Would love to hear about any home birth stories please :o)

[CarrieLouise25]

Providing all is well, am seriously considering a home birth, and would love to hear anyone's experiences of giving birth at home (positive or negative), and any top tips you might recommend or think might be helpful?

Thank you! x

My labour was my best life experience. Painful but amazing. I was totally relaxed at home. There were a few issues with the cord, and the afterbirth, but it all went well. Genuinely the most moving experience i think i will ever have.

Tornupinside - that sounds like a lovely family experience (apart from your DP not doing anything after! )

sanfairyanne - wow, feeling even more positive after your post! So glad it all went well for you x

MouldyPeach - not having done it before, I can't give real advice, but what I'm going to do is make sure I give enough information to each DC (depending on age how much info I will give) but kids are superb at handling the truth and being warned in advance just in case something goes wrong would be a good idea. I will have the aim of it all going well (obviously!) but I will have back up plans, and the kids will be aware there is a small possibility I may need to be transferred etc.

Everything pointed in that direction for us really! My son had been DESPERATE for a sibling and said from the day he found out he was to become a big brother that he wanted to be there for her being born! I also didn't want anyone knowing I was in labour, especially my mum, as I didn't want people coming in and out or lurking unnecessarily, and if we had to transfer in then my mum actually lives on the road next to me so it wouldn't have been difficult to drop him there.

In the end it happened during the night, my son woke up whilst I was pushing and was up and down, watching TV upstairs, coming down to check on me, going back up, coming down to show the midwives his toys ect. When baby was born he was behind me with my partner so when I pulled baby from water, her family were the first things she saw and my son saw her very first breath.... He was also the person to take a little look between the legs and announce her sex to us

To the other poster- I know, it kind of ruined the post baby euphoria to me. Because it was such a calm and drama free process, no stitches, barely any blood experience I think the gravity of what I had actually done didn't really hit home to him so I don't feel he respects me for what I did as he would have viewed the experience as 'easy' not that I'm making excuses for his behaviour, he's a wanker .

DD was born at home in 2013.

First pains at about 8pm, baby was back to back and I'd been drinking foolishly huge amounts of raspberry leaf tea for the last week (she was a week overdue) so they ramped up pretty quickly.

Midwives came out about 2 hours in and examined me, I wasn't particularly dilated (about 2/3 cm) but in obvious pain so midwife stayed so I could have gas and air for a bit, after about an hour of steady progress and me coping a bit better she left, then came back a few hours later at about 5am when things were getting a bit more serious.

Went through huge amounts of gas and air (6 cannisters apparently :O ), pushed for about 20mins and she was born at 8:50am with no stitches needed.

DD passed meconium while in the birth canal, so we had to go into hospital afterwards for her to be checked over, but there was no rush at all, I got to have a shower and some breakfast at home and the dp, DD and I headed up in our own car.

In short, I LOVED my homebirth, its not for everyone, but I loved not being held to anyone else's time scales and as it was my home, I felt completely in charge and in control.

I'm 23 weeks with dc2 and will definitely be planning another homebirth.