homebirthers - tell me your lovely stories

[littlemonkeychops]

Hi
I'm planning a homebirth for DC2, 38 weeks now. Had a straightforward birth with DC1 at MLU and only 5 mins from hospital if i need to transfer.

So, about 90% of the time i am excited and positive but for the last couple of days i've felt wobbly, not about the homebirth side of things i'm confident it's shat i want. Just suddenly nervous about the "argh i actually havd to go through labour again" aspect! I guess this is normal for a second birth?!

So please shard your positive homebirth stories, for some reason reading positive stories makes me feel less wobbly!

Thanks

I had a surprise HB with DS2. It wasn't planned that way at all. DS1 was a traumatic hospital delivery and I was scared in case things repeated themselves, but the labour was so easy in comparison that when the midwife who was in the area came to examine me I was 8 cm and couldn't be moved.

I would do it again out of choice. I was comfy and could labour exactly how I wanted. Plus we got two midwives!

1 suprise HB, one kind of expected. Wouldn't have it any other way either.
DS arrived late, but quickly. By the time the midwife arrived I'd not had a regular time between pains - just shortening. She asked if I thought I'd make it to hospital 20 mins across town - said I'd give it a go. Got half-way to the door before the next pain then said "probably not going to make it". The second midwife arrived and DH was sent to tell her not to bother parking the car properly, she got her gloves on and caught. The best bit? A cup of tea in my own favourite china cup in my own house, with my own bed to sleep in afterwards. Early start next morning as far as the sofa downstairs then The Lions touring SA and Wimbledon with baby, daddy and me.
DD even quicker. Just had time for my brother to arrive to look after DS but ended up catching. Cancelled the second midwife when first arrived to find baby at the breast and DH cleaning his new laminate flooring (I was in trouble!)

Just to make your eyes water I had 3/4 a crushed paracetamol with #1, and nothing for my bouncing, back to back baby girl.

Darn - the one thing in life I'm naturally good at, and I've stopped at the negotiated 2!

Was one of the best experiences of my life. My 3rd child, a son, was born at home 17years ago this Sunday.
My first 2 dcs were hospital births which went well but I really wanted to have the opportunity of giving birth at home for what I knew would be the last time. I was fortunate to be supported by a fantastic midwife who cared for me throughout my pregnancy and then delivered my son (1 hr 20 min labour.) He was a strapping 9lb 12 but all was well and the best bit was that his big brother and sister who watched the Lion King downstairs with their Dad when he was being born were able to see him almost straight away. Getting into my own bath was a close second and not having to venture anywhere for a couple of days was bliss.

Hope it goes well for you and in years to come you will be able to treasure the memories as I have.

My mum had my little sister at home when I was 3 and a half years old. I was apparently there in the next room - I can't remember that, but I certainly can remember being the first person to hold my beautiful squealing bright red little sister (THIS is what a baby looks like?!) - really lovely and one of my best and earliest memories. All very peaceful and curled up in bed together after.

Oh, and I am hoping to have a home birth with my first baby, due in July - so reading this thread with interest :)

Had a lovely home birth nearly 3 years ago... it was my first baby :) Gave the birth in the bathroom (easy to tidy up afterwards!) with 2 midwives and hubby (who had to squat in the bathtub as there was no space left!).

It was a really good experience, especially being able to crawl into my own bed after it was all over and cuddle my little baby. Precious memories!

The only thing I would say - it took a long time for the midwives to arrive, I had to lie that I couldn't feel the baby moving to get them to come and see me... when they arrived I was 10cm and already pushing! I was very good on the phone to them - very calm etc. I think a bit more theatrical shouting would help :) Anyway, good luck with your lovely babies. Hope you have a good experience!!

Two home births, both great.

Great thread, in the run up to your birth I recommend you continue to keep things positive. Avoid mentioning your plans to people who have no expertise - they'll feel obliged to say something and it will be a mix of East End 1950s Midwife drama plots and my friend of a friend said.....

It's good to have concerns, ask your community midwives questions, then put the answers in a box at the back of your brain and focus on the future.

That's very true Chromo, we've not told anyone except my sis and just let everyone assume we're going to MLU again like with DD, saves any negativity

My last two were homebirths. They were the two most amazing days of my life.

Felt completely in control and relaxed. So much so that I tweeted/facebooked the last one, hopping out of the pool to do updates until DS had to take over as I got a bit busy as it were.

Best bit was that after the births were over we just cleared up and got back to being a slightly bigger family.

Good luck

HB with Dd1 was amazing - in summary, doula and DH filled pool for me, I got in and essentially all was calm from then on - for me anyway, they were busy struggling with pans of water on the hob as boiler gave out... MW was very hands off, agreed I didn't need examinations but let me go with what my body was doing. Yes it was painful towards transition but the atmosphere was so much "this is my home, it's a safe place" that I was able to get through it ok. DH emptied pool, I went for a kip in our bed

Would have had HB for DD2 but she was early and so we had to go in. Still managed to get the same sort of atmosphere by staying mobile, minimal examinations, MW was brilliant and just observed and made gentle suggestions (you might want to take your trousers off now )

Had a vbac with dd, at home. It was so lovely. I was gutted when we moved, and every time we go past the old house I remember giving birth in front of the piano! It was great. Hurt a bit but the experience was so much better than the elcs I had with DS.

had HB with DD (baby 2).

Was in a flat in a converted victorian house.

I was single post abusive x.

Pains started at 6.30am after a good sleep, my mum and sister arrived to look after me/ds at 7.30am. midwife thought i was not far along as relaxed on the phone. Assessed at 14.30, I went to bed for a sleep, waters went with a pop as I lay down. Labour progressed quickly and the midwives were tied up elsewhere. I just said nothing and carried on labouring dd was born at 5.35pm, only one midwife arrived and just in time to catch her. I put the TV on, watched the end of neighbours, fed DD, called my neighbour in the bottom flat to invite her up, had some food and went to sleep at my normal bed time. My mum and sister tidied up and dealt with the panicking midwives who had arrived too late and then let themselves out!

Best birth! I'd go off into a cave alone if I could.

had options for pain relief btw, didn't find I needed anything other than TENS machine.

Had lovely home water birth with my only child. I hate hospitals and hated the idea of going there for such a milestone event in our lives. It was great to have two midwives all to myself and the midwife I'd had nearly all my appointments with was on duty so was able to attend which was a nice bonus. It was an amazing experience, it was wonderful just being able to lift her out out of the water to take her first breath in my arms and feed her straight away. It was lovely to be at home relaxed and just free to move around and get food /cup of tea immediately afterwards etc. I even finished the pastry I'd had to put in the fridge a couple fo hours before.. I had a v short labour though, 2.5 hours in total according to notes and active stage was 21 mins - I was only in the pool 30 mins! I cant help thinking that being at home (as well as the water) must have helped.

Have had 2 hb's after an unplanned hospital birth for DC1 (pre-eclampsia) . Both excellent but so different! First was all very calm MW arrived about 11pm contractions were still 20 min apart but I was 8cm. Laboured in and out of the pool - mostly in and DS made his appearance at 2:40am. DD woke up about 3 and came down to find her little brother in my arms.

DD2 however was almost named speedi after her entrance. Spoke to MW about 8:15pm when contractions were between 5 & 10 min apart and she said she was on her way. I went to the room where DH was starting to fill the pool had 2 shouty sweary contractions in rapid succession, waters broke and I hit the deck on all fours. DH on phone to ambulance service was saying "No I can't see any part of the baby" and in recesses of my brain I thought "give it a second" and the head was born - not crowned - born! Paramedics arrived 10 min after DD and MW 10 min after that.

We were all tucked up in bed by 11 and the other 2 DC's slept through the whole thing.

Best birth ever!

DD (just turned 3) was a homebirth. It really was a lovely experience and I'm quite sad I'll never do it again!

I went into labour at 9.15am. I walked around a lot at first and had DS rub my back during the contractions. At about 11.30am I got in the bath whilst DH was blowing up and filling up the pool downstairs and I called the midwife. I started feeling a bit "funny" so got out of the bath and knelt at the side of the bed where DH had just put all the old sheets we had collected and my waters broke. The midwife arrived with a trainee just after and declared she could see the head and I wouldn't be moving anywhere (so much for the birthing pool downstairs) The midwife rang for the second one to come immediately and she arrived shortly after.

DD was born at 12.45pm, 3.5 hours after labour started, no pain relief and no problems. The nicest thing, as others have said was the feeling of control. The midwives were fantastic. They just pretty much sat on the bedroom floor with me and let me get on with it. It was a very calm and controlled experience and I half breathed, half pushed DD out.

Afterwards the midwives cleared all the sheets off the floor and whipped them all away, dressed me in clean clothes and put me into bed with DD. They then went into the next room to have a cup of tea and some choc chip cookies while they wrote up their notes and I cuddled DD.

It really was a lovely day

Wow some great stories :-)

Also seems like a lot of homebirths are quick compared to hospital births, i'm guessing because it's more relaxing being at home?

I think littlemonkeychops it may be that the fast births are home births because speed is expected. A friend of mine delivered her first in just over 2 hrs beginning labour to very end. So she was advised with 2nd DC not to attempt to leave the house - but to deliver at home.

The whole experience took from 20:00 to 2.45pm so not very quick I think... many many hours but I felt much more comfortable being at home (I was on the net at some point reading about labour :) and also didn't have to worry about when to go to hospital!

My very experienced midwife had a theory that length of labour time at least halved with the second baby, correct in my case 16 then 8 hours.

Home birth is very common round here since the local hospitals are a minimum of 40 minutes away along country lanes. We have lots of local stories of people being turned away from 'local' hospital for not being advanced enough, getting back home, relaxing and promptly delivering.

Our midwives dramtically cut their transfer rates with birthing first timers by encouraging drinking / eating high energy foods during the lengthy first labours - so anyone looking at this for your first, keep your strength up.

Lucy, I was told that. The hospital said, "We don't like car park births, don't even attempt coming in", which was reassuring. In fact I happened to be in A and E with one of my kids when I started having one or two contractions, and they were even worried whether I would make it over to the maternity unit in time! Luckily labour stopped on that occasion. I think I was just stressed or something. In the event when I did go into labour it only took very little time so I was really best off at home.

Chromolithograph (I'm going to have to google that)

That is why DD1 was here to see her sister being born. Since she took 27hrs I thought I'd just get DF to pick her up in the morning.

Of course DD2 arrived in 7 hours and I never got round to dragging DF out of bed. She did arrive in the afternoon with her DH and her two DDs who loved meeting a tiny baby. As non siblings the hospital wouldn't have let them. After a play she swept DD1 off for tea and DH, DD2 and me had some well earned sleep.