Sick of negative homebirth stuff

I thought I had gotten away pretty much unscathed by the negative folks until we went to my SIL's wedding yesterday...lots of nay-sayers there...

Luckily, I won't have to see them again before the birth!

Hope your DH comes around, it's important that he support you in this...moms are another story, can we ever get them to change their minds??

There's more chance that everything will go right, than there is of something going wrong.

Yup, and i'm sick of negative comments in general! And since I haven't actually had my child yet, I don't feel that I can contradict anyone, because I haven't "been there". Speaking with 3 intelligent moms (DH's friends' wives, not strangers) at a small wedding this weekend, I heard such gems as:

You're trying natural childbirth? Wow, you're so BRAVE!!
Don't even try breastfeeding-- it hurts! Just start with formula and save yourself the pain.
Oh, go ahead and get induced. The waiting is horrible!
An exersaucer in every room is the best investment you'll ever make!
I don't care what the AAP says-- these doorway bouncers are totally safe!
Oh, it's fine to leave them in the crib while you go for a walk around the neighborhood. Where are they gonna go? (her baby is 1 month old... : )

I was soooo glad to get home, and not just because my ankles were the size of tree trunks after standing in heels for 4 hours outside. I need earplugs and blinders.

lurking from Sept...

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My sister said this to me (well, she had one upstairs and downstairs, but still)...my younger sister who's DD is 3 years younger than my youngest DD...

I never needed one on each level of my house for either one of my DDs... I'm sure she got that one from her 'mainstream' friends.

Heather

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well said!!! I really hate how negative people are to pregnant women in general. I'm really sorry that most of my friends/relatives have had horrible birth stories, but maybe they should have looked into their options a little more instead of trusting everything some doc told them. Whats worse is most of the issues could have been avoided completely (but I'm not going to be the one to tell them that!) I try not to mention the homebirth thing unless someone asks specifically because it's ALWAYS a negative comment. My neighbor is a nurse and once she caught wind of the fact that we're birthing at home, she started getting into my business BIG time. I refuse to leave the house when she's home because I don't want to listen to her mouth and have her ask me all of these STUPID questions face to face. I'll allow my husband to deal with her thank you very much!!! We were on our way out tonight to see a movie and she came running out the front door and yelled "you're not going to the hospital are you?!?!?" For some reason this REALLY ticked me off. I managed to not complain to DH all night though! I know he gets sick of me venting to him....so here I am! Thanks for letting me vent and it's good to know that other people are going through the same things. I just really wish homebirth was the NORM and I didn't have to feel the need to justify my decisions. I usually just change the subject or WALK AWAY! I've gotten to the point where I don't answer my phone, return relative phone calls, or talk to people in public. I really don't have the ability to deal with negativity right now! Is that bad?! I plan on doing this my way and hope that once baby is here and people see how well we did, they will shut their mouths with future pregnant women that choose the same path, or my future pregnancies!

Now is a good time to practice shutting out negativity. I can relate though. I didn't decide on my homebirth until I was 34 weeks pregnant with my DD. I always wanted one, just didn't know if I could have one. Well between 34 weeks and 39 weeks I was able to convince my nervous DH, find a mw, get the house/supplies ready, and prepare myself mentally. It all worked out beautifully though. Labor was short, easy, peaceful and DD was born effortlessly underwater in complete silence. There were no complications whatsoever even though she was a face presentation with her left hand/arm against her face (good thing no one told me til after the birth). I didn't tear or even feel like I just delivered a baby. This was very different than my DS's birth. What I found most helpful in shutting out negativity was 1) NOT telling people (family included) I was planning a homebirth until after the fact and 2) hypnobirthing. I highly recommend hypnobirthing if you don't know about it yet.

Best of luck and I hope you have a beautiful birth!