Freya - we don't make any commitments for the morning around here. Well done to get your crew out the door! It is tough! There's always a last minute feeding, or potty accident, or spill, or lost shoes, or something....

EssTee - I'm in Canada, not Aus, so things are a little different here. Home birth is not super common, but it is fully funded and regulated through our provincial health care. I have had some negative reactions when I've told people at the hospital that we're homebirthing, but generally, people have been very encouraging and supportive. I do book in at the hospital, to streamline things in case a transfer is necessary, but the booking people have always said "all the best, and we hope we don't see you back here!" I think you should feel free to tell people that you're planning to have your baby at home, and that you've done the research and feel that it's a very safe and reasonable option for you and your baby. If they persist with negativity, then you might have to come up with a firm but polite way of saying "I'm not discussing this further."

I've heard that home birth is more common in the UK, but I'm thinking that the royal baby's birth will certainly be global news, and hopefully raise awareness about the safety of home birth in other countries.

Yes, this is baby #8 for us. DH and I think this will likely be our last, but we'll see how things go. Big families are not so common these days, but I do know of a few others in our area, and TBH most people have been very positive about our family (at least to our faces!). I haven't had any of the terribly rude comments that other people seem to get... It surprises me a little how people think we must be "super parents" or something - 100+ years ago people were having larger families than ours without running water, washing machines, grocery stores, or even the medical care that we have now! We have it easy.

I'm feeling a little iffy today. With my last baby, I could barely stand up for about a month. Even sitting up was too much at times. I laid on the couch and was completely useless. It was awful. DH ran the house and did all the errands. He had to take time off work. When we discovered we were expecting again, the ms was my biggest worry, so I've been cleaning and preparing meals for the freezer like mad, but so far it hasn't been necessary. I'll see the midwife at the end of March - at almost 11 weeks.

Glad you and your little one are doing well Turtledove! It does go by so quickly!