Did you get your HB Puffy?

Lovely community midwife has organised for me to see consultant and supervisor of midwives tomorrow to discuss my options re homebirthing post 42 weeks. Scary ! Wish me luck

I just need to hold firm about my dates and make it clear I uderstand the risks - they just need to cross their t's and dot their i's to cover their backs I think. I haven't fully decided that I will insist, but she says its good to have a plan in place regardless, as I will be 42 weeks on sunday and she doesn't want a mad panic on monday

Thanks for sharing your stories, DingALongCow and detoxdiva!

I hope you get your home water birth, Puffy.

The mw arrived at 9am that should read! Doh!

Hi...keep stumbling on this thread so thought should update with my story....

Harry was born at home on 8th Sept, 1 day early...soooo pleased I decided to go for a hb this time - a fab experience

Woke at 4am with the same achy feeling in my leg that I had when labour starte with dd. Told dh not to expect to go into work that day! Tried to rest as much as possible, but by 6.30am I was timing the pain - which was very slight at that stage - every 10 minutes

Dd then got up so I dressed her and had a shower myself. By 7am the contractions were every 8 mins so dh took dd to my mums which thankfully is only 10 mins away. I called the delivery suite to let them know and she arrived at 9am. I was 3cm dilated then, so I carried on just working and breathing through the contractions while she began the paperwork!

At about 10am the contractions were every 3 mins and I got into the pool which combined with the breathing exercises was a real relief and a great way to cope with the pain which was really picking up by this point. The water seemed to slow the contractions down to 5 mins but they were longer and stronger so I started with the gas and air

After an hour I got out and immediately they increased to 3 mins apart again. I carried on pacing round the room and started hanging off dh as the pain intensified! My waters still hadn't broken and it was clear that this was holding baby back...but the mw explained that it wasn't practice to break them at home births so I had to wait. After what seemed an eternity, they broke at about 1pm and I got the urge to push. Despite being told to pant through them, I could not stop the pushing so the mw called for the 2nd mw who quickly arrived. Finally at 2.21pm my beautiful boy was born weighing 7lb 9.5oz

He is a little belter, feeding well and sleeping like a dream! My hb was one of the best experiences ever....good luck to everyone else planning on one too

He's a genuine stunner Ding - lovely lovely photos. I'm glad this thread has inspired people - it's a shame the old one with all the info on it ran out of room as it has so much stuff on there which I think could help people thinking of having a first homebirth.

Welcome Puffy! I hope you're going into labour as I type - come back and tell your story, homebirth or not!

Just noticed all the spelling errors etc hard to type with baby on shoulder!

Thank-you Boobz, it was an amazing experience but if I hadn't read this thread and the other one then I probably wouldnt have had the courage to do it and would have missed out.

DH is a total convert too- but there wont be any more children here I think- DS was 1 pound heavier than DD, dont think my pelvic floor can take a 10 lber!

Have added a few pics to my profile including one of the aforementioned goofy smile!

Can I join in ? I'm hoping for a home water birth, although that hope could well be rapidly disappearing out of the window.

Was due 14th Sept but those dates are inaccurate, I think my due date was 19th.

We did a 'wet' run with our pool the other weekend, I got in and just didn't want to get out again - it felt fabulous !

I also did hypnobirthing with DS 2.5 yrs ago for anyone interested - in hindsight whilst it didn't diminish the pain, I think it kept me calm and in control and managing the pain well. I also did homeopathy and active labour & stuck it out at home till I was 6cm - so I know I should be able to cope OK at home, should they let me !

There are some lovely, lovely stories on here and Boobz - you are a legend

Oh DingALongCow - what a fabulous story! Am very envious of your short labour and birth but am so pleased it has helped you heal from your first hospital birth.

My DH is a complete fanatic about homebirths now and although we're not quite ready for another baby yet, I know he's looking forward to that part even more than last time!

Well done - Sebastian is a lovely name. Any pics?

This thread seems to hve died again but I'll just add my little bit. My DS (Sebastian) was born at home on 13/09/09 after 19hours of contractions and 3.5 hours of actual active labour.

Contractions started at 2am and my forewaters trickled out while DH was attaching my TENS machine at 4am. Midwife arrived at 5am and we discovered I was only 3cm dilated. Contractions were irregular (every 3 minutes when I was upright and every 7-10 when I was lying or sitting down) and not so painful so the midwife headed off again at 6am as my mother and her partner arried to take care of DD. DH got busy with the shower curtains and gaffer tape and covered our lounge floor and corner sofa with plastic and sheets. I listened to music for hours which really helped-lots of songs that reminded me of happy memories-even the Ghostbusters themetune! Nothing had changed by 2pm when the midwife came back-still 3cm and sadly my named midwife had to clock off and I was transferred to one who hadnt met me before and wasn't very empathetic and told me she would have to check to make sure I could still stay at home as my waters had broken 12 hours before. She told me I should go and rest as it could be hours longer, so I lay down and dozed for a bit and had a cry. The pains started getting stronger but I wasnt really aware of how bad, because I had convinced myself this baby was never coming out. My mum came and sat next to me and rubbed my stomach and held my hand whilst DH rubbed my back during every contraction. I stopped talking and went into myself but was vaguely aware of DH phoning the midwife at 5pm and telling me she would be there by 7pm. DH also called his mother to look after DD as my mum's partner was getting tired.

By the time the midwife arrived I was in lots more pain and was standing up with the entonox. I ended up on all fours against the sofa screaming and crying because I was getting lots of short contractions with intense pelvic pain. The midwife examined me again at 8pm (I was only 6cms) and suggested the intense pain was because the baby was turning inside me to the correct position. After the exam I sat on the very edge of the sofa supported by DH and my mum and suggested to the midwife that the pain got less when I gently pushed. She told me not to push yet so I laid back with the entonox and relaxed. It was at this point that DH decided to show my mother how the TENS worked and gave me lots of electric shocks in my back by accident. Everyone thought it was a contraction and I had to beat back the entonox mouthpiece with my hand and explain/complain! After a while I couldnt bear it any longer and pushed tentatively and felt my waters break down my legs.

Nothing could have stopped me pushing after that and I pushed with every contraction, and feeling him descend was an amazing feeling. When I felt he was near delivery I called over the midwives who were chatting in the dining room. I felt him crown and slowed down the pushes automatically- suddenly there was a slippery feeling and everyone cried 'look up' and my son was deposited onto my chest. DH told me we had a boy and cut the cord while I just stared at Sebastian who is perfect (and was 9lbs 6oz!). I fell instantly in love with him, in a way I never did with newborn DD who was a traumatic hospital birth (which makes me feel so sad); all I felt was total elation and joy and in all the photos of me I have a really goofy enormous smile! The midwives afterwards said it was a perfect gentle birth and they wished they had had a student there to show them it could be done without drugs. They then tried to persuade DH to write about it to convince other DHs to let their wives birth at home, which was an odd conversation considering I was nude and covered in blood at the time! I had a small tear which was stitched whilst DH showed the baby to his mum and my mum's partner who were in the kitchen - I have to say the whole experience really healed my relationship with my MIL who took first pictures of the baby and was so happy to be there (not originally planned). My mother was ecstatic she got to see him born and even though that wasn't the plan originally I wouldnt have had it any other way. BFing went well and he latched on quickly and fed like a pro, which was fabulous and very healing after the problems I had with DD (only latched once, 3 weeks of pumped milk, very upsetting)

I can 100% recommend homebirth, it really helped to stay at home amongst my own things, much more relaxing. There was no staining, all the messy sheets etc were taken away by the midwives and being tucked up in my own bed after a shower in my own bathroom was amazing. DH was not shooed away as he was after DD's birth and DD was introduced to the baby in my bed in her own time which was lovely.