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 . . .

Thanks GS - good point indeed. heheh am now craving cheese'n'pickle sarnie

Hello everyone. Just thought I would update you that I had a lovely HWB last Saturday night. It all went really well - had ctx in the morning, MW visited at 2pm and I was 3cm but ctx then stopped. That gave us a chance to put up the pool and get DC childcare sorted. Then ctx started up again at 5pm, MWs turned up at 7pm, I was in the pool at 8pm and LO turned up at 9pm. DS1 was 9lb 1 oz - on gas and air and a small graze . It was sooooo sooooo lovely to be in my own environment for birth and I have become a HB evangelist ! Even reluctant DH is extolling the virtues of HBs. The only thing I would change in hindsight is to be a bit more organised (e.g. clear the kitchen, have towels and baby clothes in a pile ready, think about where I wanted to be for the 3rd stage etc.) I will update the list now.

ARRIVED:
Girlwiththemouseyhair 31 OCT, BOY, Ethan Christopher. Wonderful homebirth.
Tupperwife 3 FEB, BOY Samuel James. Good hospital delivery as had to transfer due to snow.
Givethedogahomebirth 10 FEB, GIRL Isla Rose.
Helley 12 FEB, GIRL Evelyn Grace.
Laumiere 21 FEB, BOY Gabriel William Thomas Robson. Hospital delivery; had to transfer due to midwives.
Twocutedarlings 28 FEB, BOY Alex.
Captain karvol 7 MARCH, GIRL , 7lb 12oz. Home water birth - drug free with lots of shouting!
Thefearlessfreak 14 MARCH, BOY Patrick. Transfer to hospital due to Meconium.
Boobz 22 MARCH, GIRL Penelope Lucy Reed. Home water birth with very long latent phase!
Gemzooks 22 MARCH, GIRL Zoe Soraya. Home waterbirth.
CEB80 28 MARCH, BOY hospital birth as arrived early 36+2.
Titmouse 29 MARCH, GIRL. Layla Rose. Laboured well at home, transfer to hospital for c-section as baby found to be breech.
Soundbites 14 APRIL, GIRL. Lovely relaxed homebirth.
Juwesm 15 APRIL, BOY. Hugo George. Hospital birth.
leakyR 24 APRIL, GIRL. Iris Elizabeth. Homebirth with a v short labour.
Gingersarah 27 APRIL. HWB GIRL Veronica
Tummum 2 MAY. HWB (officially 1hr 45 mins!) BOY Gethin Thomas. 2DC already (4 & 2)

DUE:
KittyCat Due 19 April. Gunning for a HB! Surrey.
Overtiredmum Due 5 May. Hoping for HB. 1 DS already (June 05).
Belgianchocolates Due 6 MAY. Planning home water birth. 2DC already.
Swottybetty Due 29 MAY. Live in Croydon, Surrey. 1 DD already (March 08).
Bumpsadaisie due 31 MAY, DC1, planning home water birth, lives in Cambridge.
Mamanicky, due 13 July. 1st DC. Lives Guernsey.
Littledoe, due 14 July.
Sheenaisapunkrocker due 2 AUGUST, DC1, planning home water birth, West Yorks
Craftyandclothy. Due 4 August. DC2, planning home waterbirth, West Yorkshire.
bratnav. Due 5 Sept. Bristol. Planning home birth. 2 DDs and 1 DSD.
Dingalongcow. Due 8th Sept. Essex. PLanning home birth possibly water. 1 DD already (4yo in June-hospital birth)
DetoxDiva. Due 9 SEPT. Live in Bedfordshire. 1 DD already.
Pebblebeach. Due 10 Sept. DC2 considering home waterbirth.

Congratulations Tummum, what a lovely post and I think it's great your contractions eased up to let you get everything sorted!

I heard from somewhere that a lot of 2nd+ time mums give birth at night to mimimise impact on 1st/other children.... so maybe it's kind of along the same lines. Good points on more fwd planning, esp. re 3rd stage, I guess we all just focus on baby and not much else

Anyway, I hope you are all doing great and recovering well.

Hi Thedogmamma.... I'm new here but it's nice having some "old hands" around!

I hope this thread hasn't died as I LOVE reading everyone's news when they post about their births (home or laboured-at-home). Any more arrivals?

Have just re-read the old thread and this one - am in tears again!

Pen is 3 months on Sunday - where does the time go? New photo on profile xxx

Message deleted

Just adding myself to the due list (not updated the 'arrived' so not adding it here)

DUE:
KittyCat Due 19 April. Gunning for a HB! Surrey.
Overtiredmum Due 5 May. Hoping for HB. 1 DS already (June 05).
Belgianchocolates Due 6 MAY. Planning home water birth. 2DC already.
Swottybetty Due 29 MAY. Live in Croydon, Surrey. 1 DD already (March 08).
Bumpsadaisie due 31 MAY, DC1, planning home water birth, lives in Cambridge.
Mamanicky, due 13 July. 1st DC. Lives Guernsey.
Littledoe, due 14 July.
Zorra, due 27th July (first DC) planning HWB, Oxford
Sheenaisapunkrocker due 2 AUGUST, DC1, planning home water birth, West Yorks
Craftyandclothy. Due 4 August. DC2, planning home waterbirth, West Yorkshire.
bratnav. Due 5 Sept. Bristol. Planning home birth. 2 DDs and 1 DSD.
Dingalongcow. Due 8th Sept. Essex. PLanning home birth possibly water. 1 DD already (4yo in June-hospital birth)
DetoxDiva. Due 9 SEPT. Live in Bedfordshire. 1 DD already.
Pebblebeach. Due 10 Sept. DC2 considering home waterbirth.

Looking forward to cheering on all those others preparing, and hopefully learning from those already done!

Hi all. Hope this thread hasn't died, but I haven't helped much as I've bn off for a while. Hope all the May babies arrived safe'n'sound? Look forward to some stories.
Am 36wks today :-) We've finally sold our house and are moving across town on 1st July, baby due 13th July! The pool has arrived and am sitting on ball alot as baby turned breech last week but has been spinning around loads since so unsure of current position. Est weight from last wks scan is 7.3lbs! Itching to set the pool up and float about(we don't have a bath here), but seems silly when will just have to pack it away in 2 wks. Loads to do but dh is exhausted from all the house dramas so we're off to Sark for a short break tomorrow.
Other July Mums - hows your preparation going?
N

Hello all - hoping for a home waterbirth. Previous DS born in 1997 in hospital. Also doing hypnobirthing this time so I'm just beginning to look forward to a positive experience! I've been lurking on this thread for a while and now I'm joining to put my money where my mouth is.

Good luck with the move mamanicky. I don't envy you the upheaval - but I guess it means you will be able to watch everyone else lugging stuff about, while you drink tea and have a nice sit down.

It would be nice to hear some May stories!

KittyCat Due 19 April. Gunning for a HB! Surrey.
Overtiredmum Due 5 May. Hoping for HB. 1 DS already (June 05).
Belgianchocolates Due 6 MAY. Planning home water birth. 2DC already.
Swottybetty Due 29 MAY. Live in Croydon, Surrey. 1 DD already (March 08).
Bumpsadaisie due 31 MAY, DC1, planning home water birth, lives in Cambridge.
Mamanicky, due 13 July. 1st DC. Lives Guernsey.
Littledoe, due 14 July.
Zorra, due 27th July (first DC) planning HWB, Oxford
Sheenaisapunkrocker due 2 AUGUST, DC1, planning home water birth, West Yorks
Craftyandclothy. Due 4 August. DC2, planning home waterbirth, West Yorkshire.
blinder. Due 4th Sept. South Wales. Planning home-water-hypnobirth. 1DS aged 12 years
bratnav. Due 5 Sept. Bristol. Planning home birth. 2 DDs and 1 DSD.
Dingalongcow. Due 8th Sept. Essex. PLanning home birth possibly water. 1 DD already (4yo in June-hospital birth)
DetoxDiva. Due 9 SEPT. Live in Bedfordshire. 1 DD already.
Pebblebeach. Due 10 Sept. DC2 considering home waterbirth.

Hello all,

haven't posted for ages, the thread has been so quiet (tho I'm partly to blame for that )

I'm 34 weeks now and HB preparations underway; pool booked and like Blinder, hypnobirthing lessons in progress. Has anyone got experience of hypnosis and does it work for them?

Apart from that I'm seriously underprepared for life the other side of birth - haven't bought a thing yet.

Boobz - great to hear from you - hope you, Pen and DH are all enjoying life. I can't believe it's 3 months. I picked up this thread the day you went into labour. xx

Hey Sheena - I remember your first post! DH, Pen and I are all going great guns, but maternity leave seems to be going so quickly... back to work in 3 months - boo! A couple of my friends are now pregnant and they are very interested in the HB side of things, so I'm still spinning my story!

When do you finish for mat leave (assuming you're working?)... you've got plenty of time to buy your post-baby stuff. Things I couldn't live without when Pen was born:

-- freezer full of lasagnes / casseroles / stews etc
-- breast feeding pillow
-- Sky Plus
-- changing table

And loads of other stuff but I'm sure you have your own list...

Good luck!

Just another 2 weeks to go at work, then I've saved 4 weeks annual leave which will take me up to my due date and mat leave; assuming the baby doesn't come sooner. Although I think this is unlikely as my mum went overdue with her pregnancies and my own cycle is on the longer side.

Glad you are able to influence your friends, Boobz; it's amazing how many people I've met who think I'm nuts for wanting a HB (although to be fair, a number of older mums think its great. Interestingly it seems to be the younger women who think the only place to birth is in hospital)

bumpity bump - anyone else fancy reviving this thread?

yes, please!

blinder, you're due soon! How's it going? Would like to hear how the hypnobirthing technique works out for you.

hiya longwayaway - yes I am now 38+1 and too bloomin hot.

I had some difficulty with organising the bomebirth due to staffing at my MLU but resolved it with a visit to the practice manager.

Now I have a box of midwifery equipment and a cannister of G&A, plus one of oxygen in my living room. Also prepared for a water birth with a birth-pool-in-a-box languishing downstairs !

Along with the hypnobirthing that should see me fine. I''l definitely update after the event.

When are you due longway?

I'm due at the end of November, so 26ish weeks. (And even I think it's too hot - must be awful for you!)

Other than telling my MW that I want a HB I haven't done anything in preparation. MW was very supportive and it sounds like the local team attends a lot of them, but other than that she just said "We'll schedule a home visit at 36 weeks" (to see if my flat is suitable). I've got a list of things to do & buy when they give me the OK, but I'm sort of twiddling my thumbs waiting for that.

Was your first born in hospital? I'm looking for ways to reassure DH... it's our first and he's theoretically on board, but a bit skeptical

Hey all - what happened to all those who were due over the last few months - did we get some homebirths happening? How about you Sheena? And Mamanicky and Zorra - any news to report? Am off to Birth announcement thread to see if I can spot you all...

Penelope is doing fab - latest pics on profile.

I had forgotten all about this thread! Am 39 weeks on Saturday, HUGE baby according to scan on Tuesday, so Drs are trying to say no to HB, although MW said I should be fine. I am still planning to go ahead, the hospital is only 5 minutes away if I need to transfer.

How are the rest of you? Boobz, I remember seeing the first pics of Penelope, beautiful

I'm good - although burying my head in the sand about going back to work - 3 weeks to go - booooo! Pen is adorable - been a relatively easy baby but could still do with some extra sleep. She's rolling all over the place and standing with help and we're going to wean onto solids next week - aaah!

I hope you get your homebirth - it's fab! The best thing I have ever done - bar none.

longwayaway - yes my DP was a bit sceptical at first about a homebirth. Then he came to the first hypnobirthing course and on the way home suggested a homebirth as if it was his idea !

The midwife/hypnotherapist explained that it reduces tension, resulting usually in easier births without unnecessary interventions.

There are some great pages on the NHS about homebirth with videos, recommending them for 'normal' pregnancy and labour. But tbh - my DP needed to hear it from the 'horse's mouth' and then believe he dreamed it up by himself.

Howdy Bratnav - can we possibly balloon up any more than we are already? I feel like I have already reached maximum stretch.

Boobz - your DD looks gorgeous. Did you home-birth? How did it go? Any tips for the rest of us?

Blinder, if you have a spare few hours(!) you can read my whole journey here on MN! I started the original home birth thread back in July last year when I discovered I was pregnant

Original Homebirth thread

and I actually went into labour on that thread (page 34)... we ran out of room with all of mine and DH's updates whilst I was labouring away at home, so a kind MNer set up this current thread to cheer me on to the end (hence the "support squad" bit in the title). I had a very long latent phase - started contractions on Wednesday morning and didn't have Penelope until Sunday morning, hence the enormous amount of posts! I thought I was going to have to throw the towel in and go to hospital as I was so knackered after 3 days with no sleep, but the amazing amount of support I got on MN and from my DH kept me at home and yes I have birth to Pen kneeling over my sofa. Loads and loads of birth stories and tips on the original thread.

My personal tips would be:

-- Keep eating
-- Get gas and air when you need it
-- Make DH go to an active birthing / yoga workshop before the big day, as he will be invaluable at home (much more so than at hospital)
-- Do lots of live posts on MN to keep the mind off the fact you've been contracting for 80 hours and still don't have a baby and start thinking an epidural would be a good idea

And thanks for the underline of gorgeous - we do think Pen is a stunner but then we're biased!

Crap, I linked to the wrong thread - hopefully this is the right one:

The REAL original homebirth thread

gave birth, not have birth to Penelope - doh.