The thread for first time home birthers (or thinking about it) - over here!

[Boobz]

I only just found out I was pregnant 10 days ago, and it is of course early days, but I have been doing a lot of research and am seriously thinking of having a home birth.

I'm a member of my Due March '09 ante natal club thread, but I don't want to go on about home birthing there where the majority will be planning a hospital birth (don't want to bore them!) I'd like to start this thread for all those people who'd like to talk about the pros and cons, planning, expectations and realities of home births, especially if it is your first baby, or first home birth.

Has everyone else's other halves been fine at the thought of a first baby HB? Or did you have to do some convincing?

A

ok, I've looked into it cos I really like the name.

either you spell it Shahrzad, or Scheherazade. There are other options as well. It's Persian and means 'comes from the city'. (shahr means city). I like the connotations with storytelling and the 1001 Nights.

So as laumiere says, either Sheh-hair-az-ard, (with the emphasis on the last syllable), or Sha-ra-zard (again the emphasis on the last syllable).

I would go with it as a first name but DH won't have it, so might have to settle with it as second name.

I'm jealous I want an Isla Rose!
Any news Helley?

Isla Rose is a lovely name and I think it goes very well with your DS name, they complement each other!

Good name choice!

I might be interested in the pool, has it got all the accessories Pump, cover etc? Let me know how much you want for it incl postage.

More congratulations to you, Dog

Isla Rose is a beautiful name.

I'm really looking forward to reading your story, so glad it all worked out for you in the end.

Hello everyone

Can I join you? DH has finally agreed (after 32 weeks of persuasion from me) to a home birth. I really didn't think it would happen (not that a home birth is guaranteed yet ?). Spoke to my midwife today and she has put everything on record now and booked for another midwife to visit at 36 weeks with the home birth kit.

This is my second pregnancy. DD was born in hospital, but I was only there for 15 mins before her birth thanks to the midwives on the end of the phone telling me I had ages to go yet (rather scary)! The labouring at home was fab, and so much less painful than I thought childbirth would be that I really want another go in familiar surroundings.

Congrats to the recent births. DD (2) is Isla Maisie!

Soundbites

Dog Hope you've had as good a day as you did night, Isla sounds like a wonderful baby to sleep so long!

Am interested in the pool but might have to wait till next month as am broke so understand if you want to sell it to someone else in the meantime. Will I need to buy a liner (not sure what these are for!)and cover and I guess a thermometer and sieve!

Soundbites glad things are looking hopeful for you. Isla is a gorgeous name, if I wasn't having a boy that would definately have been our chosen name for a DD.

Dog ignore question about the liner, have just read your link which explains why they are not necessary!

My pool is sitting in a big box in my front room; you'd frankly be doing me a favour getting it out of the way! We bought the kit, so there's a hose, a water pump to empty it, an air pump to inflate it and so on.

I'm in south London, happy for you to pick it up if that works for you. (Don't really fancy carrying it and Tupperbaby to the post office either if I can avoid it ) Email me (tupperwife at care 2 dot com) and we'll sort it out.

Hi all, sitting here feeling really miserable. One of the things DH says he wishes he could change from the birth of DS is how little he felt involved.

So I sent him the drafted birthplan for DS2 to get his input. Am feeling hurt that he's more interested in messing about on FB than deciding how our child is born!

sigh will be 37 weeks in 3 days, thinking I should just print out the draft seeing as he doesn't seem bothered.

Hey Lau - could you give it a couple of days and try again? I'm finding I'm over-loading my DH with baby stuff and I need to spread bits out or else he feels like all I talk / think about is BABY BABY BABY! I asked him to fit the car seat in the car this morning, before he went to rugby, and he did it without grumbling. He then came indoors and started to go upstairs to sort rugby kit and I was sitting in front of my laptop with finished birth plan written, and was about to stop him going up the stairs to ask him to look at it, and then I thought, actually no, it's Saturday, it's his rugby day, he's already done one baby related thing and it's not even 11am, so I stopped myself. I'm sure it's not the same with you given you already have DC, and you're probably not so obsessed as I am....

Anyway, I think we have another Due Marcher on thread - Fearless - how's it going?

Finally on maternity leave - wooo! Can't wait to get on with all my jobs and relax at the same time - if that makes sense! A trip to the hairdresser's is top of my list..

Hi boobz my hair deperately needs cutting! Can't decide whether to wait until nearer the birth (10weeks) or just get it chopped. All the new mums I know seem to get theirs hacked off into a bob a few months after giving birth as they are fed up with it being grabbed, puked into etc!

Lau Men! my dh has only just become interested since I showed him the thread for DH/DP that someone kindly posted a bit further down on this page. He said it made him realise how much I wanted him to be involved.

We sorted it (he works nights so had to wait til he got up). He didn't realise I wanted his input, he thought I was just telling him what was going to happen!

Feel a lot happier now and have explained to him that a HB means he WILL be more involved, so needs to be happy with the plan too.

Boobz - I know completely what you mean by overleading!

dog my email is c e cole@hotmaildotcodotuk no spaces. Am def interested just a case of getting the money together!
Glad Isla is behaving herself and can't wait to read your birth story.

Helley hope all is well with you

how is everyone?

Any news from Helley?

I'm starting to get cold feet after water-on-baby's-lungs at birth story from cafe worker bloke with a 4 month old daughter, and how it would have been really dangerous if they'd been at home..

but have signed contract for birth pool hire. Hmm.

is anyone else still a bit undecided?

Gem, you can still go into hospital if you want to, for some reason I find that very comforting!

The way I look at is that no one ever tells you about the good, uncomplicated births, just the ones that don't go to plan.....

If I go this week may have to go to hospital anyway as my dad is staying over for a few days and not sure I'd feel comfortable labouring while he was here!

I'm sure you could pack your dad off to a friend's for a night, no? For the sake of getting the HB you want?

Gemzooks - you will always get those people who say "if we hadn't been in hospital, she would have died!" but we've done the research and know it's as safe, if not safer to have your baby at home. Of course if you are in any way unsure at the time of labouring, you have the option of going to hospital anyway.

I wonder how Helley is doing?

4 weeks to go! Or 6, if I go overdue (please please can I not go overdue!)

xxx

Gemzooks A bit sneaky, but one of our reasons for booking a home birth was that the hospital team treat you differently if you end up on the ward; you're still less likely to have instrumental birth, emergency C section etc than the 'regular' labouring women. Our Trust reckon half of homebirth bookings end up in hospital (most for pain relief cos you can only have entonox or pethidine at home) so this was a big factor for us. And it worked, I got the physiological third stage I was after, and had only 1 internal exam during the labour.

The midwives actually offered me the 6 hour discharge protocol (I had no idea that it existed) so we got to go home and sleep in our bed after only 9 hours total in hospital. that we managed to play the system so well, and that more Mums don't go for it.