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hey UC'ers/HB'ers, whacha got planned for your births thus far???

1K views 29 replies 16 participants last post by  Krystal323 
#1 ·
Just curious!! I got my (albeit teeny) order from Birth and Beyond yesterday, and I'm all but finished with my herbal research, so I know what all tinctures and such to purchase. I braided embroidery floss for cord ties, and ordered two cord clamps as backup. I've got rescue remedy already and plan to buy some arnica, along with several other things I've rambled on about on the UC boards (hemhorrage herbs, herbs for possible retained placentas, sitz bath combinations etc etc). I am thinking I ought to buy a scale already, because I'm sure I'll want to know how much this kiddo weighs, even if i don't care about my own weight!
I need some nursing pads, a cheapo shower curtain as bed/carpet protection lol, and some Lansinoh. And of course a plane ticket for my DP!!! I feel all organized hehe


So what about you guys??? Anyone got special music picked out? Incense or candles to burn? Foods and drinks in mind? Labor mantras memorized??!
Is your birth going to be private and secluded, babymoon and all, or do you have family coming to the birth and/or staying awhile to help?? Tell me tell me!
 
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#2 ·
I am having a HB with a midwife in attendance. I have some great lavender beeswax candles I am hoarding for the day, and getting some special playlists on my ipod is next on my list - I am thinking an early labor list, a later labor/delivery list, and possibly something for after baby arrives.

It is beginning to look like it will be a full house - we'll have my dh and 2 daughters, my Mom will be coming but from about 3 hours away, I asked a dear friend to come help with the kids and she has a 4 year old daughter she'll be bringing along since it will be her only chance to see a birth, and then a good friend who happens to be a doula (alas I can't afford to actually pay her), is planning on coming and she has asked if her 9 year old son can come who attended his younger brothers birth, but, and I quote her, "I would like him to attend many, many more before he dips his own stick, if you know what I'm saying."
They all know that if I want them out, they have to leave though! My Mom will be staying for awhile after to help out.

My dh is an amateur photographer so I have asked that he videotape and take photos, with the understanding that if I need him in some other way that all gets dropped. I tend to go into a zone and tune out everything around me, so I think this will all work.

I am having fantasies of having the baby outside in the yard, but we live in close quarters to the neighbors, and they could all look over/down and watch, and I don't really know most of them, so I am not so sure that I am comfortable with that. Imagining someone calling 911 or something. We also live close to a great trail that goes around a lake...very busy mind you, but there are beautiful trees all around the lake and I keep envisioning walking the trail and resting against the trees as needed (during labor and heading home for delivery of course), but again imagine alot of strangers being too helpful and not just leaving me be.

I also like imagining that I will feel up to starting a pot of soup during early labor that everyone can enjoy while I am doing my thing! We'll see on that one though. And, I have informed my Mom and dh that I expect a delicious meal from my favorite local fried chicken place as soon as is realistic after baby arrives!

I would like to find a comfortable robe or button down shirt to wear during because I am overweight and a bit self conscious and would like to have my back side covered up, unless I don't, then I won't!

And since we have so many children in attendance, we are toying with the idea of creating a video about children and childbirth. Possibly interviewing the kids each before and after, discussing ways to prepare them, and then the video of some of the labor and the birth. My pregnant mind comes up with some grandiose ideas sometimes!
:

I am really looking forward to just laying down in my own bed to rest and be with baby after. My first was born at the hospital and I didn't sleep at all until they let us go home - it was so hard to just relax. And my second was born at a birthcenter, which was lovely, but it was hard to leave and re-settle at home, though there was something surreal and magical about my dh, daughter, Mom, Mom-in-law, myself, and a brand new baby all piling in the van at 1:30 am for the trip home.

I am starting to also plan a pre-birth party for all those that will be coming...just a chance to get together and visit, and we'll likely watch some homebirth videos and read "Welcome with Love" for the kids.
 
#3 ·
I've only got a few things left to do. Mainly I just need to make sure the cupboards stay full, and get the pool ready. My mother invited herself
: and will be here one week before my EDD and 2 wks after. I've already made up my post birth peri herbs and I hope to find some nice candles.
 
#5 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by toemizan View Post

I would like to find a comfortable robe or button down shirt to wear during because I am overweight and a bit self conscious and would like to have my back side covered up, unless I don't, then I won't!

: too funny. I was soooooo naked from transition onword. Everyone kept throwing sheets over me and I kept swearing and throwing them off. I do like the idea of a big comfy button down shirt. Maybe I'll ask my mom to go thru what she has left of my dad's clothes for something appropriate, though I won't be too attached to the idea of actually wearing it!

I have a candle I think I might like during labor. It's grapefruit--supposed to be energizing.

I am buying La Bassine birth pool right now! I am excited.

I have a few chucks pads and some gnarly, but clean prefold diapers for the birth gooies. I have a bulb syringe, two cord clamps (may or may not use them, we shall see) and a cord clamp cutter. I have a some receiving blankets and a couple of newborn shirts and hats set aside for right after the birth and a half dozen newborn disposable diapers, though I will probably buy another pack. I stripped all my newborn cloth, but I won't even start to use them until after the mec is done.
 
#6 ·
I have done basically nothing!

My mom and dad say they can give me old towels and I got some old sheets from a friend. I need to order my small kit. I have a shower curtian.

I have so much to do still!
 
#7 ·
Quote:
I was soooooo naked from transition onword. Everyone kept throwing sheets over me and I kept swearing and throwing them off.
no THIS is hilarous!!!
:

I still don't really know how exactly this whole labor/delivery thing is gonna play out for me, LOL. I am just about positive that I'll be in this house, which is the house that me and my ex are still stuck with until it sells, and until *I* can find another place to live. My ex and my DP have both expressed that possibly the birth would be some good forced circumstances in which to start getting along with each other in person, but ummm I don't need any other issues besides my own at that time, I don't think!
: My mom says she wants to come up, but she's 3 hours away and can't drive, and I just found out yesterday that my dad told her to take a bus cause he's not going! So possibly my ex will go get my mother and bring her up here (which would be an all-day affair), and that way I'd have seclusion for the labor/birth with just DP and my kiddos with me. It's a lot of crazy logistical problems. Of course, none of that will matter if it turns out I get my own place by, say, the end of April...
Let's just say everyone involved is dearly hoping for that!!


I definitely need some good playlists on my computer (i am so lame, I have no fancy stuff for my mp3 player and a craptastic stereo, so my cuomputer just has really good speakers and that's my sound system!
)--my DP has some meditation music he sent me, and I really need to go find my Enigma cds....maybe dig thru my mom's house for her Yanni tapes too
Of course if it was up to my kids they'd listen to techno and rock, and depending on my mood i might agree!

I have this baggy old t-shirt that says "vegetarian" with a picture of the Earth, but shaped like an apple on it. That's what I gave birth in both times before. Not sure what I'll end up wearing this time, considering I'll probably be blissfully free from strangers' eyes this time


I keep picturing giving birth in the water; at the birthcenter where I had Ian, they had a hot tub, and that was wonderful to labor in
Thing is, I am not even about to start pricing birth pools! Pretty much I can buy a kiddie pool from walmart, and somehow deal with the inevitable mess (!) or just squish up in the regular-size tub here


I definitely want to go raid my friend's store for candles and incense--they have some really fabulous things there for pretty cheap prices
But that, like my henna belly art
, will have to wait til the next time I go visit my mom and am in that area.

I love reading about everyone's ideas--keep 'em coming!
 
#11 ·
I got baby clothes out of storage, they have been added to my always-humongous piles of laundry so they will be clean eventually. I need to nab a pack or two or newborn shirts from my inventory. And I want to knit or make a wool blanket.

I ordered some stuff online a few weeks ago. I got enough disposable plastic backed sheets to cover a whole walkway from my bathroom to my couch and back (pretty much the whole tiny downstairs). I got a bunch of chux pads. Some sitz bath stuff for afterwards. And some pads and those mesh underwear things. Arnica and shepherd's purse will be here Tuesday.

Diapers and old towels are at the back of a closet, so I need to pull those out soon, before I'm too big.

I plan on waiting until the cord is so empty that I won't need any clamps or ties, but then I thought I should probably have something in case it needs to be cut sooner, so I will go and get some embroidery floss and braid some ties sometime (boy and girl options).

Now I just have to convince my husband that a UC will be SO much fun!
 
#12 ·
I finally am in the state I'm going to be birthing in.I have an official Dr appt. on Tues. since i haven't seen anyone since I found out at 20 weeks.I am looking forward to finding out the position and hearing the heartbeat even though I have an idea already.We are almost unpacked and this week we will start putting up pictures (unless the siren call of the ocean doesn't draw us outside )

Now I can order the UC books I want and get ready for my birth.I've driven past two historical sites where chief's wives birthed thier babys but we haven't explored them yet.Maybe this week.
:
 
#13 ·
I am HBing with a MW. I bought a few supplies - alcohol, mesh undies, emergen C, etc. She supplies the actual birth kit and will leave it when she does the home visit - in 3 weeks - WOW!
I keep planning to make some CDs but havent gotten around to it yet. I would like to find something to wear too. I may end up naked but in the beginning I want clothes.
 
#14 ·
We are planning for a UC with a midwife back-up (also a dear friend of ours).. It will just be me and DH, but we have 2 good doulas for our post-partum and our midwife friend will be staying with us for a month afterwards as well, so any of them are ready to be at the actual birth if we change our mind.

As far as supplies go, the big thing was building the decking and putting in the hot tub out back, and that's done- it is so beautiful, private, and such a sacred place... I have a sense that it will be where I spend a lot time (already is
)

We have a collection of old towels, a big homeopathy kit, sage I have prepared especially for smudging, and a bottle of homemade elderberry wine that a friend gave to us for our wedding last year... I have a nurse friend who is going to give me some medical supplies just in case (I want it here but out of sight), and we still need to buy some chux pads. I will borrow a midwives kit and resusitation equipment. I am planning on baking a lot of bread for visitors and stocking the freezer.. but there's a food tree for afterwards so we can slowly visit with folks and we'll have a lot of help too.

DH painted the nursery and it is absolutely beautifull!! All mud clay color with a copper faux finish over it... and I have emptied that room, so this week, we will do a big final cleaning as our baby blessing and shower is coming up and we wanted to have the space ready for gifts. We are also finished with refinishing all the antique baby furniture that's been in the family. I am sure we'll have everything we need. After the upcoming parties, I'll do an inventory of what needs are left over.

Whew.. ok sorry that was long, but it was helpful for me to see where I am at with the nesting! Thanks Ladies!!
 
#15 ·
I need to clean my house (an ongoing process with the dog hair dust bunnies that accummulate!) make sure I have everything on the list my MW gave me (I think I have about three items of 20 or so
and most importantly, clean out the spare bedroom. I have a small assortment of baby clothes and a pack of disposable newborn diapers and my mom is supposed to be looking after cloth diapers for me (prefolds), she better not forget!!

I've already put a deposit on a waterbirth spa (same price as buying the la bassine, I couldn't pass it up) and plan on putting it in the spare room. Then, since I happen to have a spare bed, I'll be putting that in the spare room as well, then I don't have to buy more sheets for our bed. We got a new bed in the fall and it's a king so we don't have spare sheets yet (what a pain on wash day!!) but I have lots of spares for the single including a plastic sheet. Then, I can decide on a whim if I want to birth in the water or on the bed.
Of course, this all depends on getting that room cleaned out! But the basement is ALMOST finished and then the stuff in that room can go in the new spare room downstairs.

What the heck do I need mesh panties for??
 
#16 ·
Quote:
We got a new bed in the fall and it's a king so we don't have spare sheets yet (what a pain on wash day!!)
YUP! I need more sheets anyway, but I'm not gonna buy more so they can get all messy from the birth! Luckily I knwo my mom has a bunch of full-size sheets, and they don't even own a fullsize bed anymore, so I'll prolly just swipe those. :making mental note to do that next time i go visit:

Quote:
sage I have prepared especially for smudging, and a bottle of homemade elderberry wine that a friend gave to us for our wedding last year...
mmm I wanna know how you prepared your sage! I figured on buying some and then just consecrating it with my own intentions before burning, but it'd be extra cool to add some things to the bundle and make it more personalized


the wine sounds lovely too. need to pick up some of that, definitely...


about mesh panties--I know what they are, understand the concept and all (keeping your nice undies, well, nice, for those first few days pp)...but personally they only ever served to make me feel more like a wreck, or falling apart, something like that. It's completely a mental thing and probably a bit weird of me too LOL... but no mesh undies for me--I will just wreck my not-so-nice undies that at least fit like undies should
and just deal with buying more later!!
 
#17 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Krystal323 View Post
about mesh panties--I know what they are, understand the concept and all (keeping your nice undies, well, nice, for those first few days pp)...but personally they only ever served to make me feel more like a wreck, or falling apart, something like that. It's completely a mental thing and probably a bit weird of me too LOL... but no mesh undies for me--I will just wreck my not-so-nice undies that at least fit like undies should
and just deal with buying more later!!

Aha. I seeee.... well, I can totally understand if you wear really expensive underwear then, why you would want to buy mesh undies, but I wear regular cotton undies and I'm sure that I can buy a few extra pairs and be way more comfortable than in some weird mesh undie that I am not used to. I thought maybe there was some special reason that I was overlooking but it just really didn't make much sense to me. Any other opinions or info are welcome though!!
 
#18 ·
The mesh undies are also for holding the mega pads you'll be wearing for a day or three. They are disposable too so you can rip them on the sides if things get too gross to pull down. The pads make things pretty uncomfortable anyway, so I wasn't really thinking about comfort at that point. I figured it'd be good to have some, as I try to throw away not-so-nice underwear as they get that way. I threw away a pair today as a matter of fact!

I plan to try to keep a bra on throughout labor so pictures will be pretty modest. Last time I was in a hospital and had a bra and a gown on for most of it. The gown came off sometime during early pushing, and it was pretty funny to rip the bra off right after Delia was born as I was flipping over on the bed. Wish I had video of that moment, but I do remember the looks on the faces in the room! ha ha

I'm hoping to use chux pads under me on the couch and in bed afterwards and just staying away from everything cushioned or carpeted during labor/delivery. I'm not going upstairs at all, which is alll carpeted and that's where the beds are. I have plasticy mattress pad for our bed I'm going to put on for the baby anyway, but maybe that'll be my husband's job since it's a zip-on type thing.
 
#19 ·
oh boy, i haven't really done any planning for the birth yet. maybe that is because i really don't even know where we are going to be living. dh is job hunting and we may or may not be in this house... or even this state when this baby is born.

i would *love* to labor outside but if we are still here i probably won't because we have lots of close by neighbors.


last time i labored mostly outside but delivered inside in a fishy pool.

i didn't have any problems with the fishy pool last time but i suppose i will check out all the pool options this time to see if i find something i can afford that looks better.

i do have plenty of clothes and diapers for the babe, but i do want to do a little more soaker, short and longie knitting.

i think my midwife wants me to buy my birth kit by the time she comes for her homevisit, which i think is at 35 weeks. i'm only 28 weeks now so still a while for that.

as for birthing attire, i really just like to be naked once it gets intense. last time i did wear a bikini top (like somebody else said, for pictures mainly
)

hmmmm, i'm glad i read this thread so i can get started thinking about all this stuff!
 
#21 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Krystal323 View Post
mmm I wanna know how you prepared your sage! I figured on buying some and then just consecrating it with my own intentions before burning, but it'd be extra cool to add some things to the bundle and make it more personalized

I have carried the sage to ceremonies and have added my visions and affirmations to it (just like you said).. I will also bring it with me to the motherway ceremony we are having. I don't know if I'll add any other herb to it- that's a lovely idea. Maybe some lavender or cedar. hmmmm... I love thinking on these things
: We married on a deserted island and I also have sea water gathered from that beautiful day- I will use this to annoit us both at the beginning of labor and we can say a few vows to each other about our love and connection and about the foundation we are welcoming our daughter into.
 
#22 ·
coolness
I adore the ocean water annointing idea too!

as for essential oils, hmm. Personally, I find that sandalwood and patchouli calm me down and put me in a good state of mind. Spicy, musky scents. Flowery smells are nice for about 5 minutes then I don't like them as much!


I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time one day, and got about 12 different expensive perfume/incense oils for free (samples of a brand the store was discontinuing!), so I've had the time to "try out" each one, burning it throughout my house or wearing it for awhile and paying attention to my moods that day, etc.

You can annoint your candles with oils and carve symbols of your intentions into them--that's another thing I plan to do


Found my Enigma cds, but now I have to figure out which songs are really peaceful, and which ones annoy the
out of me!!
 
#23 ·
Its to early for me to get much ready yet.

I need to order one of those wasteful birth kits
:

Clothes are in storage.

Might buy us some new towels so are regular ones can be used as the old ones. Though I should have enough towels as this is my 4th hb.

When I am about 40 weeks we will do a total house clean top to bottom.

And as previous mentioned this being our 4th we have all the sheets, shower curtain ect.

I dont freeze any meals as we never seem to want what frozen. We much prefer dhs cooking. And who knows what we will have a craving for


We don't do music or candles. I birth so fast there isn't really time for set up of anything.
 
#26 ·
I'm not having a homebirth or a UC but I do have a question for you ladies.. Where do you get your chux pads from? I have an hour and half ride to the hospital and I'll have my new car by then that I DON'T want to get "messy". Last time I used old towels but we had an older car that we didn't really worry about but this time I want the car to be better protected.

Thanks ladies and I have to say that I envy y'all for being able to have your babies at home. It scares my DH very very much and since I'm so high risk we just can't.
 
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