A bit gutted :(

[PumpkinZulu]

I think you would just have to weigh up the costs to how worthwhile you think a hb would be for you. DF and I have no PHI but will be paying for one anyway, because for us, the 3 or so grand it will cost us for an IM will be SO worth it, money well, well spent. I can understand your concerns about having to need an OB halfway through. Aside from bubs coming a little early, did you have any other complications during your pregnancies? Just as an example (we have had a LOT of time to plan/discuss things lol) DF and I plan to hire an IM from the word go. WE plan to have her do our pre-natal checks AS WELL AS at the hospital; we would like her to attend those appointments with us. That way, if something transpires during my labour which would require me to need hospital care, they have everything on record, all the info about myself and baby throught the pregnancy, so they will be able to treat me accordingly. Just another thing to consider I second what everyone else has said and have a chat to some IM's and see what they have to say about your concerns etc.

Good luck hun and again, soooooo over the moon for you

[Smoke Jaguar]

We payed over 4000 for ours and it pretty much came from baby bonus It was worth it, as far as I'm concerned, particularly if it means giving me the confidence to freebirth the next one
I didn't find ANY PHI that covered PM's so we ditched our insurance.
We had less than no money and I refused to be forced into hospy for lack of money. It's a personal call - how much does it mean to you and what are the reasons? If they are core values, you'll find a way to do it

[Cassius2]

hey liz! we found ourselves in a similar boat in that the cost of a HB was beyond us. but in talking to dear friends there was a snippet that she said to me as we cooked at the BBQ, you will find a way (to afford it). and that was it for us. despite that we have no savings are in our first year of mortgage we have been scrimping and saving for every appt with the IM...and IT IS worth it! each appt (at home ) lasts for way more than an hour, they include teh other kids in the fun and basically are there FOR you and your family. I spoke to my IM about the early arrival scenario and she is happy to deliver at home from 36 weeks if there are no growth concerns etc. remember that IM bring a whole bag of goodies with them to stabilise both you and bub if the need arises (oxygen, syntocin etc etc). if you are concerned about needing care in the event of something untoward happening, you can do what we have done and have a 'planned homebirth back up booking' with the local public hospital. that way, if you do need to transfer for whatever reason they know who you are and have all your medical/pregnancy details there and then (we have a RWH pregnancy booklet etc that my IM and GP fill out for each of my appts).
for the fees, in our case we pay per appt. because this is my 2nd pg and everything is travelling smoothly we have opted to have appts on a 6 weekly basis (with email/phone in between if needed) until 28 weeks, then we go back to 'normal' spacing. i have felt comfortable with this arrangement. also, other $$ options are to see if your midwife has a rate for visits to her house. mine has a slightly reduced rate if you go to her, so maybe for some appts that could be an option?
the 'big' bill for the IM is the birth planning appt at 28 weeks and the bill for the backup midwife. DH and I have been saving up for this and in fact, hasnt been too scary as we have had loads of time to put our stash of cash away ITMS (appt is the 30 week one). that way we can pay the $1400 for both IMs then.

i also second checking out if they have payment plans. many IMs do, as they really want women and their families to get the best birth possible as they truly recognise the power and benefit of it...

[Alan]

My charges usually come to between 2.3k and 2.5k.
I am free in January.
My birthday is in January.
Blue moutains are very pretty.
Hmmmmm

[Alan]

Cassius
I also encourage the kids to be invilved both during the antenatal visits and at the birth. Check out my photos on FB you can see a 2 year old cutting the cord

[Liz]

I also encourage the kids to be invilved both during the antenatal visits and at the birth. Check out my photos on FB you can see a 2 year old cutting the cord

LOL - you wouldn't believe it.. but that VERY thought popped into my head today as i watched my kids cutting off some of nanna's knitting wool LOL! I thought.. hmm.. i wonder if they could cut the cord! And it would mean a lot to me to have them at the birth. Tallon wasn't at Kayla's because of it all happening unexpected and he just stayed at the babysitters.. we thought we were just going for a checkup that morning because I'd been sick the night before and felt a few tightenings.

Thank you so much everyone. I've discovered today that my mum wouldn't really be terribly supportive of a homebirth.. but then I seem to have gone against all of her grains with most of the stuff I've done so far LOL.. so she's not opposed to it, just simply stated that she'd be worried if I did it. I have told her the benefits, and told her that I also want to clear things in my own mind as well by talking to a couple of midwives.

Maya - I rang Australian Unity today cos they have private midwife cover.. and with prior arrangement will cover a homebirth, but there's a 12 month waiting period Which is why I'm spewing I stopped looking into these options earlier. Oh well.

Pandora - no I haven't checked the latest fees and rebates for the OB. I'm actually figuring if I don't do homebirth, I might just go public with a doula.

TBH one of my main goals, if not a full on homebirth, is to just be able to labour at home and rock up at 10cm haha. My waters broke with Tallon and I ended up doing all my labouring in hospital, and of course with Kayla being prem I was in hospital the entire time too. So even just to do most of my labouring at home.. I'm assuming with the doula.. would make me happy

I think deep down it is what I want to do. I just need to allay those little niggling fears.. but then there's niggling fears for hospital too.. so I'm just a bit nervous all round to be honest! haha. I also feel like there's so much to think about at home.. where I'm going to do it.. how to mess-proof etc etc. But it really really does appeal. I would be pretty upset tho to plan a homebirth and have another prem I might be able to negotiate a 36 weeker at home.. but within myself I wouldn't like to have any earlier at home. My herbalist and I are onto it tho.. spoke to him today about whether he can help me get to term.

i know we can use the maternity payment, but that kinda needs to help out with a few other things too... will have to rethink all our carseats etc. I know it'd be well worth it, but money isn't something we can really ignore.

Thanks again everyone. so much to consider

And yes Alan - I think you deserve a nice Blue Mountains get away in January! LOL. Just squeeze in one birth.. you'll be right

[Smoke Jaguar]

The first time round I justified not following through with a HB because our house was too small. I was well over the myth that you need a big space by the time I had DD. I'm not a pacer! I had enough room. In the end I decided that for everything we had 'enough'
As for baby bonus, we could have used that money for immediate concerns, too, and what we needed we ended up procuring one way or another. If we didn't NEED it we didn't need it. Then I won a friggin organic Ergo and I knew providence was giving just a little bit back!
Don't worry anymore about the PIH - it's out of your hands now and there's no point stressing over it...plenty of other things to think about now

[Pandora]

Liz - WRT your out of pocket costs for an OB, is that based on your last pg or have you checked again? Medicare rebates decreased significantly a little while back and lots of people are finding that theya re a lot more out of pocket now than 12 months ago.
Im not sure of the exact details but I do remember seeing a few threads about this..

[BekZ]

Just popping into congratulate you Liz

[Smoke Jaguar]

:blush: I only just recently finalised payment to my IM's! I think they knew we were resisting the payment plan thing, cos DP was sure we'd be able to pay for each appointment at the time. I feel bad because I know they're not on salary.
Appointments definitely are not restricted to an hour and my DS is convinced all midwives are called Helen and Nicola (oh, and Lynne and Santo from Chrissy Butler's book!!). He was definitely comfy with their presence and didn't feel restricted - as you would have seen from our HB photos and his 'ottering' in the birth pool!

[Cassius2]

my DS is convinced all midwives are called Helen and Nicola (oh, and Lynne and Santo from Chrissy Butler's book!!).

he he, my DD also thinks that all midwives are called Nicola LOL!