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 . . .

My birth pack had all the documents that they will fill in on the day. A pack of things like gloves, needles, steristrips and stuff. Also vit K and that injection they can give you to speed up the placenta delivery, which I need to keep in my fridge. Had it all delivered when I was just over 36 weeks.

Think everywhere does things a bit differently though x

MissTriangle

dont forget they cant decide to induce you.... you have to agree, and you dont have to consent.
you can always ask for monitoring instead.
They can recommend it and try and pursade you, but you dont have to sign the consent form.

I have to go and collect my birth pack (from my midwife led unit, not the hospital which is a good 45 min drive away) on Thursday.

at the moment i plan on regular monitoring until 43 weeks (by my dates), but really hope not to get there

Hi all,

Just thought I?d check in and see how you are all getting on. Will start from the top of the due dates list?

Minicorrect or Ohanotherone ? anyone heard from these 2? Hope all is well.

Jennifer ? from your posts I think you must now either be 40+10 or else you have a baby! Hope the test results came back ok and all is going well for you. Sorry you?re having to miss you brothers wedding today :0(

KTisPG ? are you still waiting too? I like your approach of booking things to do. My DH is off work now and for another 3 weeks so he?s keeping me active and occupied which is just as well as I?d probably be spending all day on the sofa!

LoveBeingAtHomeOnMyOwn ? not long to go now! Regarding the birth pack ? I haven?t got one either, but that?s because we have an independent midwife and she will bring stuff with her on the day. I?m planning on using her pool, which she left here a few weeks ago and we had to buy a few bits for that (plastic sheet for floor, liner, filling kit) but she will carry any medical stuff with her.

MissTriangle ? your home birth midwife / team sound very organized. I know what you mean about pethedine, in terms of kind of wanting it there even though you don?t plan to use it. I?ve not ordered any ? but might regret that!

RealityVonCrapp ? have just looked at some of your blog and it is V funny! Don't worry, I'm not stalking you, just having a quiet morning so playing around on MumsNet. Sounds like it could have been stressful knowing about the low lying placenta, so it?s good to hear that?s ok now and you have been given the go-ahead for a home birth. Were your other 2 born at home?

NannyL ? for some reason you weren?t on the list of dates, but it sounds like you are due on 11th September so I?ve slotted you in here. Hope all is well.

KateeTheBump and KellyKettle ? how are things with you both? Are you on maternity leave yet?

GirlwiththeMouseyHair / Tortoise / Emsies / RedHead ? you?ve not posted for a while, hope all is well with you too?

Boobz ? hope your pregnancy is going ok and you are enjoying the summer with your girls.

As for me? I?m 40+3 today according to the dating scan, and have had a few twinges but nothing substantial. I?m feeling pretty good physically still so am in 2 minds whether I want the baby to come ASAP (as I?m impatient!) or whether I?d rather he/she waited until 1st September so they fit into the next school year. Obviously the most important thing is that the baby is healthy and happy, and what will be will be?

Here is an updated list of due dates and arrivals - please correct anything I have got wrong.

DUE DATES
jennifer

minicorrect, due 31 July, DC2

Ohanotherone, due 3rd August DC2

JenniL, due 17 August, DC1

KTisPG, due 20 August, DC3

LearningFast, due 24th August, DC1

LoveBeingAtHomeOnMyOwn, Due 8th September
MissTriangle, due 9th Sept, DC1

Nannyl, due 11th September
RealityVonCrapp , due 19th September, DC3
KateeTheBump, due 16 October, DC1

KellyKettle, due 28 Oct, DC2

GirlWithTheMouseyHair, due 24 Nov, DC2

Tortoiseonthehalfshell, due 26 November, DC2

emsies, due 2 Dec, DC2

redheadbedhead, due 23 Jan 2012 DC1

Boobz, due March 2012, DC3

ARRIVED


SelinaDoula, DC#2 Baby boy Finn arrived 5 days overdue Aug 3, quick homebirth but transfer due to tear.

Hi everyone, still no baby. Today is my EDD by my dates, officially 41 weeks. MW ap on Wednesday and she's offered me a sweep. Not sure whether to accept or not - its 31st Aug and by that point I think I'd rather wait until 1 Sept :o

HI everyone and also sorry for the silence, we've had big news to process over the last few weeks and looks like the whole family is moving to California in February when DD will be 2months old, eeeek!! But back in the real world again now - we considered very briefly moving out there before the birth but I have uch faith in the NHS, not to mention mine and Boobz's amazing midwife, THEN read a report that USA come 41st out of countries in the world with the lowest maternal/infant mortality rate, and have just finished reading Misconceptions by Naomi Wolf - birth is so driven by money out there that intervention is routine and we'd struggle to get a homebirth.

Exciting to hear about all the impending births though, KT do you want to wait to avoid having youngest baby in the school year?

Today is first day of attempted potty training of DS, DH has just called from the park, we've had the second poo in his pants, it's everywhere, I have to go and help them get home - not looking forward to leaving the house after being sexually assaulted on the street yesterday but needs must, sigh

Yes, and our pre-school allocate places by dob starting September and as it is oversubscribed if baba comes in August it will be the youngest and will not have been to the pre-school. 1 Sept would be much better. But no later as I have a hectic schedule the following week which includes my sisters wedding, the dcs going back to school and my grandmas 90th birthday do. Obviously may well not be going to any of those, but here's hoping. No point in doing anything by half eh?

brilliant....oh the timing of number 2! I've given up after initially planning this one to be a summer baby and now she's due end of November, at least then we'll be moving to land of eternal sunshine

Hi everyone, :)
Still no baby! 40+11 today.
Am booked for induction tomorrow, but am really resisting this. Have had two attempted sweeps (at 40+7 and 40+9) which didnt work, mw couldnt get through my cervix but said the last attempt it was much softer. Have been having very strong BH, but no pattern or rythym to them. I think I've had a bit of a show this morning - definite odd discharge - so am now really in two minds. I'd much rather let this happen naturally, so when DH gets up I'm going to talk to him about it then ring the mw and ask for monitoring and rebook the induction for Wednesday at 40+14. I'm terrified of being induced.
So labour vibes needed! Am going to get on my ball, again!, and ignore the pain in my pelvis and knees.
Thanks for your wishes LearningFast - my tests came back that it was just thrush, so that's all good. But still utterly gutted that I wasn't at the wedding. Bloody babies and their lack of respect for plans :) obviously she's going to be as contrary and stubborn as her mother!
Hope you make it to 1st Sept KT - and get to go to all those things you have planned too! And good luck to everyone marching towards your due dates - don't go over 41 weeks!! Xx

Jenniferyellowhat

hope baby comes out very very soon.

Just wanted to quickly say hi and join in. Am due on 21 September, planning a home water birth. Will say more later, as have friend due round in an hour to help me shift heavy stuff so have to move a few small things in the way first!

GirlWithTheMouseyHair - hope things went okay with your trip to the park, sorry to hear about your experience the day before.

DUE DATES
jennifer

minicorrect, due 31 July, DC2

Ohanotherone, due 3rd August DC2

JenniL, due 17 August, DC1

KTisPG, due 20 August, DC3

LearningFast, due 24th August, DC1

LoveBeingAtHomeOnMyOwn, Due 8th September
MissTriangle, due 9th Sept, DC1

Nannyl, due 11th September
RealityVonCrapp , due 19th September, DC3
jammyscone, due 21st September, DC1
KateeTheBump, due 16 October, DC1

KellyKettle, due 28 Oct, DC2

GirlWithTheMouseyHair, due 24 Nov, DC2

Tortoiseonthehalfshell, due 26 November, DC2

emsies, due 2 Dec, DC2

redheadbedhead, due 23 Jan 2012 DC1

Boobz, due March 2012, DC3

ARRIVED


SelinaDoula, DC#2 Baby boy Finn arrived 5 days overdue Aug 3, quick homebirth but transfer due to tear.

Hello ladies,
Just popping on to let you know that Elise Olivia Miraid was born on Sunday (28th) night at 11.07 weighing a bloody huge 9lb6.5!
I had to have a crash section due to a placental abruption, which was all v scary and surreal, not that I knew much about it; DH was terrified though for a while, but all is super now. She's just perfect although not keen on sleeping at night (but is of course sparko now :)) my CS wound is sore but I'm getting around, slowly. We're getting on with bf'ing like a pair of troopers and she's very alert and active. It's like she was never not here already!
I won't put my whole birth story up for a while as I'm still trying to process it! - it was a long way from what I wanted, but also the only thing that could have happened as well so that's ok and very positive.
So good luck all of you for your upcoming due dates! I'll keep popping in between having this little lady attached to my boob :) x

Congratulations on your new arrival jenniferyellowhat

Hope you feel less sore soon

Well done Jennifer and congratulations on the birth of Elise! So glad you are both doing ok. Please do post your birth story when you feel up to it - we know it has a happy ending now even if it wasn't everything you had hoped for, which might help others who find themselves going off the plan. It's great to hear that the breastfeeding is going well for you - I'm really keen for that to work for our baby.

JammyScone, welcome to the thread :0).

KT, I hadn't even thought about pre-school place allocation. That system sounds rubbish! If you haven't gone into labour yet then chances are you will be in luck and baby will be born after midnight tonight. My Mum had 2 quick labours (5 hrs and then 4 hrs) so I won't feel safe on that score until this evening but fingers crossed...

Congratulations Jennifer! Love the name, and that is a big baby, you must be delighted.

No news here. Feeling all peeved and petty. My midwife is private, we don't have an NHS equivalent for homebirth (it is total fringe behaviour here so she's a sole practitioner, which is fine. But she was in Nepal for four weeks meaning a six week delay between visits - and yesterday's scheduled visit was cancelled due to someone else giving birth, and I haven't heard from her. I know she's busy. But I've been sitting on a specialist referral for gestational diabetes for several weeks because I want to talk it through with her first*, and it's getting on for seven weeks between visits, and argh. Basically. This is the downside of a private sole practitioner, but every single visit so far has been altered at least once because of other women inconveniently giving birth.

Moan complain whine.

*Believe it or not, a 34 weeker who went into spontaneous labour and had the baby in about three contractions, on her bathroom floor. EEEEEEEEEK.
**This is not as irresponsible as it sounds; I'm treating the GD, I had it last pregnancy, the specialist is not a GD specialist per se. I need to talk it through with the midwife because it might affect her collaborative care model which is the only way homebirth midwives are allowed to practise in this country.

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't been here for a while, everything is progressing fine and I'm now coming up to 20 weeks. I lost this thread with a load of others when my profile went a bit strange. But now I've found you all again! Hooray! Still going for home birth with a doula. Got first proper meeting on Saturday. Hope you are all well and congratulations Jennifer

Well, still no baby here so am starting to feel optimistic for 1 September :o
Have a mw appointment in an hour and I'm expecting them to try to book me in for an induction on Monday, which I will decline. By my dates I'm now 40 + 4 but by theirs I'm 41 + 4, so will have to see what they say. I'm also hoping to pursade them to continue to support my home birth up to at least 43 weeks by their dates which goes against the policy. Hope they agree to that otherwise I might have to refuse to go in on the day. o well, wish me luck...

Good luck KT, at least the school thing should be sorted. Don't know if you've tried it yet but reflexology is I'm sure the reason I eventually went into labour with DS (bollocks to clary sage, RLT, ball bouncing, sex, curries etc etc) so might be worth a try?

Congrats jennifer, sorry it didn't turn out the way you'd planned but sounds like everything is going great guns, huge welcome to the world Elise

Welcome to the thread jammyscone and thanks for your wishes, it's still pretty horrific leaving the house alone but will hopefully get better....am booked in for a pregnancy massage this afternoon (whoop!) and the upside of all the adrenaline and shitty emotional turmoil is DD is kicking like a fury - this baby has been very comfortable and calm until now which has led to so much anxiety on my part

Hello
Good luck KT

just so you know i also discussed declining induction because i know for certain my dates are also wrong. by there dates i was pregnant before ovulation!

My midwife basically said so long as i go and see a consultant, who monitors me and agrees baby is still fine, they will still be up for a homebirth (i was surprised about that, and about how fine she was with it)
Clearly if monitoring revealed any sort of a problem I wouldnt hesitate to have baby induced out, but its nice to know that so long as consultant agrees things are fine, my my midwives will support my homebirth plan for a while longer.

Hi - haven't been around for a while, sorry! (was emsies).

I am hoping for a HVAB but do veer into thinking about the MLU sometimes. I'm usually sure that home is the safest/best place to labour etc but sometimes get my doubts (like seeing a consultant the other week who told me the baby would die.. er. no.)

We are closer to the hospital than travelling from the next nearest hospital which doesn't do caesareans etc.

I had my lovely trainee doula visit last night and am feeling a bit more confident.

I am 27 weeks now. I had to have an extra scan as I was measuring huge (must be overeating :( measuring 4cm too big but scan shows baby and fluid are fine). Having a GTT on friday. Hopefully all will be ok. I'm craving food ALL THE TIME :(

Haven't read all the thread but am definitely wanting to see how people get on.

Well I'm going to get my September baby. Still pregnant. Have an appointment with the consultant midwife tomorrow to monitor the baby and check amniotic fluid level, placenta etc as I've declined induction. Then we need to work out a plan to give the mws the comfort they need while allowing me to go well past the normal 42 weeks by the scan date. To be fair they are trying to be supportive and are still prepared to support hb so long as no complications so I'm pretty happy. Just wish it would get a move on and then we can all stop worrying :)

KT, I am just behind you! Still pregnant here too at 41+2 wks according to the 20 wk scan measurements...

My (independent) midwife is taking the view that the baby will come when it's ready, so no moves towards monitoring except for her checking the fluid levels so far, and no mention of anything other than the planned home birth. I had a presentation scan at 38 wks so we already know the baby is of average (not super large) weight. I do wonder if she is being so visibly calm about it is so as not to stress me though.

I know exactly what you mean about wishing things would move along so everyone can stop worrying. I'm up at 5am as I just can't sleep for nervousness about it. Yesterday started with a phone call from my father at breakfast asking 'what the plan is, now that you're past your due date' and this tone continued throughout the day, as everyone I met asked what will happen now (er... the baby comes out when it's ready?).

My very kind neighbour, who had a baby 3 months ago, called round at tea time with a magazine and a box of maltesers to keep me going - she feels my pain having gone over with 3 out of her 4 children. So, from me - have a virtual box of chocs and your favourite light read. Really hope things happen for you soon .

Thanks LearningFast It's so hard sticking to my guns when no-one wants this baby out more than me :)

Well all good news from the monitoring - baby is fine, plenty of fluid, placenta seems in good shape. I must admit I was very pleasantly surprised at how supportive the consultant obstiatritian and consultant mw are being. They are more than happy to continue supporting hb and had no concerns at this stage. I will go in again for monitoring on Tuesday and towards the end of next week if I'm still pregnant then (goodness I hope not). They also said that if I changed my mind at any point and decided I did want to be induced that would also be fine.

The consultant mw gave me her mobile number and said if I had any probs, particulalry over the weekend I shouldn't hesitate to call her - she would rather that than have to have any difficult conversations with on call medical teams who may not have the exprience of supporting post term/hb.

I'm beginning to think if this baby isn't born soon, I will crack before they do :o

what fab news KT

Im really hoping to not get to that stage, but great to hear your experience of it actually happening, after all its what I intend to do if i make it their too.

Hope baby decided to make her own way into the world and meet u very soon!