Did you stick to one room in your homebirth?

[Barcino]

I am wondering how homebirths work as I am almost to my due date and planning one :thumb I can't picture it. My husband and I are going to request that we mainly labor by ourselves with the midwives and our doula just there as support when needed. I just cant picture labor at home for some reason... I am wondering if you kind of were all over teh house, stuck to your room mostly... also how much setting up do they midwives do with their stuff? I am wondering how many things they bring along. I am reading a lot of birth stories to get pumped up for it and wondering those little details like what did you guys do during your homebirth... I think that the freedom is what is so awseome about being at home.

[ABand3]

I was in prodromal labor for a day or so before 'real' labor began on a sunday morning, so I had just been doing my normal stuff around the house, and thankfully got a pretty good night sleep. On sunday morning, with ctx about 10 minutes apart read the paper and ate breakfast in the kitchen and then DH & I walked up and down our street for about 45 minutes. I thought the walk would pick things up a bit but it did the opposite, so I called the midwife and doula and said, maybe today, but not soon, and then took a nap for about an hour. I woke with stronger ctx and stayed in the kitchen/family room trying to eat & drink, reading the paper, and watching tv, and oh yeah going to the bathroom about every 10 minutes. When I threw up my DH called the midwives and doula. By this time I wanted to get in the shower (upstairs) but for some strange laborland reason I would NOT walk up the stairs until the doula arrived. So I kneeled on the bottom step leaning on an upper step waiting for her (only about 30 minutes). When she arrived I went upstairs and got in the shower and from that point stayed in my bathroom or bedroom (adjacent) for the rest of the labor. I think one time I walked up and down the stairs to try to move my pelvis around, but really had no desire to be anywhere but my bedroom/bathroom (mostly bathroom).

My DH helped the midwife carry in her bags and she did spend a bit of time setting up, but I was still in the shower so not really aware of it. I do remember seeing my DH carry one of her bags (which is just like one I have for scrapbooking) into the bedroom, and I thought, what on earth is he doing with my scrapbooking stuff at a time like this! Duh. She did have quite a bit of stuff to lay out, plus unpakcing things from my boxes of supplies, so there were things laid out on every flat surface of the room.

[jerawo]

My MW arrived an hour before DS was born, so I didn't have to deal with this too much. I ended up spending most of my 9 hour labor in my bathroom. Sitting on the toilet was the best place for me, and where I was during most of my contractions. I did spend maybe 45 min in the bathtub but started to hate it after a while and went back to the toilet. I pushed for an hour and delivered DS on my bed.

We had our homebirth supplies set up on a card table in our bedroom. My MW and DH quickly set up a few of her supplies on the table and part of the bed I wasn't using (her assistant arrived 2 minutes after the baby was born). Everything went so fast, there was only time to get the essentials out. I think she just had a small suitcase like bag that held her supplies. She might have had more in the car, but they never made it into the house.

[momto l&a]

I go wherever I am comfy.
With my last I cleaned house, went outside to move our cars around to make more parking room and had the baby a short time later :LOL The fresh cool air feeling wonderful and refreshing.

Thats the great thing about HB, do what you want.

With my last the mw was a half hour late the assistant barely made it. She didnt even have a chance to get her gloves on :LOL or any supplies ready.

[2+twins]

I've only had labors which begun full-force (active labor) so once it began I was fully involved. I think had I experienced early labor I would have moved around more. Anyway, with my first, I began in my bed and moved to the tub which was set up in the living room as soon as the mw got there & checked me. I stayed there until I began pushing, which wasn't going real well, so I got out and moved back to my bedroom where I alternated the pushing stage btwn the toilet (attached to my bedroom) and my bed. Baby was born in my bed. With my 2nd birth it was all in my bedroom, but that labor was only 90 minutes long. I have this room within my room that I had the birth tub setup in so I was in there too, but essentially it's all the same room (main bedroom, "retreat", and master bath).

I think we had supplies setup on a chest and tv tray (in my bedroom) for our first birth. For our second, the mw didn't make it so we didn't have anything setup.

[fourlittlebirds]

For my last I started out in the bedroom, then several hours walking back and forth from the living room to the kitchen, and the last three hours next to our bathtub.

[kavamamakava]

Nope.
Baby 1: We took a few walks, I got on the computer in our guest room, I watched TV while sitting on the birthing ball in my living room, I took a shower while sitting on the birthing ball, ended up having him in the bedroom.

Baby 2: I walked around my mom's garden and made myself some food in her kitchen and then had the midwife meet me at my house. She followed me around from my bedroom to the dining room to the living room with chux pads because I was making pushy noises and she didn't know where I would settle. I finally decided on the birthing tub on the screened in back porch.

Baby 3: Spent time in the den on the computer, in the kitchen getting food, on the birthing ball yakking it up on the phone with my sister while eating chocolate truffles, in my bedroom, in a birthing pool in the living room, and I had her on the floor in front of the couch.

I had a different midwife for every birth. They all tended to wait until it was clear the baby was coming soon before they set up their supplies. They really didn't need many things so it didn't take long. Plus, they all come with assistants who can set things up for them if they need them and are busy doing something else.

[teachinmaof3]

Last time my mw was here the entire day (about 9/10am until 6/7pm). After having two hospital births it was kinda weird (in a cool way..lol) to be laboring at home. :) We had the pool set up in our bedroom so I was in there most of the day. At first I laid on my bed and sat on the birth ball some but once the water wasn't slowing me down, I was in the water! My mw was in the room with me most of the time (she left once to go get lunch) but wasn't a bother at all. I was just happy with staying in my bedroom really.

If I remember right, my mw put her supplies on my dresser..which was out of the way of the "action". lol I had other birth supplies in a box near the pool.

This time we're planning a labor/birth like you are. Again, the pool will be in our bedroom. I could put it in the living room but I need my girls to have somewhere to play if they don't want to be in the room during labor/birth. I'll be calling her when I think I'm in labor but I don't want her to come over right away. When it's time to birth I really want it to be just dh and I (and any of our dd's that want to be there). I have a feeling tho that I'll be asking my mw for reassurance and dh asking her if he's doing everything right. LOL!!!

[burke-a-bee]

I walk around when I 'm in labor. So for my homebirth, I went from room to room to the shower to the bed and pushed him out. I think this is agreat advantage of homebirth you feel so free to move around. When I gave birth in the hospital, my room wasn't ready so they told me it might be a half hour until I could get a room. Well, I walked the halls moaning and making so much noise that they had a room ready with in five minutes. (I guess they didn't like that very much.)
For my homebirth my midwife arrived fifteen minutes before I delivered (my labor was only 35 minutes). She didn't have anytime to set up.

[phatchristy]

I pretty much found that I tended to gravitate towards my bedroom suite area (we have a master suite connected to a very large bathroom and closet area). Almost my entire labor (and I really only count labor as when I actually have to work) I ended up in there. It is very private, I think that is why I liked it. I was in the bathroom a great deal to use the shower and toilet...then, when the birth was emminent I went on the bed, leaned on the birth ball and ended up pushing her out there in a hands and knees position (what I didn't exactly expect either...it was so quick I didn't know her birth was going to happen that quickly).

The first time I pretty much stayed in the bedroom as well, except at the end they had me stomping around our great room and pushing. Our great room has a lot of space (more than the bedroom) so it worked well for that. Though, at the end I did go back to the bedroom to actually push her out.

I do find that I want to be private and left alone most of the time when I am in labor, unless there is some part of my body I want acupressure or something for.

[wendy1221]

I htought I would stick to our bedroom and the upstairs bathroom, but I ended up all over the place in the 8 hours I labored. I even ate at the dining room table at one point.

[orangebird]

First HB I pretty much stayed in the same room except for the walk outside.

Second HB I walked and walked and walked in circles through the whole house. I went to my room when things peaked at their craziest and then I started pushing, my water broke, I hopped in the tub (which was in my room) and pushed him out.

[crunchymomof2]

During early labor I was cleaning up and doing laundry. That lasted about 2 hours and then I got into the pool in the dining room and went between there and the bathroom. The birth ended up in our bedroom. My midwife had me separate what birth supplies we bought and then she grabbed what she needed from the birth kit and threw it in a bowl i had bought and she just brought that when she needed to be near me. She set up in about 15 mins.

[LoveChild421]

I agree with you- the freedom to just do whatever you feel like in the moment and move where you please is absolutely amazing. I had never imagined labor starting with my water breaking- but it did- while I was sitting in bed watching TV about to go to sleep nonetheless :p So, I started out in the bedroom writhing around in bed during the night listening to a Native American drumming CD over and over while my dp slept next to me (surprisingly I wasn't pissed at him, I knew I had to find strength within myself to do it and him being awake wouldn't really help me) then I moved to the living room around 7am after my midwife had checked me- I ate an apple and drank some juice sitting in the recliner- sitting up straight intensified the contractions and made me feel like I was making real progress so I alternated between sitting in the recliner covered up by my big comfy Velvet blanket and sitting on the birth ball rocking back and forth. When I was 5-6 cm dilated I got in the birth pool which was set up in our bedroom by then- and it was HEAVEN- ahhhh.... I had some complications with my cervix and ended up getting out of the birth pool to push on the birth stool in the living room which is where my son was born :love We all walked to the bedroom shortly after he was born and got in bed :throb My midwife had all of her supplies- oxygen tank, etc set up in a corner of the living room and had her apprentice get all of the things she needed ready for her.

don't worry if you can't picture your birth- you'll know exactly what to do when the time comes. Happy birthing vibes to you :dust

[nancy926]

I went into labor in the bedroom....walked around the whole house during the first stages. As things intensified I stuck to our bedroom (which has an attached bathroom). The mws set up some stuff downstairs but moved it upstairs when it was clear I was going to give birth in the bedroom.

Our mws were awesome - basically left us alone until the very end except to check baby's hb and make sure I was drinking enough fluids and peeing regularly.

:)

[Neldavi]

Well, I was in two rooms but the second one was just the bathroom when I thought I had to poop (read:baby's coming ;) ). I had a really short intense labor though so I couldn't have even fathomed that another room existed, much less move into it :LOL . I imagine that if my labor was longer I would have walked around the house or something.

My midwife didn't need much room at all for her stuff .. maybe one square foot on top of a dresser and then she just put her oxygen tanks and bag on the floor at the foot of the bed. She was only there for half an hour before ds was born, though ... not much time for setting up much of anything lol

[Ruthla]

I was pacing around my house naked for most of labor- all 3 times! I honestly can't remember what the midwives set up the first 2 times- I do know that for my UC I put some towels and a chux pad down where I planned to give birth- actually, I think I put some chux pads down in a few places in case I changed my mind during labor. Whatever the midwife did, it was in my bedroom and it didn't get in my way at all.

[MamaChel]

I moved around a bit in early labor. We waited to call the midwife though. She came and set up the pool while I was in the shower then went downstairs to bed. (I have middle of the night labors) It was mainly DH and I with DS1 there sleeping next to me for just about the whole thing. I feel better standing up so DH had to stand in pretty much the same position with me hanging from his arms for about 6 hours, lol. I loved being able to move around at will and just do whatever felt right at the time.

[applejuice]

With my first homebirth, I stayed in bed all day since my DH had gone to work and I was afraid to do anything with no one there. When the midwife arrived, she sent DH and I out for a brisk walk to get things going...then they broke my water, :angry, and things got going...

With my fourth homebirth, I was all over the place, because I was really uncomfortable and tired. It was January, and I even went outside to sit in the hottub, which did not help at all.

That is one of the many nice things about having a homebirth: you can walk and move all over the place if you darn well feel like it, without being tied to monitors inside and outside, intravenous feedings, wear the clothes you want or be stark naked if you want.

[SusannahM]

No, definitely not. I was in labor for 18 hours. I had 3 meals during that time in the kitchen. I watched TV and sat on the birthing ball in the living room. I used the bedpost on the bed in my bedroom for squats when the contractions got hard. I labored in the tub and the toilet for a while in the bathroom. I pushed on the bed in the bedroom again. I sat at the dining room table for a while very early in labor to finish my birthplan just in case I had to go to the hospital (okay, so I procrastinated just a little on that one :) ).

[Monkeybutt]

I was back and forth from the spa, tub, livingroom, office, bedroom. Gave birth in the livingroom. :)