Congrats Arimeh. You'll have boy bookends for your lovely family. He was clearly meant to be here! And how different his birth will be from his big brother's. What an amazing journey you've had!
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Congrats Arimeh. You'll have boy bookends for your lovely family. He was clearly meant to be here! And how different his birth will be from his big brother's. What an amazing journey you've had!
congrats Arimeh! :D
Teni: i had to giggle at you setting up an alcatraz style bank account :lol: i love the flurry of the beginning part of pg where you put in place all the long term plans for the baby and the birth...so excited for you!
Congratulations arimeh! I personally happen to think that two boys and three girls is just a totally lovely ratio of children.... Granted I maybe a tad biased ;)
Naw, she needs at least two more girls - 5 girls and 2 boys is perfect. ;):
Congratulations on the little man on the way Arimeh! Exciting, isn't it? Did you tell your kids? I'll bet your DS is thrilled to have a brother. :) My DS isn't old enough to have a clue really, but he is excited about "baby".
WM - does your midwife have birth pool you can borrow? Is that something you are interested in?
Yes I am interested in a waterbirth hoti. She does offer one for use, I just have to pay for a liner. Thanks :)
Haha this is the end for me I'm afraid, please feel free to keep going yourself though ;):
Yes we told the kids, I wrote a note for DS that I gave to him after school telling him that he was getting a baby brother, he said "aw" and gave my belly a big hug.
Congrats again arimeh on your baby boy! What a thrill to have this little soul slip through and into your lives.
I'm excited about all the planned homebirths.
Damn, doubts/worries are starting to creep in again re: cost. I know they'll most likely be okay with a payment plan, but it's still going to be a bit of money per week/month. Added on top of that is the fact that DH just told me he won't be able to contribute until at least after the baby's born (why? No f'in clue!) and it's just so stressful. I know it'll be worth it, I know there's no way I'm giving up on this birth, but the thoughts are still there... Blaaaagggghhhhhh!
I haven't worked in 3+years yet I still was able to pay for my homebirths and DH didn't give me anything, that's the beauty of the baby bonus. Honestly talk to them now about a payment plan so you can stop stressing about that. My poor savings account hasn't had a chance to fill up du to my one birth a year lately.
Put money away for the birth every week if you haven't already, I find that we always tend to spend as much as we earn/have. So just put away a percentage of weekly pay towards this and stress less. I know easier to say!
Teni anything is possible. Sell some things on gumtree that you no longer need. I've cut down our food bill each week and set a limit each fortnight on the amount I pay out in bills. Sometimes it means I have to extend a bill by two weeks but they always get paid eventually. I've done this for the last 2 and a bit months and I've got $1100 to go before I have all the money for the birth. I've been lucky though, my mum gave me the $200 needed for my scan on Friday so I could pay other bills and then slipped me some extra money - which went straight to my homebirth fund! Set it up and try to scale down current expenses if you can and save the extra.
If I could convince DH to drop the PHI we might be a bit better equipped, but he seems to think it's essential. The only thing it's ever been used for is one dental appointment for him, and Amelia's hearing test a few weeks ago - which could have gone on Medicare. Yeah, we need it sooo much :rolleyes:
I'm going to cap the food shop at a certain amount, rather than tell myself it's okay to go a little over. Might attempt to cut it down a lot more... Not letting DH but any more DVDs or Xbox games, even if it's a movie I really desperately want. I'll tell him not to get me birthday, anniversary, or Xmas presents, and I'll do the same. It's not much of a saving, but it's something.
Teni- i suggest for a week everytime you and DH spend any money even if its a couple of $$ to write it down.. keep a spending journal. You will be surprised how often you forget the tiny purchases here and there and how quickly they add up. Maybe shop online where it adds up your trolley for you, yes you have to pay delivery but you might save more in impulse buys, or take a calculator around with you when you shop and stick to your list.
Be open and honest with your potential midwife though about funds because I don't think it would be fair not to be. This is their income and they need it to be reliable and waiting on the BB is unfort unrealistic atm because it can take up to 3 months to process!!! Even the dad and partner pay which your partner/DH must take unpaid leave for can take up to 6 weeks to come through, so you need to be prepared also to not have any income for two weeks after birth if you plan on taking advantage of that.
AFM- well its now been two weeks since my homebirth and it still puts a smile on my face. I think its amazing the bond we all have because of it and even though it was quick and full on, minus the midwife to me it was perfect. LOL could have done with DH seeing slightly less of my bum, (he loves to stir me about it) but still absolutely amazing experience!! I love telling the story and people love to hear it. (unfort some people seem to think Im exaggerating and it couldn't have possibly happened the way I tell it but that's their issue not mine)
Am so glad that our hospital program enabled me to have the experience and it was a perfect way to complete my family. Zoe is doing so well, feeds like a champ and is pretty settled and content (mind you when she wants booby she wants it yesterday LOL). We are currently tryiing to get her to settle for DH as she does have a preference for mummy but that completely normal and understandable at 2 weeks. Frustrates for DH though cause he just wants to help and have his cuddles.
Midwife is coming to weigh missy tomorrow so interested to know how much she has gained!! Hoping my presents I have ordered arrive before the visit so I can give them to the midwives. I got them each a personalised pen with their names on it, the message 'thank you for all your care and dedication' and its got a picture of little girls clothes hung along a clothes line and a card each, which reminds me I need to write in.
I don't have to pay out of pocket for a homebirth, (it's covered by our provincial healthcare program) for which I am thankful, but we live on a single income, feed and clothe 6 children, and pay for private Christian school for our kids, along with supporting our church every month, and donating to other causes. More than 25% of our income goes out the door for those things. It's amazing what you can do when you need to. If the money is "gone" before you start spending on other things, it will work out. If you look for "left over" money at the end of the month, it won't be there. You'll find the money, Teni, don't worry. Just prioritize - is this more important than my homebirth? There are lots of good budgeting websites and programs out there too, if you have a look around.
I was just seeing some mums on another forum talking about retained placenta, and a few of them said that their midwives gave them angelica (also called dong quai?) which helped. Has anyone heard more about this? I've never heard of it.
Beatrix - a good home birth is always lovely to reflect on, isn't it? Such a great memory. :) That's a great idea for a midwife's gift. I always have a terrible time thinking of something. I've often just done a gift certificate somewhere, but that's not very personal. I'll have to keep the pen idea in mind.
i would so be dumping the PHI...we did and have not regretted it. in the end the money we saved by not having it was heaps and when I have had to go for surgery or have private consults we paid out of pocket (and we save heaps by not having to fork out thousands for PHI). for example my tonsillectomy was $1500 whereas with our PHI i would of only had a discount and paid almost $2000 that year for cover lol. for us the maths just didnt add up.
Can I ask what is probably going to be a really dumb question?
If the gbs swab thingy is so necessary and dangerous for the baby - how come not every healthcare provider does it? I've never been tested.
Double post
Because it can be so inaccurate. When they test you could be negative but when giving birth you could be positive or vice versa. I've always declined the test.