Homebirth General Discussion #14

[Arcadia]

Shhhhh...*looks around*....

I'm jumping in at bottom of the list for Feb 14. I'm 8 weeks 1 day. I'm not ready to announce yet because I haven't told my mum (she is overseas and coming home tonight hooray!).

I'm seriously struggling with ms this time...blergh. Managing two kids while gagging over everything is the pits.

Very excited about expanding our family though, and another Homebirth!!

And in case you missed the intro...shhhhhh!

[Arimeh]

*quietly cheers*

*whispers Congrats*

*sneaks out*

[Cricket]

CONGRATULATIONS ARCADIA!!!

Don't worry - no one heard me. I'm on the other side of the world.

Hope that m/s eases up soon for you. I know very well how miserable it can be to try to keep your family going and not let anyone guess that you're pregnant yet while feeling like crap.

Wow - September suddenly seems like it's coming up fast! Saw my midwife yesterday, and all is well with me and the bean. He's one active little guy! Kicking and rolling all over the place. Probably more noticeable for me this time because I have a posterior placenta, whereas with a number of my other kids I've had an anterior placenta. Booked all the rest of my appointments, which also made it seem like the end is in sight.

Hope everyone else is well!

[meow]

Congratulations Arcadia!!!! How wonderful!!!

I'm sorry you're feeling so bad at the moment though, the beginning nit is tough going and I bet it is hard with the other two xx

[Eenee]

Congratulations Arcadia!

[meow]

Just wanted to report back on the 'meet the experts' evening I went to. It was one of those things where all the professionals understand what it takes to get a good birth and what good newborn care is... and all the attendees are first time parents booked into fancy hospitals with an OBGYN who they love and "is going to let me do it however I want". Sure. Whatever.

I always find those things get me a bit frustrated and I end up just going quiet because they need to ask all their questions and hopefully end up finding a better experience. I did find out that the situation here is pretty similar to Australia, there are just MORE things to say "no" to in a hospital here. Homebirth transfer is apparently pretty good at the little "non-fancy" hospital that they all transfer too if needed and they will still be as unmedical as possible. But newborn care... you have to add to your list of "do nots" things like no antibacterial cream in baby's eyes, no bath or else they wash them before even handing them over to the mother! If you choose not to have your baby washed then it's a biohazard and all the staff have to wear gloves when they hold it. Oh lordy!

Anyway, we've pretty much decided we're not having a baby any time soon. I need too much energy to give my eldest the support he needs and I can't find a preschool that allows you to bring a baby during parent help. So we would have to have a baby at the beginning of the summer holidays so it is as old as possible before leaving it with a babysitter to do parent help and that means getting pregnant in a couple of months. Which we're not ready for at all. So maybe we'll wait another year or maybe we're done? I'm a bit sad about that and it is hard knowing that had things been different I'd be pregnant again already because I do want another one. That's life huh?

[HotI]

If you choose not to have your baby washed then it's a biohazard and all the staff have to wear gloves when they hold it. Oh lordy!

oh dear. my suggestion would be for them to stay away from my baby anyway.

That sucks that you couldn't take a sibling to preschool. So many people wouldn't have a choice, and so they (and the kids) would miss out on helpers.

[Cricket]

But newborn care... you have to add to your list of "do nots" things like no antibacterial cream in baby's eyes, no bath or else they wash them before even handing them over to the mother! If you choose not to have your baby washed then it's a biohazard and all the staff have to wear gloves when they hold it. Oh lordy!

Yeah, the antibiotic cream is mandatory in most places. It's to prevent blindness caused by syphilis (I think). Apparently Helen Keller was one of those who pushed to have it required by law. It would be nice if they could just treat those who actually are at risk for getting the disease though! Needless waste of antibiotics and needless exposure to it too.

And the "biohazard" thing is kind of annoying from a mother's perspective, but from the nurse's perspective, I can see it. You don't know what the mother may or may not have (or maybe you DO know, and that makes it worse!) and it's her bodily fluid on the baby. You wouldn't expect them to handle any of your other fluids without gloves, right?