First time home birthers and their support squad

[jollyjoanne]

Not a homebirther personally but wanting to offer support to Boobz and others who are going for a home birth . . .

He he, that looks comfy!

You don't even look pregnant!

Boobz thanks so much for posting the homebirth father copy. Number 7 made me well up too. All grist to the husband-persuading mill.

Seth Cooper was born at 11.59pm last night, 8lb 15oz.

Waters broke at 9pm, had to go into hospital unfortunatly as they were really busy was fine tho as i knew it would be quick.

Only had one midwife at delivery and a domestic at the door ready to run for help if it was needed. Was a bit nuts, but everything went really well if a bit fast and intense.

Stayed till this morning then came home to introduce him to his big brothers who were chuffed to have a morning off school.

Seth is gorgeous and is feeding and sleeping well. He is a big boy but i only got one small graze. i will post photos as soon as i have unpacked labour bag camera is in there somewhere.

Rain xx

Hello I am new on this thread... trying to decide on whether I should go for homebirth.

This is DC3. DS (DC2) was born weighing 7lbs 14oz in birth centre of nearby hospital where I am booked it. He's nearly 4 and I am still high when I think about how great his birth was - totally calm I'd done hypnobirthing course. No real pain, he was born easily in pool with no assistance or tears and perfect apgar score. Only really in active labour for around 1.5 hours (ie from when waters released), although in pre-labour (ie regular tighenings/surges etc) for around 4-5 hours before that although the early part extremly mild.

Anyway DH quite pro having homebirth. Midwife seemed to be ok with with when I asked at 28 weeks. I have underactive thyroid so needs to be okayed by her boss but this condition is well managed & has no impact on birth.

So the question is - do I go back to the birth centre in the hospital - only one pool though or try it at home?

Slight concern that DD (DC1) was born at bit blue (apgar 5) and needed resucitation (suction and mask) - although it was obvious before she was born that this would be the case - she's been distressed (high heart rate) for around an hour before she was born - was pushing for nearly 1.5 hours....

Anyway advice recommended - or if this is the wrong place please tell me and I'll post elsewhere...

Am a lurker on this thread - having been planning my HB at the time Boobz had her DD "live"!!

Comeonbishbosh's photo has made me smile so much. DD was born in a similar pool in our kitchen/diner and your pic brought it all back.

Good luck y'all, HBs rock. It was the best experience of our lives so far and we hope that any furhter children will be born at home too!

Boobz, congrats on the 2nd pg

Hey everyone - midweek analysis due I think.

Well done Rain - sounds like it was fabulous and I love the name Seth (I seem to love all the homebirther names). How much did he weigh? Can't wait to see the photos. Sorry you didn't get your homebirth (did they just say they didn't have any MWs to send?) but it sounds like it didn't matter anyway as it happened so quick. How fab to get out the next day and be able to introduce to him to all his bros so quickly.

Hey MumNWLondon - I would go for the HB but then we're all a bit biased on this thread! It really has to be your own decision, I think, as you have to be comfortable with all the different scenarios that are presented with having a HB. But it sounds like you had a very straight birth for #2, and the resus techniques with MWs at home are the same that they use in a hospital, so I think the care would be the same. To be honest though, if you knew there was a problem (with the high heart rate), the MWs would probably have transferred you to hospital at that point anyway...

Thanks Pootle - it will be interesting to see if DC2 is born on this thread or whether we will run out of space! If they are, that with be both kids born on this particular MN thread. I hope to be able to post again like I did last time (or DH will when I get cracking with the really big CTX) but we'll see.

So, no news from Bored? Any movements yet Carrot? And not long for you now BishBosh...

Congrats raindrop, love love love the name Seth! x
Just been for my 31-week checkup, with a locum midwife as old one has left and new one on leave. Apparently I can't book a HB till 36 weeks but everything looking fine so fingers crossed it won't be a problem.

Wow, I leave the thread for a few days and there are babies everywhere! Congratulations everyone. I'm now 37 weeks so I 'qualify' for a home birth. Have finally sorted out all the bits and pieces and made DH a list of what to do when it all kicks off so we're fairly organised... which no doubt means I'll still be here at 40+ weeks feeling very fed up. Hope everyone is going on okay. For some reason this thread never comes up as a thread I'm on so if you don't hear from me for a while it's because I've lost the thread again.

Nothing to report here yet. I had acupuncture today to attempt to induce labour (yup, I know )

I'll keep you posted...

hi everyone,
Seth is doing great eating and sleeping well.

boobz - yes they didn't have enough midwives as the birthing suite was full. In the end 6 women delivered between 11pm and midnight so they were really struggling.

i am a bit disappointed but my gorgeous boy mkes up for it.

good luck to everyone will try and get pics up tomorrow.

Another lurker here. I'm due on Monday and we've always planned a HB, I can't see why anyone would choose to labour in hospital... So really crossing everything that we don't have to transfer (as MW warned me is quite common in first timers). Reading your stories has been inspirational, I'm sure I can do it too!!

Well done Rain! I am just coming to terms with the fact that the children outnumber the adults in this household now - scary!

MumNWL - Of course we're all going to say do the HB thing here. At our HB (just over 2 weeks ago) I am informed that our sitting room was converted into a resus area including 2nd MW. (I was too busy in the bath to see). They also brought plenty of gas and air and seeing our big girls with their brother moments after his birth was brilliant. DD1 (4 yo) cuddled him for ages whilst DD2 (2.5 yo) donned gloves, inspected the placenta and wiped up lots of stuff with a 'special' wipe from the MW - it really wasn't that messy, most of the goo went down the plughole.

Welcome fiziwizzle - hope all goes to plan. Keep us posted.

Hi All, congrats to all the recent and past thread arrivals!

I have spent the eve reading the whole thread, very inspirational and moving stories!

Can I be added to the list, expecting DC3 14th May, planned first HB fingers crossed!

Have 2DS, aged 10&2 both hospital births with G&A first labour 11 hours,2nd was just 3 hours was a 6 hour discharge couldn't wait to get home!

So after two fairly straight forward births although clinical and impersonnal, we hope to enjoy the benefits of a homebirth.

Looking forward to all the imminent arrivals, reading the positive experiences gives me the confidence that we have made the right decision x

Well done Intravenous ? I remember getting to the magical 37 week mark so I qualified for a homebirth ? went mad trying to get the baby out from that day forward IIRC!

Did the acupuncture work Carrot??

Welcome Fizi ? you were due yesterday ? any movements?

And welcome Morethemerrier - sounds like you?ll be a natural at the homebirthing thing with labours like that. I go back and read this thread, and the original thread, every few months and it does make me well up!

So, anything from Boredgirl or ComeonBishBosh? What on earth has happened to Bored?? Can?t wait to hear the stories.

Nothing new from me really ? less than 3 weeks of work left before maternity leave, and am really filling out now (am 23 weeks tomorrow... I think... or is it 22?)

I?ve updated the list! Please come back and fill in names where they are missing...

Due

Boredgirl, DC#1 due 15 January, SW London
Verylittlecarrot, DC#2, due 2 Feb, planned HB
Comeonbishbosh, DC#1 due 7 Feb, planned home waterbirth, Sheffield
Fiziwizzle, DC#1, due 8 Feb, Planned homebirth
Sunnybump DC#1 due 18 Feb planned home water birth, NE Scotland
intravenouscoffee, DC#2 due 26 Feb, planned home birth, E Mids
Caitni, DC#1 due 2 March, planned home waterbirth, North London
Heth1980, DD#2, due 4 March, planned home birth, Birmingham
Mad4mainecoons, DC#2 due 4 March, planned homebirth, Cornwall
Opalfruity, DC#1, due 28 March, planned hypo-waterbirth, Newcastle
PrincessTweetz, DC#2 due 28 March, planned home birth, Coventry
Bettymum, DC#2 due 7 April, planned home birth, Berkshire
Toady, DC#4 due 17 April, home birth, Torquay
Flybynight, DC#4 due 24 April, planned home birth, Leeds
Morethemerrier, DC#3 due 14 May, planned homebirth
Boobz, DC#2 due June 9, planned home waterbirth, South London
Wheredidmyfeetgo, DC#3 due 28 June, planned homebirth, Wiltshire
Heather1980, DC#3 due September, planned homebirth

Arrived

Happyfaces, DC#1 arrived 12 January, induction at 39 weeks due to Cholestasis, Cambridgeshire Name??
Motherofsnortpigs, Humphrey Peter David arrived 20 January at home (very quick labour!)
MamaLazarou, DC#1 arrived 20 January, transfer due to transverse lie. Name?
Bellaballoon, DC#1 arrived 24 January at home. Name??
SouthWestWhippet, Francesca arrived 30 January, transfer due to established labour not kicking in
Raindroprhyme, Seth Cooper arrived 1 Feb, transfer due to lack of midwives (nice hospital birth)

hello, can I join you? I haven't read the whole thread but I will do. My midwife came round yesterday with the home birth kit and as I am 37 weeks today I have between now and 5 weeks time to have the chance to deliver at home. I feel excited and nervous at the same time.

A bit about me - I have one DD who is nearly 4 and this baby is also a little girl. i was induced with DD1 and despite it taking ages to get going, my recorded labour was 5 hours first stage, 17 minutes second stage and she was back to back so everyone agrees I am better off at home this time around.

anyway, off now to read everyone's posts but just wanted to say hello .

hello and hello to everyone else.

Nothing going on here, well I passed my driving test yesterday which was a result but baby seems very happy to stay put for the time being. No twinges. I am walking up and down hills, eating curries and having sex...

Not all at the same time I hope...

Hello all,

Sorry to drop off the thread for a while but for all the best reasons?

Iris Anna was born at home on Wed 3rd Feb, 4 days before due date, 6lb6oz. She?s gorgeous, and we?re getting used to being a three rather than a two.

That?s the short version. Here?s the long one!

First contractions at about 5am, about every 10 ? 15 mins and on for the rest of the morning. DH stayed at home. Spent the time mostly lolling around in bed, ate some porridge, felt a bit nauseous, phoned the home birth midwife team and the midwife on call arranged to come round early afternoon to see how things were. Took one last photo of my bump! Must admit that even though not very regular or frequent, the ctx were still moderately strong, each time they happened I needed to lean forward or turn onto my knees.

2.30 midwife came round, checked everything and all fine. Baby?s head finally engaged (phew) realised that it might well go on like this for a while. After she left decided to have a bath, and then strap on the tens. While in the bath my mucus plug came out? nice? though at this point ctx getting stronger and less squeamish about a bit of gore in the water! Needed help moving around and spent the next hour with the tens on, sat on the bog. DH inflated the pool, phoned triage and summoned the midwife about 5, as we reckoned we were now up to the 5cm mark. I was realising that imagining myself on my favourite beach was not going to cut it at this point, but tried to focus on the breathing and staying calm? as well as hitting the button on the tens!

It started snowing. Hard. We live in Sheffield, and any ice and snow combo grounds the traffic to a halt. The midwife called to say that it had taken her an hour to get home because of the snow, but she was coming back out. If she or another midwife couldn?t get to us, then they would arrange an ambulance to take us to hospital. In probably our one moment of alarm, I shouted for DH as something big pushing through my legs? turned out to be a water sack the size of a grapefruit. We were both freaked out, couldn?t believe it hadn?t burst, DH spoke to the midwife? stuck in traffic but assured us she was coming and no sign on meconium so advised to stay put. Seriously didn?t want to go anywhere?

MW finally arrived just after 7, immediately diagnosed that I was 10 cm dilated and ready for the final push. Bit of a shock, I had no idea we were that close but also a bit relief as I felt overwhelmed by the ctx. She phoned for the 2nd midwife, and the equipment to be bought by taxi from the hospital (gas and air and resus stuff). All hands on deck so no time to fill pool, set up camp in the bedroom instead and I spent the next hour and a half on all fours trying to ride the pain and manically pressing the button on the tens! DH was a complete star, and though I could tell that it was a bit of a problem that MW2 and the equipment hadn?t arrived (normally we?re a 5 min drive from the hospital) we were all brilliant at keeping calm and it never felt like a crisis. In the end, MW2 arrived at 8.15, the equipment at 8.45 (though by that stage too late to start getting sorted with the gas and air) and our baby was born just after 9. So surprised she was a girl, as the world and his wife had predicted a boy based on all the usual bump shape predictions. She looked surprisingly pink and healthy, had an Agpar score of 9, and enjoyed cuddles with me and DH.

Third stage took quite a long time, best part of an hour, think I would had gone for the injection in hindsight. All the overhead lights fused*! Phoned our neighbours who let themselves in to try and reset the box in the cellar, but to no avail, so in the end they bought round all their desk and standard lamps to help light us up! A third MW was called to do the stitches? my perineum was intact but needed internal ones. This was done by the light of the lamps but seemed to go OK? and at least by now I had the gas and air. Wow? I think if I knew how good that was I would have been more worried about not having it for the birth itself, the naivety of the first timer helped me out here! Tea and toast, our first breastfeed lying on my side in my own bed, clearing up of some bloody sheets, and the MWs left about 2:30ish.

All in all an amazing experience. More painful than I could imagine? but also quite something to realise our human capability to deal with what we need to deal with. I?m no pain hero, and no doubt I was lucky that Iris was facing the right way round and a smallish size. I didn?t get the water birth or the gas and air? but I still feel that I had a wonderful birth experience, thanks to a great midwife, a brilliantly encouraging husband and just the strength and confidence that being at home gives you. And I?ve loved being in our house over the last week; not having to go anywhere, having all my home comforts to hand, learning how to care for Iris and each other. Can?t recommend it enough!

Somebody needs feeding?

• we think some liquid of some description leaked through from the point where I gave birth to the light fitting in the sitting room directly below! A bit ?ew? but I like to think that a bit of iris and me is forever part of this house!

wow, what a lovely birth story. thank you so much for sharing it with us - I think first timers are so brave for going for a home birth when you just don't know what to expect. You did amazingly!

Congratulations.

Comeonbishbosh congratulations . That is an amazing birth story - a huge inspiration to me, a fellow first timer. Must admit I started crying reading it (in a good way!). It sounds like you're really enjoying this first week with Iris (gorgeous names btw). Well done you and your DH and your gorgeous girl.

Sorry for slightly dropping off the thread a little. I'm finally on maternity leave - woo hoo! - and the last couple of weeks of work were mental. But I'm 37 weeks now (due 2 March) so getting things sorted for baby (have been doing laundry like a fiend!). I don't think he or she will be here for a while yet, so trying to not focus too much on the due date (tell me that if I get to 3rd March and start to slowly go insane ).

I went to the Whittington home birth regular coffee morning in Finsbury Park this morning, to meet some more of the home birth team in case my wonderful midwife isn't on call when I go into labour (she's on holidays next week). The other midwives were also lovely, and it definitely makes it all feel a lot more imminent!

Hope everyone's doing well, and all new babies are thriving.

Hi boobz, thanks for the warm welcome!

And congrats bishbosh, what a lovely story, and I love the 'liquid fusing the lights', Iris (beautiful name) certainly arrived in style!

A big WELL DONE to you, natural birth and at home for your first, my hat goes off to you!

I am hoping for a homebirth this time around (exp DC3 in may), currently debating wether to bother buying a pool as my last labour was 3 hours so thinking may not be worth it?

Not sure where to give birth though, as will have two DS's here so if its during the night dont really want to be upstairs as will disturb them!

Anyone got any ideas, where did/would you give birth at home if not bothering with a pool?

Did anyone buy a specific chair/beanbag?

I do love the idea of a waterbirth,can you set up the pool in advance and just not fill it, or is that not hygenic?

One last thing when do they let you get in, do you have to be so far dialated, as I went from 6-10cm when my waters broke and how much mess is there in the pool? Not sure DP is up to emptying it afterwards!

Thanks in advance,apologies for all the questions!

Congratulations!! A birth story to make you feel all gooey inside with a couple of giggles included..love it!! Well done! x
Morethemerrier I'm not having a pool, simply because I wouldn't fit one in my house..but saying that not sure if I would go for one anyway..I have a dd aged 2 1/2 at home, and am planning on delivering in my front room...possibly heading upstairs if it's more comfier/accessible. My living room isn't huge, but I do have a nice big comfy sofa that I know I can lay on really comfortably..planning on using an old shower curtain on sofa, and an old duvet on floor next to sofa in case I want a bit more mobility or change of positions ie kneeling on floor whilst leaning on sofa frontwards. I am lucky that my bathroom is also downstairs so I can (hopefully!!) soak in the bath to ease my ctx early on, without disturbing dd if it is night time. With reguards to filling it in advance, I'm not sure if the reason you don't fill it too far in advance is due to maintaining the temp...or do they have a temperature regulator?? I'm not sure

Comeonbishbosh - that is an AMAZING birth story! Well done to your MWs and brilliant DH, but especially to you! You sounded really calm through the whole experience and just followed your instincts and your body which I think is what it's all about. I love first time homebirth stories - I am actually crying now! How wonderful to be lying down and BF-ing straight away after the birth. I didn't figure that position out until about week 2 so am looking forward to getting the lying in down from the word GO this time around.

How utterly fabulous - you are an inspiration to everyone on here gunning for a HB, and especially those having #1 at home. The G&A is wonderful, isn't it? I coped until about 5cm without it, but once I got it, no one was taking it away from me! Got through 3.5 cannisters if I recall! Have you got any photos of Iris to share? Aww, am ultra broody now, sooo looking forward to #2's birth now...

caitni - I was completely and utterly attached to my MW - I had had all my ante natal appointments with her and she'd delivered my friend's baby at home a couple of months before, so I was truly gutted when I knew I was going to give birth without her (she went off duty at 4pm that day, and wasn't on again until 9am the next -- had DD at 6:15am that morning...) BUT... the 2 on-call MWs who came out to me were amazing, and I really don't know how they could have been any better, so I was very pleased after initial disappointment.

Morethemerrier - I had a pool, mostly to labour in when I needed a change of scenery... it acted more like a distraction rather than pain relief... I liked having the option to get in and just get on with the contractions in my own little private water-space... felt like DH was still with me, but that I had a little invisible shield around me when I was in there, which is what I needed every now and then to concentrate on the hurt-like-buggery contractions... in the end though, I didn't actually want to deliver in the pool (I had thought I would want to, but when it came to it, I was much more comfortable in dry land) and so ended up giving birth on all fours leaning over the sofa (have got one of those corner sofas, so I kind of had a triangle of cushions to lean on, if you see what I mean)... and she plopped out into DH's hands on the sheeting under my knees next to the sofa).... We had the pool inflated for about 3 days before the actual labour, ready and waiting. I got in at about 3cm I think (was taking sooooo long to dilate, the MW thought it would be good for a change of scenery, but to get out if things slowed right down.... was in and out over 4 days of latent labour...)

Well, only 12 more working days before I start mat leave - woop woop! We found out last week that DH is going to posted abroad for his job, to Khartoum (capital of Sudan) from April (!!) so I will be on my todd with 12 month old DD, 6 month pregnant bump, and rather hyper-active dog for the last few months of pregnancy! I will then join him out there after #2 is born, after both DD and baby have had injections etc. So probably leaving the UK around end of August. Eeek! DH will be back and forth in that time, and also here for birth and 2 weeks paternity leave, but am bricking it a bit having a newborn and a 1 year old to look after (with all the constant breast feeding etc) on my own for a few weeks before I go out and join him. Never take the easy road... but can't wait to go out there and start our 2 year posting as ex-pats.... DD will have to brush up on her Arabic...