a signal that ok, things are ready and we can go anytime after March 2. Well I guess even Feb 23 but i am not sure how i feel about a 36 weeker.....altho in my last dream that is when she said she was coming, so who knows!

[SunflowerMama]

Well I thought that this is where I should be posting. I did a brief into yesterday, and thank you for the warm welcome. :) Well, I am Lisa. I am 30 and a mama to 4 beautiful kids Taylor is 12, Tristen is almost 8, Trinity(our only dd so far) is 4, and Tyme is almost 2. We lost a baby Sept. 6 when I was 5 1/2 weeks along. Then found out I was pg with baby number 6 in Oct! We are so excited about having another little one this year!! I am due in June. According to my calculations we are due June16. I was seeing a midwife and we told her about 2 weeks ago. According to her I am due on the 12th of June. LOL Anyway, we are thinking that this one might show up the first part of June...then again who knows but only the baby!! ;) We are a homeschooling, breastfeeding, attachment parenting, clothdiapering(when the house is built), co-sleeping family.
We are living in our fifth wheel on 40 acres, and having a house built. It should be done in April or May....right before this little one arives(we hope).
I ordered my birth kit yesterday! :D I just wanted to have it now. lol
I guess that is it for now. LOL

[Evergreen]

:lurk

[KateSt.]

Thanks so much for your support, Jennie. It means so much to me! :love

Welcome to Sunflower! Your family sounds wonderful!

And :wave to Evergreen.

So, I'll be 39 weeks on Saturday...and we just found out today that we were "randomly selected" to get audited!! We have our first meeting with the IRS bully on Monday and it could take anywhere from 2-4 hours. I can't BELIEVE the timing of this! Dh and I own our own business and we've been trying to get as much done before our baby comes so we can have some downtime...and now this!!! We're getting audited from 3 years ago -- and who REALLY keeps ALL their tax info and receipts from 3 years ago! I can't believe the added stress this is causing. I've been crying since I found out this morning.
I've just been wanting to be calm and peaceful and wait patiently for our baby's arrival and now this crap from the big, bad IRS bully.
Feeling a bit sorry for myself right now...

Back to your regularly scheduled program...

[ChildoftheMoon]

OH Kate! That SUCKS! I would be bawling too. I am so upset for you. You know what you need to do though. Just let it roll right off of you....it will all turn out fine. You don't need the stress, so just don't let it get to you. Just say NO! stress, there are more important things at hand. You will have a beautiful peaceful birth. Babies have a way of knowing when the right time to come is. You will get through this, it is just one of those stupid things we have to do sometimes. You are a strong goddess mama about to give birth, you are the most powerful and most peaceful being. Relax mama, and only think about what is in the moment, nothing else matters unless it is in front of you and needing your attention at that exact moment, otherwise, don't think about it!
Be at peace mama, I will rant and rave and stress for you and then toss it out the window :wink

{{{HUGS}}}
Brandi :love

[TRIBE]

:Hug Kate! What a bad time for the IRS to do this. Can you reschedule with them for a later date, I am sure they would understand that yo uare about to give birth to your first child! If not....you could always fake some really strong ctx when the auditor gets there ;)

Don't stress about this audit. they are usually just a formality an dnothing to worry about. I personally dont know anyone who keeps tax records and receipts from 3 yrs back but they do say to keep those htings for like 3-5 yrs...I cant hold on to naything that long!

[KateSt.]

Brandi :hug Thanks so much for your post --- I found it so comforting I read it 3 times.
Jennie -- I had to giggle thinking of faking contrax with the irs lady here. Thanks for your support. :love

I just couldn't regroup yesterday. I was feeling SO angry. If irs lady had been here yesterday I just may of screamed at her and slapped her! I cried on and off so much that my sweet dh felt compelled to postpone our appt until March. Thankfully, we've found most of the info we need -- and I think that's the most stressful part. Dh has been particularly wonderful -- gave me constant pep talks and 2 massages, encouraging me to focus only on our baby. I feel SO much better today. I really feel I can put this out of my mind for now.

Thanks again Brandi and Jennie --- your support meant so much to me yesterday... :love

Hope all you other mamas are doing well. Stacey -- thinking about you every day!! And where's Sprinkle Pocket? Your dh will be home this weekend, right?
Hope you two have a lovely reunion.

[rainbowmoon]

Katest.- I'm so sorry this is happening to you right now! :hug hopefullly it won't be any big deal and get cleared up quick! at least you won't have to think about it for a little while though :innocent

Welcome Sunflowermama!

[TRIBE]

*whew* Im glad you guys found everything and got it rescheduled for March. I reall think the moon cycle has effected us. In fact it was Tuesday that i totally freaked on my kids and had to go lock myself in my room, crying my head off. Then poor DH had to deal with my crabby moody self lol I hate when the horemones get the best of me.

[SunflowerMama]

Kate and Jennie big huge hugs to you both!!! I am sorry that you are going through this and just being pg hormones!! I hope that you both are feeling better today!!! :)
I just want to be lazy today! Taylor made us breakfast. Such a sweet boy! He told me he was going to do the dishes as well. Iwill not complaine if I see some food stuck on a plate!! LOL
I hope that you are all doing great today.

[sprinkle pocket]

ok, i'm going to try and catch up on all the posts since i finally made it back to a computer...dh wants to get home satellite internet, since we're off the grid and don't have access to other types of service. mdc is the only reason i'd want a computer in our home. i love you women!! :grouphug

brandi~ glad to hear that the nausea takes some breaks atleast :hug

kate~sounds like a beautiful birth blessing you and dh had. that's really cool to hear about! i hadn't thought about doing one with just dh. i'd thought i wouldn't have one since all my friends are now spread so far. what a great idea. he should get back today, so i'll throw the idea at him. i bet he'll be into it. he's going to be amazed at how the babe has grown in the past 2 weeks since he left! by the way, when you requested the home birth certificate package, did you tell them that you weren't having an attendant and that's why you needed it? great link to the empowered birth site. i've never seen that. can't wait to look through it! i may actually print out the info on obtaining a bc in my state b/c it makes it sound so matter of fact and simple. that way, i can show it to the clerk if they try to hassle me about the law or something. maybe i get brazen enough to even do it before the birth, so it's off my mind! we'll see. may be i'll send dh in again to do it! i'm so 1/2 chicken 1/2 punkass. oh, kate, i just got to the post about the irs. i'm so sorry this is happening! keep us posted. i 2nd what brandi said, couldn't have said it better myself! wow, you're at 39 weeks!! yea! (and where's the belly pics?! no pressure ;) :W )

mama2lennon~glad to hear you're hanging in there, staying centered and strong with your babe. i assume you're familiar with the 44 week babes? if you want some distant support, there were a number of women in the early days of the uc support thread who went 43, 44 weeks and you could go back and read their posts.

cluckyinAZ~this is my 1st pg too! glad to see another 1st timer. i'm doing up, which for me means paying attention to my health and getting bodywork/energywork, taking homeopathic or flower remedies, using herbs, etc. nothing different from when i'm not pregnant. i don't tend to write stuff off as "oh, well, i'm pregnant, so that symptom is ok". i figure if i'm nauseous or in pain or uncomfortable, it can be addressed and i can feel good/healthy...if that makes sense. i guess i mean that i don't consider pregnancy to be unhealthy with symptoms that are inevitable. so i treat myself the same as i do when i'm not preg. i'm about 33 weeks & i've recently been dealing with looking into what it'll take to get a birth certificate. apparently in my state (NM), it has to be applied for through a care provider. (kate, you're lucky you could just pick up a form!!). so since i haven't seen a mw or sOB, i have to go to the health dept after the birth with my dh as a 'witness' to the birth and say there wasn't an attendant and then they fill our the application and send it to santa fe. i'm not looking forward to it, but it sure is helping me face my fear of authority head-on! i have this fear that they'll start asking me why i uc'd and who's my doctor now and has the baby been vaccinated, etc, and just impose themselves on my babymoon. you could call the health dept, or ask a mw now about what it takes in az. that way you have plenty of time to deal with it or prepare. i put if off out of fear, and i'm glad that i'm now facing it. oh, and thus far, we're not planning on having a newborn exam done. a friend will be coming into town after the birth and she'll do energy work on the babe if i'm too tired to do it. but that's about it.

welcome sunflower mama! i'm living in a camper too, but we don't plan to build our home for a few years yet...we are going to build our workshop first, so we have access to all our tools. sounds like you have a nice set-up.

well, i'm off to the co-op to get some special food to make a "welcome home, you're going to be such a great papa" meal for dh when he gets home tonight. i wonder if the babe is going to be kicking around when he gets back. "she's" been so mellow (mostly) since he's been gone. she's acted more like a gentle bellydancer than the breakdancer she is when he's around. this will be an interesting experiment.

oceans of love to all you special mamas and mamas to be.

[lizzie]

...great link to the empowered birth site. i've never seen that.


i'm about 33 weeks & i've recently been dealing with looking into what it'll take to get a birth certificate. apparently in my state (NM), it has to be applied for through a care provider. .


Yes, INCREDIBLE site!! Thank you so much!

And Sprinkle, ... when they say 'care provider'.. how technically defined is that? I mean, YOU are a care provider, as far as I can tell by reading your posts!! :thumb Seems like that should be good enough, although I know beauracracy is not all about how things should be!!

lizzie

[MamaGaia]

Hmmm...
I'm entering week 35 and I swear I've dropped already. In previous pregnancies,I never had a noticable drop,really. So, what do you think? Is it too soon to drop or could I have been off in my calculations???

ACK! I'm REALLY not ready yet LOL. I have had a feeling that this baby would be earlier than my EDD (March 27) but not THAT much earlier ;)

[SunflowerMama]

Last night I had a dream that I was having the baby. I wasn't in any type of pain or uncomfortable at all. This is the second time that I have had a dream about this little one. Let me back track in the first one it was the same way except that I had a few midwives. Anyway, I had the baby and the midwives told me that she was a girl. I lifted up the blanket and said,"This is not a girl! This is a boy!" LOL So, last night I woke up in my dream and felt the baby's head. I told Brandon that it was time. I gave a few pushes and the little one came out and it was a boy. So, I am guessing that this one is a boy. LOL Brandon swears up and down that it is a little girl. So, I guess we will just have to wait and see.
When \I was pg with the one we lost Trinity kept telling us that we were going to have 2 babies and that they were a boy and a girl. So, whatever sex this little one is I believe that the other one was the opposite sex. I really felt that Tracy(the one we lost) was a boy, but now with my dreams I am really wondering. I have never had any dreams about any of my kids except for Trinity. So, this one is really throwing me off!!! LOL

[Kundalini-Mama]

Hmmm...
I'm entering week 35 and I swear I've dropped already. In previous pregnancies,I never had a noticable drop,really. So, what do you think? Is it too soon to drop or could I have been off in my calculations???

ACK! I'm REALLY not ready yet LOL. I have had a feeling that this baby would be earlier than my EDD (March 27) but not THAT much earlier ;)


This last pregnancy (#2), the baby dropped and was engaged exactly a week before labor. (He was born at 38w3d) :p What else do you have to do to get ready?

Amy

[TRIBE]

Lisa--I love those kind of dreams! I have had 2 myself where the gender was very obviously girl, and the labors were nothing to speak of, just a knowing it was time to push and the babe sliping out effortlessly into the world.

This has been a very sucky day :( It was my stepsons birthday party so I of course did a lot of cleaning and running around today, and not drinking much water :/ By the time the party was over I was having a few ctx. So I went to bed and took a 2 hour nap, still had ctx during that time. So now I am up chugging water but still having some ctrx. i feel blah, obviously dehydrated and trying to get fluid in me but drinking too much water too fast will make me sick. I dont want gatorade or any drink like that as its just TOO sweet. If I cant get this dehydrated feeling to pass soon I am going to send DH to the store to buy what I need to make my own electrolyte drink.

Soon as I am done with my 3rd glass of water and fixing the kids dinner I am going back to bed. 4 hours of ctrx is a bit disconcerting especially since I am only 34 weeks (unless my calculations are way off and the period i had in June was actually just spotting and I was already pg....but my uterine measurements match my weeks...so i dont know!) i am pretty sure my calulations are correct tho as I was using fam and tracking my cycles and i am very sure i did have O cm after my may/june period.

mamagaia--no advice! This baby has been low my entire pregnancy,her head is defintely engaged and she is anterior. However the head down and low is normal for me with girls. Head down and high is normal for my boys. I dont think she has dropped far into my pelvis, but enough to let me know she isnt going anywhere else but down LOL

[MamaGaia]

This last pregnancy (#2), the baby dropped and was engaged exactly a week before labor. (He was born at 38w3d) :p What else do you have to do to get ready?

Amy


Hmm...let's see what else do I need to do? Um...well, on second thought,there isn't THAT much to do :D LOL I don't feel at all ready though.

Now I'm somewhat thinking that perhaps the little squirt is angled sideways (Last week I was sure s/he was completly turned but now I don't think so). Maybe that's the reason I feel lower. I hope :)

Oh...and my hips are killing. Ow ow ow. I had such a horrrible night last night because they ached so much.

Sheesh, I sound like I complain a lot :eyesroll

Jenniebug,
I keep having that same feeling that the period I had in June was implantation spottiing but yup, my measurements are dead on,text book where they should be. My dh keeps insisting I was way off with my calculations but I just can't see how.

Hope you're feeling better today!

[TRIBE]

mamagaia--I keep wondering how i conceived when I did, its a funny story actually. The previous month dh and i were frisky, A LOT even around and during the O time. But then the next month when I actually conceived we only dtd once, he pulled out and i was still a few days away from O 9which yes I know sperm can live a few days in there) So i have always had this wonder in the back of my mind if i conceived sooner. But i usually know I am pg very soon after implantation and i didnt feel it until after right before my cycle was due that didnt show. Bah who knows!!

I think in my heart I know everything will be ok, but in my head Id really like to at least make it to 37 weeks. This could just be the start of my normal prodromal labor pattern. I tend to get it 2-3 weeks before delivery, its just never started this early before. With #2 it started at 37 weeks and #3 38 weeks. I have felt form the beginning this baby would be "late" but oy i dont think i can deal with 5-7 weeks of prodromal labor, not with a house to run and kids to chase lol

I am still feeling dehydrated, i ve had lamost a gallon of water, a huge bottle of gatorade, juice, sprite (I was desperate for anything not water!) and I still have that i need to drink I am so thirsty feeling. My ctrx lasted about 8 hours yesterday but have been sporadic today. i am not concerned just unnerved and needing to get re-hydrated. i hate to think about going to the hospital for a bag of IV fluids but if I am not feeling better tommorow i may consider it.

What else can i do to get myself hydrated? I am so sick of water right now but still chugging it down. gatorade is way too sweet, it was hard to drink that. I am going to make my laborade drink and see if that helps but its mostly juice too and the htought of something sweet right now is not appealing. *wugh* Off to go meditate and chat with this baby lol

[kinsey43]

Jennie - what flavor of Gatorade are you drinking? I'm wondering b/c you say it's too sweet.... Yesterday and today I've been drinking the lemon-lime flavor, and I don't find it to be very sweet, but I know other flavors I've found to be sweet.

I know that "sick of water" feeling, which is why I'm drinking Gatorade also. Just wanted to suggest that it may be worth trying a different flavor.


Gotta go - I'm supposed to be working on cleaning the office out, but wanted to hop in here reallly quicky and say hi to everyone!

Kinsey

[KateSt.]

Jennie -- I'm so sorry you're going through this! I do hope everything is okay. Let us know any messages you receive from your babe. Also, I drink gatorade every now and then and find that diluting with water helps a lot with the sweetness. More I want to respond to, but I gotta go for now. Thinking of you and I'll check in again tomorrow. :hug

[MamaGaia]

Jennie,
LOL! Me Too! I have NO CLUE when I conceived. I know my cycle very well and don't have a clue when I could have conceived,either. The only time there was the definite chance was the day after the last day of my period. Nothing about the conception makes a whole lot of sense to me LOL. Not to mention, we had JUST had a discussion the week before that we decided we were not having any more children.I guess someone was listening :D

Maybe there was some planetary shift in June that messed both of us up hehe

I hope you feel better soon :) Hang in there. *big hugs*

[TRIBE]

Lemon-Lime is the only flavor I drink :LOL Just sensitive to anything slightly sweet. I cant even add honey or sugar to my RRL tea.

I am drinking watered down white grape juice now. I am finally feeling re-hydrated and peeing clear. But still contracting. Blah!

Jennie - what flavor of Gatorade are you drinking? I'm wondering b/c you say it's too sweet.... Yesterday and today I've been drinking the lemon-lime flavor, and I don't find it to be very sweet, but I know other flavors I've found to be sweet.
Kinsey

[TRIBE]

Kate--yuck I cant drink it watered down, much as I try. baby says I have nothing to worry about, all of my instincts scream everything is FINE and not to worry. But there is that naggy lil voice in my head that says its just way too soon for this. And then I am reminded of my dream where she is born at 36 weeks, healthy and nearly 9lbs. But egads thats only a week away!!
Part of me says to call the mw's and then the othe rpart of me is asking myself why I am not trusting myself and my instincts on this. I guess b/c I have never had early prodromal labor, I have never had a babe before 40 weeks so yeah I am a bit unnerved by it all.

MG--My cycles are pretty normal 28-30 days and using FAM I was pretty aware of all my bodily changes so while I go geez we only dtd ONCE the month we conceived and I know it does only take one time, it just seems odd the conception wasn;t the previous month when we dtd nearly everyday LOL

[harmonymama]

jenniebug,
My fav pregnancy drink was cold pregnancy tea (RRL, spearmint, nettles, rosehips, and a few other herbs) from Aviva Jill Romm's "Natural Pregnancy". I used to make big jugs of it in a sun tea jar and put it in my fridge. In the summer months I would drink cold glasses of it all day with no sweetener. I loved it. The mint is so refreshing. Another favorite was chammomile, lavender tea, very calming.

Regarding your prodomal labor. My babies were born about 39 and 38 weeks respectively. With both of them I had very light (several contractions a day) prodomal labor for 2-3 weeks before hand. So I don't think this is unusual.

That said, I really wonder whether you aren't farther along. Was there anything even slightly unusual about your last period? With my last baby, I had spotting for about a week right around the time my period would have come (it was lighter than usual). I already had nausea and had taken a pregnancy test, so I knew I was pregnant, but I easily could have mistaken it. Peace to you,

[sprinkle pocket]

lizzie~i'm sure by care provider they want letters after the name. those kind of people put stock in that. but thanks for the positive support!

mamagaia~i definitely have no 1st hand experience, but i thought i'd read that the baby could start dropping around 36 weeks and that the *drop* happens about 2 weeks before birth in general. i'm *due* the day after you and have been feeling like she'll come early, though i don't have a distinct feeling on how early.

jenniebug~i too have been having small bouts of contractions... every few days for me. but sometimes it's in my sleep and i don't wake up enough to really know what's going on. i just tell myself it's my body's wisdom helping tone the uterus and readjust the babe. i too have some days where i have to struggle to drink enough if i'm on the go, but i'm doing better. i know what you mean about wanting to make it to a certain week before birthing. i had a dream the other night that i birthed at "35 1/2" weeks. since the earliest i've heard mw's will birth at home is 36 weeks i kind of figure that either the babe wants to come really early, or i'm just challenging myself to see how much i *really* trust the process to happen when/how it should. i'm figuring i don't know jack compared to the wisdom of my body and my babe's body and am just going with it. besides the discomfort, i kind of like the preview since i haven't birthed before. it's like a little warm-up for me, i guess.

for the dehydrated feeling, are you getting enough minerals? that seems to help me, or the homeopathic cell salt combo that hyland's makes called 'bioplasma'. good fresh veggies/fruits, too. herb teas have good minerals if you have some around...rrl, nettles, alfalfa, oatstraw, red clover...

just got to the post that you're feeling more hydrated. yea!

harmonymama~i've loved the info in aviva's book. it's helped me many times to have as a resource.


i wonder if we're going to have a slew of *early* births?

[TRIBE]

harmonymana--I tried to drink a pregnancy tea by Yogi teas but I couldnt stand the mint taste. I do love cold RRL tea, think Ill brew pitcher of it tonite.

My babes have been born at 40wks, 40wks 1 day, and 41 wks 2days so you can see by my pattern that an early babe would just be weird. My prodromal labor typicaly starts around 37-38 weeks..

I just got done talking with my DH about my last cycle and he says as far as he remembers nothing wa sout of the ordinary. Unfortunately I deleted my ovusoft program so I cant go back and look, but iirc it was a normal cycle and I did have O cm around cd 13 or 14, which would make my dates correct.

So anyways back to my talk with DH, he seems completly unphased that we could deliver early. He did say "guess that means no fun tonight" LOL He also asked if we had everything and I told him the only thing we don't have is the carseat and I was planning to go buy that tommorow along with the changing table pad. M birthpool isn't here and neither is my belly cast kit. Now I am anxious to get them ordered and here this week just in case i do deliver at 36 weeks.

Now watch all this go on and I dont actually go into labor until 42 weeks :LOL

[TRIBE]

SP--When is your "duedate"? isnt that odd we both had dreams of early babes? I have had dreams before of delivering and the egnder but never a timeframe of when I would deliver.

You could be on to something with these babes maybe wanting to come "early" because they want their UC. I know my babe has shown me that is what she wants. I trust she is fine and that she and my body know what they are doing. I am not scared of the prospect of an early delivery. She has told me she is ok. Its that dadgum medical stigma on everything that keeps creeping into my head and naging at me.

But you know what, like I said I trust the process and I trust my instincts. DH seems to be very trusting of this as well. He asked if we had the plastic sheet to cover the bed so look slike I am going to go double make the bed tonight or tommorow in preperation :)

geez this is so ironic of another thread on the march dd boards I was just in. It had to do with the mainstream board mamas all having pregnancy issues and many delivering early. And now look at me sitting here having gone thru a period of dehydration and now most definetly experiencing prodromal labor 3 weeks earlier than I ever have before. darn these kids ;)

[rainbowmoon]

tonight he told me I better make sure to go get the proof of pg paper from PP soon for the bc...(this is after months of us argueing back and forth about UP and seeing a mw or OB)

[Mama2Lennon]

I haven't had a chance to read any posts ....
Baby Faenin Lavender came at 42 weeks, February 8th 12:02 am, 9 lbs, an unfortunate hospital birth ...
will post more later!

[kinsey43]

Welcome baby Faenin!! Congratulations, Mama2Lennon. Hope your recovery is going well.


I think I'm "done", lol. Physically I'm still feeling "okay", like I could continue for several more weeks (if I have to, I don't really WANT to), but mentally I'm just DONE. I don't remember feeling like this with DS, but I probably did. I'm crying about everything - I feel like a two-year-old, lol. I cried myself to sleep last night b/c DH wouldn't rub my feet and legs (in my defense, he promised to do this SATURDAY, and has kept putting it off and putting it off. Meanwhile, I can see the bands where my socks are cutting into my legs b/c they're so swollen!). We've been doing some cleaning in preparation for my mom's arrival tomorrow and I just canNOT make decisions - I just can't do it!


Do we have everything ready for the birth? I don't know - making that call would require more mental coordination than I have right now, lol. I think we're pretty ready, though. I'm glad I got most of the stuff before this fog set in.....

My mom gets here tomorrow night, so anytime after that this baby can come - and I am READY.


I've been having more (and stronger) BH, so maybe my body's gearing up, although I'm afraid to think that.... I don't want to get my hopes up and then wait around for weeks - I know things will happen when they need to, and I don't want to start getting impatient. I'd rather just pretend nothing's happening until it's too obvious to deny, yk?


Anyway, I'm just glad February's half-way over. I'm pretty sure I'll be having this baby during the month of February, so I can feel good about the days being numbered, lol.


Ooops, DS is waking up - I'll try to stop back by later when I have a bit more time.

Kinsey

[majazama]

Oh, I'm sorry that you didn't get your UC, mama2lennon, but at least you have a beautiful baby in your arms now! Glad to hear that you two are all right. :love

[KateSt.]

Welcome Baby Faenin Lavender!! Mama2Lennon -- Hope you're recovering well and enjoying your baby moon. :love

Jenniebug -- how are doing today? I hope your contrax have subsided a bit. Definitely trust your instincts on this -- especially if your babe has given you a hint that she'll come early. I'm sure all will be all as it should. I do know that Saras is going to India tomorrow to visit her daughter, so hopefully you won't need her. Thinking of you...

Sprinkle -- Hope you and dh had a nice reunion. I do have a website with belly pics that needs to be updated. Once it's updated, I'm promise I'll share! :love About the homebirth bc packet -- no I definitely DID NOT tell them I was not having any attendants. Thought for sure that might stir up some trouble. The packet is certainly set up for "attendants" to fill out some info and that'll be interesting to work around.

Rainbowmoon -- Yay on your dh's last "suggsestion"! It sounds like he certainly will come around eventually. And luckily, you still have plenty of time.

Kinsey -- I hear you on your last post! I feel like I'm bawling my eyes out every day -- once in awhile for good reasons, but mostly for no reason at all. I feel like you do, that this baby will be born in February...so just 2 more weeks at the most for us, right?

Unfortunately, I'm so caught up in work stress that I'm not able to be as focued on my baby or our birthing experience. I've had a wonderful pregnancy up until now and now at the pivotal point, I feel like I'm being buried under stress (my dh and I have a home-based business that requires constant attention, so there's no getting away from it). I hate feeling this stressed, and thinking I'm causing my baby stress. SIGH...I need to breathe...
I don't want the last few days of my pregnancy to be like this!! Thanks for letting me vent...

[TRIBE]

Congrats mama2lennon on a beautiful baby! I love the name :)

Rainbowmoon--wooohoo victory for mama!

Kate-I have only had 2 ctrx today but my back and pelvis hurt so bad I can barely walk. Figures if its not one thing its another right? lol I did go get the carseat today, the birthtub & kit and bellycast kit are on their way too me (man that company ships fast!!) so I have everything I need *almost* in my hands. And if those items don't arrive in time, so be it, it wasn't meant to be.

I hope you get some time to relax and destress Kate! Perhaps a day away just pampering yourself will help. I know its hard to put down business stuff but for you rmental well being you need to be able to step away sometimes. If I have to drive down there and take you out myself I will!! (not that I know where you live :LOL)

Speaking of DH's making comments on getting stuff for the BC mine askd me last night what all we needed to have to get one for this babe. I told him the midwives would handle all that but I think he assumed we would have to do it ourselves since they may not be here. Makes me believe he has finally figured out I plan to UC and not call the mw's until the very end of labor.

[lizzie]

Hello Ladies~

Welcome Faenin Lavendar! Can't wait for the whole story! Congratulations, Momma2Lennon!

Sprinkle~ So, if they want letters after your name, about Sprinkle Pocket, UCINGMAMA... :D Where's their sense of adventure, anyway? :eyesroll

Rainbowmoon~ Woohoo! How happy for all of you!

Just wanted to say hi to everyone. OT, but I'm still living vicariously, ... I'll find out how we did this past month this weekend. I was laughing reading your posts, Jenniebug, because if I am actually pg, it'll be somewhere between hallalujah and how the he!!, cause our past month was the same way you described when you conceived! Gives me hope though!

lizzie

[Hayliesmom]

Hi all!

Well Peyton finally arrived this morning :) I had quit reading the board cause I was just too anxious so I now I need to go back and catch up. Anyway, we are both doing great!

Quick birth story. After several weeks of on again off again painfree and occasionally slightly uncomfortable ctx, I finally had a real one at 4am. Although I had planned on going it completely alone I felt the need for dh so I called for him. Three ctx later and Peyton was born into daddy's hands at 420am and in the caul. The placenta came out right after him, like literally 2 seconds later. That was weird. Anyway, that's pretty much the story in a nut shell :) We are doing great. The kids adore him. He nursed all morning and has now slept all afternoon. I guess I'll be up tonight :) I feel way better than I have in weeks, just slightly sore and the after ctx are strong.

Alexander Peyton, born at 420am, 7lbs 11ozs, 21inches.

Jenniebug, my cycle was off when I got pg this time too. Otherwise Peyton would not be here. He was on time for adjusted dates.

Stacey

[lizzie]

Congratulations, Stacey! Welcome to the world, Baby Peyton! Happy Babymoon!

It's my dream to have my next one "in the caul"... :D :thumb

lizzie

[Aura_Kitten]

awwww congrats! :love

[BinahYeteirah]

Congrats, Mama2Lennon and Hayliesmom!!!
:jumpers:

[TRIBE]

I am amzingly fertile lol If this one did conceive that month it will be my 3rd conceived on a one time deal. My first and third were both one timers :innocent

Good luck!!

Hello Ladies~
I was laughing reading your posts, Jenniebug, because if I am actually pg, it'll be somewhere between hallalujah and how the he!!, cause our past month was the same way you described when you conceived! Gives me hope though!

lizzie

[KateSt.]

Congratulations, Stacey! I'd been thinking about you! And welcome to the world little Payton. Wow -- 4 contrax and 20 min later he's here! Guess all those early contrax were really doing their job -- what an amazing story!
I've also heard that babies were are born in the caul are "intuitively gifted"...how very special. Enjoy your baby moon!

Jennie -- thanks for threatening to drive down and pamper me. :D I'm feeling much better today. I'm glad you got all your baby-stuff ordered -- and I do hope the pain in your back and pelvis lightens up! Perhaps you will have your babe before I do. I'll be 40 weeks on Saturday and really haven't had an inkling of any labor signs -- not one little hint. I'm wondering if I'll be one of those women who are just all of sudden in the midst of it. It'll be interesting to find out!

Lizzie -- I'll be crossing my fingers for you this weekend! Please keep us posted!

[MamaGaia]

Congrats, Mama2Lennon and Hayliesmom!!!
:jumpers:

I second that! Hope you're both relaxing and recovering and enjoying your new blessings :D

Jenniebug -
I have that Fertile Myrtle thing going on too LOL Actually, 3 out of 4 of my previous kids were conceived using birth control (including the twins). And it was used correctly,i might add :P

It's so funny how everyone who is due around the same time as me has that "It's coming early feeling". Maybe all these babies are just trying to make absolutely sure they fall under the sign of Pisces :D

After having one day of nothing but worry about pre-term labor,I've decided to knock it off and just let what will be,be. Really, what else is there ot do,ya know? (It still would be preferable to wait at least 2 more week *crosses fingers*)

Watch...all of us who feel like we'll be early will be late! HAHA! Maybe they'll be April Fools day babies LOL

[TRIBE]

Wowwza MG! I worry about that with bc too. I can't take the hormonal stuff so I have been looking into an IUD and still following FAM at the same time. DH was going to get snipped but I think he changed his mind since he seemed really upset that I deleted my ovusoft software to track my cycles lol

Yanno I had thought too, gee what if this baby is just messing with me and now watch me go to 42 weeks or something. But I have had a few more ctrx today and this definetly feels like my usualy pre-labor fun. I just want to get to March 2, thats my goal. Baby can do whatever she wants after then. If she wants to add to the daddy and his 1st son trend she could come on March 11. Dh is Jan 9, dss is Feb 10...so March 11 would just go so weel with them ;)

[Aurora]

Congrats mamas and welcome little ones! :love

[harmonymama]

I'm new here as well, mostly lurking, but I've posted a couple of times. After seeing Sunflower's post, I thought I should introduce myself too. I'm not pregnant right now. My youngest is 7 months, but I love birth and I'm hoping to UC next time. I had a beautiful homebirth with my youngest, but when the midwife arrived 5 minutes before he was born, she felt more like an interruption than a welcome presence. Even my relief that we had help, in hindsight, just feels disempowering. And lots of little things. She asked me three times to cut the cord, rather than respecting my wishes to leave it alone. I'm really clear about wanting a UC next time around, to totally listen to my own knowing. You mamas have been so inspiring. I live in El Paso, but am planning to move to 30 acres in SE Arizona this year. I have two boys: David 3 1/2 and Eli 7 months. David was breech and born vaginally. Eli was a quick, intense, beautiful homebirth.

Sunflowermama- Welcome, congratulations on your 6th baby. I know this is the UC forum, but tell me about living on 40 acres and building your house (similar to what we are planning). perhaps we can move that discussion over to the Mindful Home Management, Country Living/Off the Grid forum. Blessings.

[ChildoftheMoon]

Wow, so many babies joining us!!! Congrats mamas and welcome babies! Our waiting for baby to arrive list is getting smaller and smaller!
I have been trying to keep up on the first page, if I have missed anyone, I am sorry! Just let me know if I need to add or change anything.

I am now over 12 weeks and feeling better, except now I have a lovely cold. Ugh! I am still really tired, but the nausea has subsided.
Take care all, back to lurking while I get back to being healthy again :)
Brandi :love

[rainbowmoon]

welcome new babies! :jumpers:

happy babymoon to the mamas! :hug :love

[rainbowmoon]

I hear you Brandi about being sick :hug my morning sickness has seemd to have found me during my 2nd trimester (I felt great until about 12 weeks) and I feel sooo crappy now. I haven't even been able to hardly do a thing the last few days :(

[gr8fulmom]

Just popping in to say hello :)

Brandi... congratulations on :belly and making it through the 1st trimester!!

Congrats to all the new mamas... the stories are wonderful :thumb

Jen

[gothmommy]

Hi, just wanted to see if you all mind if I join in (as a WHOLEHEARTED supporter of UC, specifically UCAC)? My last son was born at home, and although I don't call his birth UC because I did call my midwife and she was there in the room for the last 10 minutes or so, pointing things out to my kids and doing things I requested of her, I still am a strong supporter of unhindered and instinctual birthing. I recognize some of the posters here too!! :)

[amyjeans]

hi friends- just dropping by to say lots of love to new members and babies and mamas extrordinaire.
been going through a bad spell myself
but don't want to bring down the awesome energy here-
so be well mamas!
all my best. :)

[TRIBE]

Jennie -- thanks for threatening to drive down and pamper me. :D I'm feeling much better today. I'm glad you got all your baby-stuff ordered -- and I do hope the pain in your back and pelvis lightens up! Perhaps you will have your babe before I do. I'll be 40 weeks on Saturday and really haven't had an inkling of any labor signs -- not one little hint. I'm wondering if I'll be one of those women who are just all of sudden in the midst of it. It'll be interesting to find out!


I am so glad you are feeling better today :) I am too, but then I spent most of the day resting. So of course now i am doing my cleaning and chores, but at least I feel great and energized to do it!

You know it snot uncommon for a first timer to have no signs of impending labor. I know with my first I never so much as had a braxton hick with my first, never lost my plug, nothing! Then the day befor emy duedate at noon on the dot I had a contraction and knew labor was starting. He was born 8 am on his DD :D

[KateSt.]

Amyjeans -- so sorry you're going through a rough time right now. :hug

Brandi -- Yay! for making it to 2nd trimester! Love to you and your growing babe. :love

Harmonymama -- hope you get pregnant real soon!

Welcome Gothmommy!

Rainbowmoon -- I do hope you start to feel better very soon.

Jennie -- I'm so glad we're BOTH feeling better today! Dh and I took the afternoon OFF today and had a wonderful time relaxing together. I meditated for close to an hour yesterday asking how to destress and get away from work. Last night I had a dream our baby was telling us to go away for a night to Mystic. So today, we looked online and found a wonderful room with a fireplace and whirlpool and booked it for Friday! I started to feel euphoric and realized it was baby's feeling of euphoria -- he gets very happy when I follow his suggestions. Dh and I started to wonder if perhaps he has plans on being born in this wonderful hotel room -- so we'll bring a few things "just in case."
I got chills reading your post about your firstborn coming on his "due date" without any signs. Saturday is my "due date"...so we shall see!

Here's a wonderful link someone posted on a different thread. I loved it so much I printed it out and highlighted it. Wonderful!
http://www.natural-wisdom.com/birthpleasure.htm

[Kundalini-Mama]

Oh much congratulations to Mama2Lennon and Hayliesmom! Both of you rest up and enjoy your babymoon :baby

[TRIBE]

Kate--Oooh you are gonna be in my neck of the woods. That hotel sounds so nice! There is a spa probably right near where you are staying that does the prenatal massage and foot reflexology. The pkg is like $175 but I bet that would do you some wonders ;)

I am crossing my fingers your wee one decides to make his grand entrance this weekend. Call me if you need me or anything k? 961-4100 (thats my cell)

[harmonymama]

Kate St.- blessings on your journey. I hope to read your birth story soon. The room sounds sublime.

Rainbowmoon- sorry to hear you've been feeling bad. I felt yucky until my third trimester, then I felt great. I was so tired and a little depressed. Even though I love pregnancy and birth, the only time I get depressed is during pregnancy- weird hormones. Hope you feel better. BTW your inbox is full. I tried to reply to your last message

[rainbowmoon]

harmonymama-oops! it's empty now!

[lizzie]

Hi Ladies!

Just wanted to welcome the new mamas, :wave :D

and Thanks KateSt! for the support! Hope I have fantastic news soon! My personal circle IRL is having a minor babyboom right now! Two friends from high school and a sil are expecting this fall now! I'd love to get a piece of that action!

Of course, 2 of them think I'm certifiable for considering UC, but one, the only one pg with her 1st, is training to be a mw and thinking she'd really dig a UC... hope she comes to visit us here!

AND (drumroll, please!) I couldn't stand it anymore.. I threw down with dh last night and while we went round and round for a while, it all ended with him saying, A)I know we can do this ourselves, I saw how pointless the OB's and MW's were to us the last two times! and B)Listen, you know we'll end up doing things the way you want them done, so why get so worked up about it? :jaw I was so stunned I almost (*almost*) didn't have a comeback for that one. :) So, I feel so much more relaxed now. I know that he will at least allow me to educate him as we build towards the goal! :D

Thanks for the support!

lizzie :love

[Hayliesmom]

Hi all :)

So I've been thinking about Peyton's birth and I wonder if anybody has any insight for me? With the first painful ctx I was on the toilet and had a sudden show of bright red blood. Not a ton but enough that it splashed and caused me to look. Unlike my past births these pushing ctx hurt...normally they are a relief to me and while intense not really painful. This was totally new, the dilating ctx were pain free to mildly uncomfortable and the pushing ones were causing me great pain and to get a little hysterical. Also normally I just have one or maybe two push ctx and then I have a baby quite easily. In Braxton's case, 2 births ago, I didn't even push. I also could not get into a good position at all. Nothing felt right, this is not normally something I have to think about either. I'm generally so good at just feeling what I need to do. Anyway, I also really needed dh to be there, good thing he was home :) The other thing was his head got stuck about 1/2 way out and I really felt like it needed to be out immediately so I just pushed without the urge. When he did come out his placenta came out at the same time. So basically it was baby in the membranes with just a small amount of fluid and placenta all at the same time. That's unusual isn't it? I guess I wonder if he wasn't in trouble there at the end, like maybe the placenta seperated early and maybe that's why I just felt so freaked out and so desperate to just get him out. I was on my knees by the bathtub and it was kinda dark when he was born so I didn't see him right away but dh did not seem overly concerned about him breathing or anything but he didn't cry right away. Then again neither did Braxton. He's fine now but I was just wondering if anybody had any thoughts?

The milk fairy has arrived too...I think I've gained 5lbs a breast...lol. The first time I really let down yesterday Peyton's eyes just got so big :)

My blood pressure is also a bit elevated, how concerned should I be about that? My feet and ankles are looking normal again though so that's good. Normally that happens right away but it took a few days this time. This birth was very different in a lot of ways. On a good note the after pains are almost gone. Thank God! :)

Stacey

[sprinkle pocket]

jenniebug~ i'm *due* march 28. i had a couple evenings of contractions a couple days ago. the next day, a friend reminded me that a mw friend of ours had her 3rd babe at home at 34 weeks, and he was 6 lbs! i think i'm 34 1/2 weeks, so that settled my mind. the contractions though didn't seem (intuitively) to be for birth though, they seems to be working on positioning the little nugget who insists on being smashed transverse up in my diaphragm. we'll see... i'm still thinking just a little early. a friend here in town birthed the last week with her first, and she was almost 2 weeks early.
i hear you about the medical stigmas!! i had dh go buy a plastic sheet the other day...looks like our minds are on the same track. how exactly would you describe prodromal labor? i have an idea, but being a 1st timer, it's one of the things i've only skimmed in my learning...there's so much!

rainbowmoon~ yea for dh!!

mamatolennon~welcome faenin lavender!! i love that name! looking forward to hearing how you and babe are doing. sending love your way.

kinsey~ ahhh, mama! :hug it will pass, you're doing well. just go with it, spoil yourself with strawberries and a hot bath, fresh flowers, a quiet walk (with loose socks--i understand!). you're a princess goddess!!

ahhh, kate~ it will pass! :hug
ok, just got to the post where you're feeling better. yea! my best friend reminded me that with her 1st, she'd had no bh's, nothing, and then labor just started (during dh's favorite tv show; that makes a good story, b/c of course he didn't want to turn it off). ohhh, i can't wait to hear of your beautiful baby's arrival. aren't you excited to see that little bitty butt?! i'm chomping at the bit and i still have a ways to go, officially. glad to hear about your getaway plans. sounds like you have such a great love with your dh. you two sound so *together*, if ykwim.

lizzie~ :rotflmao UCINGMAMA...that's so funny. i wonder what they would say if i put that on the form?! i heard of one woman (maybe in the 50's?) who put on the blank "who delivered baby": God. that's pretty funny, and ballsy. maybe i'll put that.

stacey~ yea! welcom peyton. wow, sounds like a great birth, you did well mama! and in the caul too, how neat. enjoy a snuggly babymoon. just read your last post. i really don't know, but it sounds like your intuition is right on about needing to get the babe out right then, if the placenta followed so quickly. it'll be interesting to hear what others say. there's such a huge variety in births, it constantly amazes me. i'm so glad the afterpains have settled.

harmonymama~ read your intro...welcome!...are you moving near bisbee? we're off the grid in sw nm on 10 acres...and lovin' it. how great to get out of el paso! i'm so happy for you! i don't usually have much time at the computer, but i'll have to try and check out that forum you mentioned, do you have a link?

brandi~ wow, i can't believe you're already 12 weeks! congrats on making it through the nausea, whew!

love to all the mama's and new babes (and to the babes still tucked warmly inside)! :love

[TRIBE]

SP~
For me prodromal labor is true labor like patterns that do not develop into real labor. More of a preparatory thing for me. Some ppl experience prodromal labor and then immediately go into true labor. Me I go thru 2-3 weeks of it!

I did talk to my midwife today and she asked for me to please wait until March 2, which has been the date I've been chanting to this wee one lol Not that I plan to actually call them in time for the birth anyhow. But if I were to decide to call them and its before March 2 then they would have to tell me to go to the hospital (not that I would listen).

I ramble. I am ready for this babe now. Carseat is fully installed. The birth pool and belly cast kit arrived today. All I am waiting on is the RV hose to fill the pool and my custom made PP pants and pad set I ordered from a friend. But those aren't necessary for the birth. Still I hope to go past March 2 :)

[ChildoftheMoon]

Hello all. 13 weeks, no nausea but still throwing up if I get too hungry or smell a wrong smell. My cold is better so that is good. I went to see my midwife to have a listen for the babe's heartbeat. She could find none and this was really difficult, it felt like reliving my moment with Galadriel. Midwife was good, she set me up to take a doppler home, which I was not really thrilled about as much as I wanted to hear that magic sound. We talked and visited for quite a while and then I asked for one more listen and we found it. Baby likes to hide, or does not like doppler waves. My first thought as soon as I heard the beating heart was, that is a boy heart. I left the doppler, I don't need it, I heard what I wanted to hear. I think for the time being I will continue to see my midwife. She is good to see and talk to. Visits with her are in her home and she does nothing to you unless you ask. She also supports UC, so I think this will be a good medium for me while I work through fears. It is so weird to go through a pregnancy with fear. I have no fears of labor and birth, just fear that baby will be not be ok, but I guess that is perfectly normal to feel this way after losing a full term baby.
The fear is subtle and more what if, I still feel strong with the faith that things will be ok and that it is beyond my control anyway, I surrender and am open to the gifts that lay ahead of me, but after being on the other side and knowing what the pain and reality is like changes you a bit.
Breathing deep and smiling..............

Love, Brandi

[lizzie]

Oh, Brandi! :love I'm just so happy for you. Reading your last post just brought tears to my eyes for some reason. I just pray that this whole pregnancy is time of peace and rejoicing and healing for you! And how nice... to be past 12 wks and out of the constant nausea!

Well, I'm not pg. :eyesroll I was a day late, and just holding my breath, but no. Just late. That's okay. It'll happen when it's meant to, and in the meantime we'll be trying harder! :wink :thumb

Not a lot of time, just wanted to say Hi and update!

Love, sunshine and moonbeams to all!

lizzie

[sprinkle pocket]

brandi~sounds like the mw visits are really therapeutic and having that support right now is great! how lucky you were to find a uc-supportive mw. that's *almost* an oxymoron. (no offense to the mw's out there that support uc, i just know it's a different paradigm).

we just bought a car seat on ebay moments ago. whew! it feels good to have that marked off our to-do list. i also ordered a lambswool seat cover from snugglewool. we get pretty cold weather and in the summer, i'm not too into the kiddo sitting in a poly seat sweating... i don't think we're going to do a bellycast since we don't have anywhere to put it after the birth. anyone know where to get a birthing lamp? we're on solar power and i swear i saw one once that had an LED bulb which uses almost no power. it had a natural shade like handmade paper or something i think. i need something dim for at night once the babe's here, since we just have bright compact flourescent bulbs. we're planning on doing ec, but using dipes as back-up, so we're still trying to gather some wool covers. other than that i *think* we have everything we need. i'm going to make a birthing box with clean towels, my herbs/homeopathy etc. it'll be reassuring to have everything in one place and not have to look for anything.

i got some energywork yesterday and the baby started moving out of transverse and exploring the other regions of it's space. since that treatment, i'm not feeling like the babe will be as early as i'd felt. bh's settled down--i think they may've been my body's effort to reallign the kid. i'll get a few more treatments in a couple of weeks. those will be the final ones since i'll be 37 weeks and travel a number of hours to the practitioner's town. so whatever my body and the baby need to let go of and adjust had better happen then! ;)

[TRIBE]

SP check out www.birthwithsol.com for the labor lamps. I think they are LED bulbed.

I did my belly cast today. It turned out fantasically!! And my dad said he would commision one of the artists that has a display in his art gallery to paint the cast for me. Right on daddy! :)

I blew up the fishy pool/birth pool today. Its much roomier and deeper than I expected it to be. I can't wait for the hose to arrive on Wed so I can to a test run on filling and emptying it. 11 more days and I will be in my "safe" zone to birth :) I am now hoping it will be before Mid March as DH has informed me BIL wil lbe coming to visit in Mid March. Love my BIl dearly but not so sure i want him joining in on the labor and delivery. Altho he would be a great help with the kids....

Nesting is in full force. My house is looking great! Tommorow my plan is to start washing the walls from all the grubby lil handprints and everything those grubby lil hands leave behind :LOL I got all my couch cushions washed and then put a really nice (and free cant beat that) slipcove ron the couch. Makes my livingroom seem new! And the color of the slipcover makes this butt ugly glider/ottoman set I have look better since the colors match more to the slipcover than it did to my couchs original color.

Yea I am rambling :P I am also excited to hear from kate and see how her weekend in Mystic went. I wonder if she is holding a wee one yet! Anyone else as anxious as i am to find out how her weekend went? I better go to bed. I have had a lot of BH in the last 2 hours and I really don't want them to progres anywhere yet.

[Hayliesmom]

I was wondering about Kate too! :)

Stacey

[TRIBE]

Ok Kate where are you??? Are you holding that wee one and thats why you haven't posted :)

[ChildoftheMoon]

Thinking of you Kate!!! :love
Hoping you are laboring blissfully and holding your beautiful babe. :love

[KateSt.]

Ohhhh..you ladies are soooo wonderful!! :love

We had to postpone our weekend getaway...because our dear babe came on Thursday!!! It was an intense 15-17 hour labor (most of it ACTIVE!) and the final 2 hours were incredibly powerful and spiritual -- talk about feeling the life force go through you! When he was born (*he* just like he *told* me) it was the most wonderful peak experience dh and I have EVER had. My dh was totally transformed by it (in fact he's offered to write a post here for reluctant uc dh's to read). I so look forward to writing his birth story. I can't tell you how accomplished I feel for following my heart and having a very successful and wonderful uc!

We named him ChristoFinn, Finn for short (he whispered this name to me all night one night when I was 5 mos pregnant) and he's the most content little babe. I've been soaking in baby bliss for the past 5 days, but I've been thinking of you all. I only skimmed the previous posts, but I'll be back soon.
Love to all you wonderful mamas!! :love :love :love

[amyjeans]

:balloons :balloons :birthday: :birthday: :balloons :balloons :balloons :love
welcome Finn!
you rock mama!
congrats!

[TRIBE]

:banana :banana :carrot :carrot :guitar :guitar :balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons

YAY!!!! Omg I am sooo excited and happy for you Kate!!! wooohoooooo :D I so cannot wait to read your story. Welcome earthside little Finn, what a blessing you are! :)

:slingboy:

[Kundalini-Mama]

Oh, much congratulations Kate!!! :banana Welcome Finn :baby (And ftr, Feb 17th, is an awesome b-day :thumb)

Amy

[CluckyInAZ]

:jumpers: congratulations! I am so happy to hear that you had such a wonderful birth! It really makes me excited about mine coming up, especially since you are one of the few first time moms on here. :love enjoy your babymoon!

[FreeRangeMama]

Congratulations :)

[hmg7500]

hi all! i've been around and have posted, but not taken part in this discussion just yet.

i'm heather, 33 weeks pregnant with my 4th baby and planning an uc. i can't explain it, and i never thought of myself as the "type" to have an uc, but i feel it's as if the baby insisted on this. i had been seeing a midwife and planned on birthing in a free standing birth center, but for most of the pregnancy, i felt as if i was "settling" for it... and then the baby kept pushing me towards an uc. so, at 29 weeks, i stopped seeing my midwife and started my own prenatal care. hubby is cautious, but supportive. the rest of my family thinks it's neat, but have their worries as well. only one sister was truely excited for us. that's okay, though. at least they aren't being negative.

my birth pool is scheduled to arrive on monday, and we'll be setting it up and practicing to see how long it takes to fill, etc. so we can be ready when this little one decides to be born. got the rest of my "kit" together-- i think most of it we'll end up not using, but having it makes hubby feel more prepared, so i keep it around to humor him.

i am very excited now, i feel like i missed most of this pregnancy and only in the last few weeks have truly gotten a chance to live and enjoy it.

[fourlittlebirds]

Kate, thank you for putting a great big smile on my face this morning. :D Congratulations and blessings! I can't wait to read your and your dh's stories!

[TRIBE]

Hi Heather and welcome!!

Isn't it amazing how our little ones can lead us to these places? I wanted to UC after my last UC but DH insisted on a mw this time (not due to complications but b/c of work sisues with the military). But this baby has shown me twice now she wants to be born without the midwives, just dh and i in our bed surrounded by soft candlelight. Which then of course leaves me the question of why did I purchase a pool to deliver in LOL

Ok main reason is I wanted the chance to at least labor comfortably in a pool of warm/hot water. The only tub in the house is in my boys bathroom and frankly the smell in there is just gross no matter how many times a day I clean it. And the tub is super skinny so no way would I be able to relax and be comfy in it. My RV hose is due to arrive today and once its here DH and I will practice filling and emptying the pool so we know wha tto expect when labor hits. I bleew