I have a miracle placenta so my homebirth is back on...come tell me about yours!

[hunofmonsters]

So the grade 4 anterior placenta praevia they told me i had at 20 weeks has miraculously disappeared which means that not only can i relax a tad! but that my home birth is back on!

I am 33 weeks and will be discussing properly with mw at 36 wk appt but
I have some questions though......

When your waters break, does it stain/smell?
What do i need to have in?
What do they bring?
What about the mess?
Do i need to feed them/have some things in at least?
What happens about pain relief?

glad that your placenta has soughted itself out, i had a homebirth with my ds2 in August and im so glad i did, it was just fantastic.

my waters didn't break, when the midwife arrived at 4.30am i was 5cms , waters still intact, laboured really well, nothing was happening so when she checked me at 8.10am i was a 9 1/2 cms so she broke my waters, no staining and i couldn't see the mess, they brought with them mats that you lay on/ stand over etc so none goes on your floor and they just fold it up and take it away after! i also layed on an old duvet so i just got rid of that as well.

The only extra thing i got in was extra towels, came in handy for covering me afterwards, cleaning baby etc, a lamp incase they needed to do stitches and a hotwater bottle that we put in ds2 Moses basket and wrapped his clothes around so warm when he was born.

The mess - if im honest there is NONE they take it all with them, they cover everything with them mats, they onlt messy things we had here was towels, they bring there own clinical waste bags so they take it all away in them.

I did feed mine, 1st midwife was here from 4.30am - until about 9ish, she drank lots of tea and i also had my sister here who made toast & jam for everyone ( apart for me) they were really appreciative of that as second midwife turned up at 6.00am.

For pain relif i had tens machine and stuck with this as long as i could be in the end i had G&A they brought 3 canister with them.
Having a home birth was the best experience i could have ever wanted, my first ds was born in an understaff hospital so i didn't want that again.

Good Luck xx
sorry if ive rambled!

Congrats to the miracle placenta .
MW should be able to advise on all your Qs -- some of the answers vary from one health authority to next, anyway.
Waters have a slightly sickly sweet smell, which is worth knowing in case they break early.
My written guidelines from MW about homebirth specifically says "Please offer us a cup of tea and a biscuit!" -- well, it's just manners, isn't it? Anyone willing to deal with the worst output my nether-regions deserves far more, truly.

www.homebirth.org.uk is a good place to start

pain relief - MWs will bring gas and air, meptid or pethidine too, but might need to be prescribed by GP

birth pool

TENS

a cheap plastic shower curtain covered by old sheets or towels to deliver on, but mws will bring inco pads too

there should not be mess really... everything will be binnable or washable hopefully

Mws love chocolate biscuits ,doesn;t everyone !! big box of those, and tea and coffee. maybe the makings of some sandwiches. obviously your DP will be dealing with that side of things !

waters might stain, but should not smell bad. depends when and where they go.

very exciting !! all the best

have had a quick shufty round that site lulu(as i was typing the OP i had googled)

I have a shower curtain i bought from when i had ds2 - i have quick babies - ds1 was 3 hours and ds2 1 hour so will dig that out and dust it down!

My waters didn't break with ds1 - mw broke them for me and with ds2 they broke as he came out and all i can remember is that they were HOT!

so get some choccie biccies in....I already know who the main mw will be - shedelivered ds1 and arrived so see ds2 slither out. She has said she will come out even if she is not 'on duty' which is lovely

What if baby gets stuck?

DS2 got slightly stuck...not distocia but because as he decided to come out, i moved and my hips locked on me.

I am only a short drive from both the hospital and the ambulance station thingy so transferring isn't a big worry really (yet!)

ooooh i am getting excited now after hardly any sleep for weeks

Very best of luck with it all!! I had my DS at home in September - a lovely experience for my first time even with all the pain!
My waters were broken for me at 7cm's and I was laying on my sofa so didn't see it! I used double mattress protector over my sofa which I got cheap off ebay, and covered it with an old dark coloured throw. I found that the elastic corners on the mattress protector kept it in place on my sofa without slipping.

They always bring inco pads with them to soak up mess!!
As for pain releif, in my health authority they don't bring pethadine as docs won't prescribe it (my doc was pretty anti home birth) but the gas and air was enough for me (3 tanks of it in the end)
With the shower curtain, cover it with a sheet or old duvet as it will get slippy if it gets wet.
As for feeding the MW's, mine didn't eat any of the luxury biscuits I bought in specially, although it made me feel better knowing I'd got something in!
Anyway... enjoy it!! By the sounds of it you won't be in labour long!!

Finally, a top tip... put a wet flannel on the gas and air tank to cool you off - they're freezing!!

For my homebirth, the mw brought so much stuff in the 2 weeks before that it looked like they were setting up a hospital in my living room (most of it 'just in case' and never used) inc 6 smallish canisters of g&a (sadly only got to use 2 ). They may bring some pethidine if you ask, but tend not to like using it (pethidine, or some other drugs- can't really remember now - needs to be kept in your fridge).

We had loads of old towels (go to charity shops if you don't have many) and put down shower curtains etc (the mw suggested to me to cover them with towels so they don't get slippery if your waters break all over them!) We put them and groundsheets all over the place - good thing as after the birth I did bleed a lot and getting to the bathroom etc could have been messy otherwise . Other than that, the mattress protector was really useful (again mainly for after the birth) and lots of tea/coffee/biscuits are always welcome, either for the mw or you and dp after the birth!

I discovered some great alternative to slippery shower curtains or plastic sheets in Wickes the other day. They are a called double protection dust sheets they are basically a paper dust sheet with a waterproof baking so that the top is slightly absorbent and not slippery and the backing stops anything getting through. They are really big too 2.7m x 3.6m. They cost £5.49 each-not exactly cheap but quite nicer than plastic. I have got 2 for my home birth in a couple of weeks. Have linked online if anyone doesn't have a wickes near them.

I was told the mid wives would provide some protective sheets but to provide some myself alongside 2 towels and a blanket for babe and a couple of towels and a blanket for me.

I had both DC in our own bath tub and hopefully DC3 (if I can convince DH)would be the same. I really liked the TENS machine with both labours (make sure to get spare pads in case you go in bath and back out again).

Re mess wasnt really messy as was all washed away with the bathwater. MW bring loads of padded sheets (at 37 week visit)you can use when you are on the bed or on your floors. We used an old dust sheet DH brought home from work.

Hope all goes according to plan!

I've had two homebirths:

No, it doesn't stain/smell
You don't need anything but good idea to get old shower curtain
they bring everything they need to look after you
No mess, midwives clear up
No, you don't need to feed them
Gas and air. If you want more then hb prob not for you although I think you can have pethedine on standby

I don't regret mine at all, they were the right thing for me. Good luck,

Congrats on your miracle placenta.
I had homebirth this time round it was brilliant. My waters broke first in bed but luckily i'd had the forsight to put a maternity mat down. You can get them from boots but pampers bed mats are even better and bigger.

We bought a plastic sheet that is a lining that goes under solid wood floors form B&Q laid this on the floor and covered it with an old duvet and this is where I gave birth.

You wil also need a good lamp like a desk lamp so if you need stitches the mw can see what they're doing.

They clean up any mess and this was minimal anyway.

They also bring G&A and all the equipment they need. Have some towels ready ont the radiator so they can dry the baby with those when he/she comes out.

Have some food in as if it's a long haul they get hungry too. Because I had my best friend and my dp with me my dp popped to the shop and bought sandwiches and other goodies such as chocolate and pringles.
He also bought me some maternity pads for after birth because i'd used all mine on my waters. By mistake he bought me tennerlady nappies instead of pads but God they were brilliant and the mw we had is going to reccommend them to all her patients for their post natal bleeding and when their waters break. They are really comfy and better than paper knickers and slightly cushioned which helps when you are bruised down below!

Good Luck it is lovely being at home.

*when I say desk lamp I mean like a spotlight type thing so they can aim it in the right place iyswim.

My midwife told me to get a smartprice shower curtain from Asda and I has an old quilt and some pillows which I knelt on and leant over the sofa.

My midwife came as soon as I called her to say I was having ocntractions and stayed with me the whole time, a second midwife brought the gas and air and helped when baby was born. They also brought oxygen that my baby needed when he was born.

My dh was far more relaxed than when we had ds1 in hospital and was kept busy choosing music and making coffee, and I carried on with the housework in between contractions until they became too strong. In between contractions we sat chatting and laughing. We didn't have to feed any body as the midwives were only with me about 3 hours.

If I have another baby I would definately have another homebirth.

With previous labours that fast, I would also read up on what to do if you have a quick birth. My ds1 was only 2hrs, and ds2 (planned and born at home) was a bba due to speed. I was less stressed about this having previously read up.
Good luck!

Yay for your placenta!

I love a HB. I'd recommend trying to get your hands on a copy of Hypnotheraphy for Homebirth CD. It surprised me, but it was really helpful, and relaxing in the lead up. I've already passed mine on to someone on here, but someone might have one.

Plenty of lovely biscuits - but don't eat them yourself, especially if you go over your EDD!

MWs take care of all the mess. You really don't have to worry.

I had my waters popped for DC2 and 3, but not DC4. She was 'born in the bag', it was really rather special as the MWs were so excited and hadn't seen it before.

I've had 3 HBs, and I've never been so happy as to be tucked up in my bed, having had a shower in my bathroom, drinking tea out of my mug, gazing at my baby.

My top tip is to put nice clean sheets on your bed (obviously at the start of labour) and cover with a plastic dust sheet (you get them in packs of 3 from B&Q or Homebase). Then cover with old towels or an old sheet. After your baby is born, you can whip the top layer off and sink into lovely fresh sheets with a nice cup of tea!

Oh, good luck with yours. I'd do it again tomorrow.

When your waters break, does it stain/smell?

Mine were broken, at my insistence. they did not smell. we had a shower curtain laid out on the floor and it was all fine

What do i need to have in? biscuits, tea and a shower curtain

What do they bring? i had a pack at home which was dropped a week or so below containing a wonderful thing called a placenta bucket and lots and lots of plastiv gloves

What about the mess? we threw one towel away but the rest were washed, the house was spick and span v v v v quickly

Do i need to feed them/have some things in at least? we never fed mine but thet did have tea

What happens about pain relief? i managed without anything though there was a can of gas and air in my dining room

it was the most amazing experience

We had some plastic sheeting that DH got from work - I think it is the sort of stuff that is used to cover pallets or whatever. I did put a plastic cover on the bed and bought a smartprice sheet from Asda that could be thrown away - only cost about £2. I also had most of a pack of those pampers caresheets left from when DS first out of nappies.

I actually gave birth stood by the side of the bed and my waters only went 2 mins before DD was delivered so midwife there to catch it all. She had pads that were just like the pampers ones. But the cheap sheet etc was useful because I got on the bed to deliver the placenta.

Midwives really lovely and helpful. But was a quick job (second midwife did not arrive until after the birth) and they just had a brew.

My homebirth was fantastic! Midwife was only at the house for an hour, second midwife made it in time for the head crowning.

I put futon mattress on the living room floor and covered it with a plastic backed picnic blanket and some old sheets. There was very little mess but the midwives took the sheets away for incineration.

Used Gas and air for pain relief.

The best thing was that the midwife just let me and DD get on with it - no coaching. She only intervened to tell me to pant at the end. It was so special I'm desperately trying to persuade hubby to have a number 3 just so I can do it again!

I'm sure all will be brilliant for you

Agree with littledawley, it was totally down to me how the labour went. And was fantastic. I had G&A for about 10 mins, but did have pethidine stashed for a just in case option. But having had just g&a with my first I was reasonably confident. Also you could try a TENS?

My hb was great, I want to have another baby just to do it again I had a huge tarpaulin from B & Q which went underneath the birth pool> there was a fair amount of blood & so was glad of it. Can definately recommend hiring or buying a birth pool.

Mumofmonsters, that's wonderful news .

Can't help you on the hb, though!