Homebirth General Discussion #15

[PumpkinZulu]

With the transferring thing, with DD2 I wanted to go and get an epi in transition. I was like, very quietly and politely, "Okay, I can't do this, I need to go to the hospital, I need an epidural." My middy was just like "no you don't" and I said very quietly, "Don't patronise me please."

[Arcadia]

Eenee I get breathlessness and dizzy spells from low blood pressure.

[Arimeh]

Having symptoms of dizzyness/lightheadedness like I'm going to pass out which lasts most of the morning and worse after I eat breakfast. I'm thinking its a blood sugar issue so MW has suggested maybe I do the GTT considering I've never done one with previous pregnancies to see how my body is processing sugars. As I've never really looked into it with much depth I'm unsure what this would mean if It showed I had GD especially regarding homebirth...any enlightenment or your thoughts appreciated. I dont see MW until next week for our appointment so obviously I'll discuss with her also but want to prepare myself. I'm 23 weeks.

I was like this in the first trimester - my problem was I wasn't eating enough carbs. How's your carb intake? Once I upped it and was aware of it, I was fine. I thought mine was a blood glucose problem as well (because my levels can be a bit low sometimes) but for me it was a carb thing.

[TeniBear]

Ooh, anyone got/read this book?

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/31/ygaze8ur.jpg

I'm only halfway through the foreword and I love it There's apparently a lot of HB stories in it, so I'm happy I reckon it'll be good to "see" birth from the dad's perspective...

[~TT40~]

Dads seem to get pushed to the side, it would be interesting to see it from their pov. Is it something S would read? What's his thoughts on home birth?

[TeniBear]

He's all for it, as much as he can be without doing the research himself. But he trusts me and my decisions, and knows how important it all is for me to have a positive experience Unfortunately he's not much of a reader (pretty funny considering our surname!) so he won't read it. I was reading out a few passages here and there for him though, he seemed interested...

I'd say a little under half the stories in the book were homebirths, I skimmed through to look at them

[HotI]

will he watch a video? bobb, faceofbirth, there is a good partner one I have seen on line.

[TeniBear]

I don't think he's particularly interested in specifics, he's happy to stand by me and trust I know what I'm on about He knows most of the general things though, and is willing to stand up for things he knows I want. For example, he probably couldn't tell you *why* I want to delay cord clamping, but he knows it's important to me and that I wouldn't decide something like that without reason. Same with pretty much everything in my birth preferences, I'd say. He's always been like that, a "yes dear" type

Anyway, woohoo, I'm 20w today!

[meow]

My H mainly had faith in HB because I did. He said he married me because he respects and trusts me and he knows I have researched it so he's happy with the conclusions I came up with. I think it's nice to have him trust you without needing to spend his time researching as well. We did watch BOBB and Orgasmic Birth together though and he was present for some appointments and helped write the birth preferences etc.

I keep meaning to mention magnesium! I took magphos tablets in late pregnancy for legs cramps. Knowing now how important magnesium is and how deficient we all pretty much are I take magnesium most days now anyway. I absolutely take a dose in early labour too. I'm currently taking a liquid cal-mag supplement and I love it. I take it before bed and it makes me sleepy. I took it before a chiro appointment and I was relaxed and spacey it was lovely

[Jennifer13]

My DP isn't really inclined to read birthy stuff either. Like TB, he trusted me and really felt good about our m/ws and the way they answered our qns. Ironically, the visit to the ob and everything he sees in passing (ie we watched a romcom the other day where the dr gave the mother an episiotomy against her consent, and it was supposed to be funny!) just underlines his belief that birth is best at home. I think most partners, once they've supported their child's birth at home, are strong advocates.

[Cricket]

Yep - that's where my DH is too. He trusts my decision making and supports me, though he hasn't done any reading on his own. He also is a big advocate of home birth now that we've done it a couple times. I think he's more opposed to going to the hospital than I am!

[Arimeh]

OK as we have now moved into August I am officially freaking out about birthing. Someone say something reassuring!

[HotI]

Vaginas can stretch.

[PumpkinZulu]

You've done this twice, and you'll do it again

[TeniBear]

Will some quotes from people much more interesting than myself suffice?

“Learn to respect this sacred moment of birth, as fragile, as fleeting, as elusive as dawn.” ~ Frederick Leboyer

"There is power that comes to women when they give birth. They don't ask for it, it simply invades them. Accumulates like clouds on the horizon and passes through, carrying the child with it." Sheryl Feldman

“There is a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful. It’s that women are strong.” ~ Laura Stavoe Harm

“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. “~Marie Curie

“The power and intensity of your contractions cannot be stronger than you, because it is you.” ~ Unknown

[HotI]

You've done this twice, and you'll do it again

that's much nicer than mine.

[Arcadia]

I choose to say yes to the power of my body and accept myself completely

I have the body of every birthing woman

My body in labour is the same body I inhabit every day. It is me, no more, no less.

Breathe. My baby needs me to breathe.

When it hurts the most you're almost there.

[PumpkinZulu]

I had so many quotes written down on my wall for inspiration. In the end the ones that got me through we're the super simple ones that I could easily chant:

"Today's going to be a good day." (I used this one sooooo much, just chanted it over and over haha).

"My baby and my body know that all is well."

"I am happy and excited to meet my baby."