Birth is such a privileged ritual to be able to experience. Embrace it. There are so few times in your life you will birth, compared to how long you will live and you will remember each time forever. Surrender to the miracle.
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Birth is such a privileged ritual to be able to experience. Embrace it. There are so few times in your life you will birth, compared to how long you will live and you will remember each time forever. Surrender to the miracle.
I think I know how you feel. Right there with you. :hug: Its going to be ok. We are going to push these babies out. There will be some challenging moments but we'll make it through, and we'll feel SO GOOD WHEN ITS DONE!! :):
And think about how amazing it will be to finally see and hold these tiny new people. Keep your mind focused on that. :)
Well it has taken me a lot of courage to get to this place in my life but I think I want to start planning my very first HBAC. My last daughter was breech and my hospital refused a vaginal birth. This time I have become more knowledged and I plan on telling my midwife I would like to have a HBAC water birth. My 3rd daughter is due around Christmas. I could take/use all the advice and tips you ladies might have! Thanks so much <3
You've got weeks to go yet. ;) Maybe start freaking out in October... :p:
Only kidding. I love the quotes provided! Maybe now is the time to get the checklist of what you need and start organising. Nothing like checking of a list to make you feel like you're doing something practical towards the birth and take your mind off the emotional. And don't forget the little things - camera, any things you found useful in labour before, nice printed out copy of your birth plan (if you need it), etc, etc.
The_Mrs - welcome and all the best for your HBing journey. You'll be only very shortly before me this time! As you know, DD2 was a very successful HBAC. My only tip is to line up your m/w now, because Xmas/NY is a heck of a time for everyone going on holidays!
And then go back to their normal size. ;):
Like Ina May says, men think they're the only ones that have something that gets big and then gets small again, without getting hurt.
:leap: That's fantastic!:
Congratulations! Welcome to the home birth group! :):
That must make pretty much 100% of north american BB members in this thread now :D
Congratulations the mrs!!!
stutter
I think i have decided on my birth support! Spoke to a birth worker yesterday (she was IM for DS birth), and i just felt good. Meeting up next week sometime so talk through some things.
when you know, you know, yeah?
Thanks everyone, dunno why I have these random freak outs - I've done it twice without drugs but somehow feel that I can't do it again and those times it was a fluke - weird crap that is in my head. I have to go talk to the mental health midwife in the midwifery group I'm going through, I talked about it with my midwife yesterday and she said that it would be a good idea to go and purge all this stuff out before the birth, and all I should focus on is my breath through labour. And everything else will fall into place, I just have to concentrate on my breathing.
HotI - yup I believe that when you know, you know!
AFM - I went to the midwife yesterday, baby is no longer breech but is oblique and lying like he's in a hammock - back towards my back with his legs and arms sprawled out. Glad he's comfortable because I'm not particularly!! LOL So I've been told to go see a chiropractor (which I should about my SPD anyway) and keep doing stuff from spinning babies to get him to get his grinding hard head out of my hip!
i think i have decided this time that i have to accept that it is going to hurt and lots, but i will get through it. First time i wasn't at home, had syntocinon, restricted movement, baby was posterior... and so for #2, i think i went into it thinking that it wasn't going to hurt as much cos i had eliminated some of the issues. But it still hurt. lots. In some ways, i was more in tune with what i was feeling and i distinctly remember my pelvis opening as baby went through. I guess i was a bit shocked by the pain and had my crisis of confidence wondering if i was going to get through it. It would be nice to have an orgasmic labour, but i don't think that will happen.
I fully reserve the right to freak out again in a few months, but in the safety of my 1st tri position, i am feeling ok.
good luck with the chiro.
I know I kind of feel like since I've had a couple home water births, I've experienced the best that birth can be, and its still hard. That makes it a little harder to face now, I think. I'm out of new tricks to try. I get those panicky moments, remembering transition times from previous births. But I do find it helps to remind myself that that time is really pretty short, and that when I get to that point, then I'm almost done and ready to meet my baby. :)
If I can redirect my thoughts, it definitely helps my mind set, and I can be more positive.
I honestly feel the same about birth. I've had two drug free births, one in hospital and one at home. Obviously they had marked differences, but the labours themselves were very similar; that being, about an hour of easy, mild contractions about 12-7 minutes apart...and then 5ish hours of intensely painful contractions 2 minutes or less apart. For me, labour, as much as I want it to be, is not a serene, magical experience. It's like a full on workout. It's painful, it requires every ounce of my concentration and will. I need thorough support and encouragement. I doubt myself hugely. The actual giving birth, god I love that. Knowing baby is coming, that it's almost over, that I'm going to meet my little child soon, so amazing. Baby coming out, exhilarating! But labour? Hard, hard work. With DD1 I didn't know what to expect, and although I was pretty shocked by how much it actually hurt, the joy of meeting my first child wiped it from my mind. With DD2, I was convinced the majority of my pain was due to being in a hospital environment, and preparing for a Homebirth would make it different. I actually found DD2's labour more painful than DD1's, although I didn't lose my composure like I did halfway through DD1's. Now, I know it's going to hurt. Both my labours have been 6 and 6.5 hours respectively. So I'm prepared for at least 6 hours. I'm prepared to not have a serene birth, I'm prepared for it to be a challenge and super hard work, and that actually makes me feel a lot better about next time, because instead of spending my pregnancy preparing for a lovely, happy, relaxed labour, I'm going to prepare myself for dealing with the pain in the best ways I can :):
Yes I believe birth is supposed to hurt. I find it very painful and confronting, but when you're expecting that its less of a shock.
I find the pushing bit the hardest because of the intensity of surface stretching and the clarity of my mind. The labour stuff is just breathe and surrender. Pushing is where I need to work hard because I find my mind is clear and I start thinking and feeling scared. You need so much courage to birth and that's why I really love it.
Yes!! I think this is why I love it too. You find a strength within that you never believed could exist!:
I'm the opposite, I find pushing easier to deal with and almost enjoyable (you know, as much as it can be, when you're pushing a human out of your privates). I find it satisfying and exciting, but a lot of hard work.
You ladies are making me very broody. We're not TTC until December next year, so I've got a fair bit of waiting to do and living vicariously through all of you.
I'm the same. I think I liked that I had some control over the pushing stage, so the pain seemed a lot less (until the ring of fire that is lol). But I find it hard not knowing what's going on with my own body. But I'm surprised, so far I'm having no feelings of fear or dread regarding impending labour.
I'm the opposite in regards to pushing too, though I've not done it all natural yet. With Ianto it was such a relief and felt so goooood. With Amelia it was like "oh, FINALLY we're getting somewhere, I'm doing things MY WAY now!" - it was the one part I felt in control even when they were still trying to direct things.
I must admit I'm a little worried/scared of natural birth not being as awesome as I hope it is. I don't know how I labour naturally, but I'm hoping its close to how it was with Ianto. That was an alright labour aside from the obvious :) I *know* it won't be like with Amelia, because I recognise that was mostly due to my negative emotions at the situation...