Just an update from me on the HBing front. Can't believe we're less than seven weeks to EDD...
I had my m/w visit last Monday, and I'm down to fortnightly visits now. Baby's growth has slowed down and I'm measuring about a week behind, which I'm not surprised about. I think this bub will be another quite little girl. I obviously don't grow big babies! Just about everything ready to go. All I need to get is a birth pool and some of the birth supplies on the list and I can relax!
Baby is very firmly head down still and is alternating now between facing the LHS and the RHS, but completely anterior. Good birthing position! I think it might be all the stairs I have to walk up at home. You can only feel the bottom of her head above my pubic bone she's wedged in so tightly.
I've booked in to the hospital in case I need to transfer and I need to have one more appt with my GP to organise Group B strep test and a couple of scripts to have on hand. It's getting exciting!
My backup midwife is coming next Monday and I catch up with all of the m/ws at the HB get-together on Thursday. This month's topic is siblings at birth, so I'm looking forward to it. DD is very excited at the countdown - she ticks off 5 weeks until school holidays, six weeks until Xmas and seven weeks until her baby sister arrives. Hopefully in that order!
I hope you don't mind but I'm going to stalk this thread for a bit. I'm not pregnant at the moment and not sure I will be any time soon (as in we're not trying at the moment, not the basic uncertainty of whether TTC will succeed!). But I would have loved to have a homebirth the first time around, just wasn't organized or informed enough, and I thought maybe seeing what you guys were discussing would give me some clues about what I need to do for a possible next time.
It would also be nice to get to know some other BB members.
Hi ladies - no baby news from me DH is on leave now so we went out for a fancy lunch today which was nice. The downward pressure on my pelvis/cervix is so, so strong today - walking, sitting, standing is so uncomfortable it's making me nauseous...I hope that's a sign that baby is really close...I've had a few contractions on and off today but they just drop off after an hour or so. I have our next midwife appointment on Thursday afternoon and am tempted to ask if she would consider doing a cervical exam...I have a feeling she'll talk me out of it but it can't hurt to ask right?
Welcome EmamaJane!!
Jennifer - fortnightly appointments now! How exciting!!!! Not long now for you!
EmmaJane, i was a stalker here way before i had a bub on board. Welcome!
Eutra - baby is just getting in the right position. You don't need any exams, bub and your body will let you know when it's time. Glad you enjoyed your fancy lunch. I deliberately planned some fun things in the couple weeks after 40 weeks pregnancy with my DD so i had things to look forward to, and if i missed them i figured i would be ok about it cos i would have baby. Planning our fav restaurant again this time!
Oh Eutra!! How very exciting! So close now to holding your little baby!! This last bit can be the worst,but hang in there. Do something to nurture yourself and hopefully we will all be reading your BA very soon )
XX Bella
Hi girls Glad Cass said above that anyone can pop in I've got some questions about home birth, I mainly would like to know how you got over any fear of anything going wrong (if you had any)? both dh and I were pretty keen on a home birth for ds but ended up at the private hospital as it had such a fantastic reputation. I had a beautiful 100% natural waterbirth and our stay at the hospital was also fantastic. The whole experience was fantastic and in hindsight we are glad we went to the hospital for our 1st birth as the care from the midwives was fantastic. But now we know what we are doing with breastfeeding etc and the birth was so quick and dare I say it easy I think we would ok at home for #2 yet there is still that fear in the back of my head of a 'what if' something did go wrong That would possibly make me less relaxed and things may not go as smoothly as the first time. I've thought about home birth stacks since ds was born and even more so now that I'm thinking of lowering our health insurance because I don't know if #2 is ever going to happen... So why am I even asking about a home birth OK so maybe I'm just thinking out loud so that I'd be comfortable with the home birth idea if #2 does happen and I've dropped the health insurance. Other things I have considered are that I would really want ds involved, where he was born they wouldn't have a problem with it or with him staying with us at the hospital either but at home he would be so much more relaxed and in to it iykwim. Thanks for any advice
Cherished: I got over the 'what if something went wrong' with the fact it's the same with hospital birth, like what happens if something went wrong on your drive to hospital? Sonreally I seen no difference if if so somewhat safer at home. And really my MW had everything needed for an emergency anyway. And I felt safe and trusted her, and given I got to choose how long I had her there for whereas in the hospital you are sharing a MW and don't have someone there that knows you and could possibly tell before things got bad iykwim.
If something goes wrong, my midwife and i will probably detect it earlier than if i was in hospital, and we will deal with it. Hopefully, we can work through it at home, if not we will get extra help. The things that went wrong last time for me, went wrong because i was in a hospital.
Went swimming this morning with my DD. it was lovely just walking laps of the pool holding DD as she was kicking and blowing bubbles. Still want to get to the pool by myself too so i can swim some laps.
Welcome emmajane and cherished. You're both very welcome in here.Ive always stalked this thread and its made made my decision to hb a very easy one.
Cherished, what the others said. Your midwife would be trained to pick up everything. They are there for just you, 100% of the time. You just don't get care like that in a hospital.
Eutra- sounds like things are getting nice and ready down there. One of my strongest signs that labour was on its way with Ds was those uncomfortable pains down below. It'll happen really soon
Afm, had my midwife appointment this morning and have booked and paid for my birthpool.yay! I'm measuring about 3 weeks behind but mw said given I don't have big babies she's fine with it. Me, feeling a little anxious. I think with my placenta being weird and now measuring behind is just making me worry and think of the worst case scenario. Thankfully my lovely midwife called the ob who will be doing my scan and asked if I can go in at 28 weeks instead of 30-32. So I'm going to book it for 2.5-3 weeks and hopefully that will be all good and I can know that I'm growing a healthy baby. Ill be able to officially know if I can hb or not. It just sucks that my last two pregnancies were so wonderfully boring but I didn't hb!
yay! It's getting busy in here. Welcome Emmajane, and big hugs to my buddy, cherished - it's lovely to see you in here. I felt a bit sad reading your comment that number 2 might not happen I really hope that isn't the case. In relation to fears about something going wrong at home - I have always had total faith and trust in my body and my midwives. I agree with the comment (by HotI?) that an issue or problem may actually get picked up quicker at home where you are one -on- one with a midwife. My current midwife carries with her : hand-held doppler, syntocinon, oxygen with bag and mask for neo-natal resus, IV fluids, and non-emergency equip like urinary catheters, local anaesthetic and suturing material. I live 5 mins drive from our local base hospital.
Hello Eutra! I hope you are well, and in labour as I type! Happy, peaceful birthing. I can't wait to hear all about it.
Hello to everyone else.
Arte, I have been thinking of you lately because my midwife trained and worked in NZ before coming to Australia. The NZ system sounds awesome.
I finally had my first appt. with my midwife. She is wonderful and fabulous- and it was love at first sight! hehehehe.....which is a relief because I was getting desperate and couldn't have handled the possibilty that we would not gel. She is highly professional and organised - which is important to me. She said that it takes her an hour to get to my house, so she wants me to call her as soon as I go in labour. I really admire her as a person too - she does volunteer work as a midwife in third world countries - some of her stories/experiences are amazing. can you tell that I really like her?! The cost is 3 grand - which is a relief, as that is the amount that DH and I had set aside. So, it's all good in my neck of the woods
Hi ladies, hope you don't mind me popping in to ask a quick question... DH & I are strongly leaning towards a homebirth for when we decide to go for #2 (aren't planning for a few years but lol) and I have been seriously wondering what would happen if you tear down there?? Sorry if it's a silly question but the reason I went private last time was for peace of mind with having the best medical care if something happened from my known OB and all I needed was a stitch after all and I am really curious of what you would do if you tore at home?? And also is it possible to notify your local private hospital of your birth and if need be would you be able to be seen by a chosen OB or something? Anyone know how that works?
Anyway... Thanks for your time ladies!! And good luck to all you Mummies soon to have a beautiful homebirth
Sent from my iPhone more than likely while I should be doing something else!
Danni, your m/w can take care of tears as long as it's not too bad. I can't book in to my private ob or private hospital, because there's no shared care. But I have booked in to the closest public hospital in case I need to transfer as a private patient. If I need to see an ob then I can request an ob and I have two recommendations, but I will be limited as to who's available if I go in as an emergency. I have seen a m/w and ob at the hospital and they have my details and birth plan on file. It was simple and I have actually had nothing but supportive comments from the hospital staff (and hopes that I wouldn't see them again!).
You don't have to do any of the above, it's totally up to you. I did it because it seemed easier to take care of it and then not have to think about it.
hello girls! ahhh so lovely to have all the chatting!
Ash: woo hoo woman! looking hot!!! (and GREAT news about the MW being totally awesome! now to just sit back and enjoy the rest of the journey!).
that sounds like she does really cool work in developing countries. who does she do that through?
Cherished: welcome gorgeous!!!! our fears were overcome when i spoke to a dear friend of mine that is a midwife at a major hossy here in Melb when she told me that many of the birth 'emergencies' are actually detected well, well in advance. she told me that when things go wrong, they tend to build up over time (we are talking hours at times!). so she told me that with expert and total care (like what you get with an IM), there is no added risk to birthing at home. the other thing to consider is distance from hossy. but again, birth complications are rarely a hurried affair, and your IM will pick up anything as she/he will know you and your baby so well, they can pick up the slightest shift. so unless you live in whoop whoop 100s of kms from nowhere, i reckon you are AOK .
I loved being at home and pottering in the garden and reading stories to DD1 when i was in labour with M...no need to think about when to leave...
Danni: hi and welcome! your IM can take care of most things Post Partum, including stitches. they come well prepared with all the suturing stuff etc. etc. You will most likely find that there are no shared care arrangements between IMs and OBs. some women have chosen to start their care with an OB or hossy and then switch over after a certain point (depending on their reasons for starting out with an OB...ie keeping some costs down...like scans, pathology etc). but then again, some IMs might not be able to take a person on if left to later in the pregnancy as they are popular people, and much like a private OB do book out quite quick in some areas. Just food for thought: you can still have all pathology (ie BTs) done when HB, as well as scans etc and Strep B etc etc when planning a HB.
Last edited by Cassius2; November 16th, 2011 at 02:40 PM.
Just popping in to see if there is any word from Eutra. Hope your body is opening up and your bub will be here soon (if it's not already!)
I have been going to the local pool and walking laps of the pool with my DD. AFterwards i find that my tummy baby is vey peaceful and relaxed. Does anyone else find this? Hopefully, i can get to the pool when DH is home so i can do some swimming too.
Bub was lying sidewards, then i think went bum down and now i think he/she has done a 180 and is head down again. I see my midwife this week (unless she is busy with Eutra ) and will see what position she thinks bub is in.
I have started getting some of my personal things ready in a bag, and choosing bub's first outfits/blankets etc. I am questioning where to put the birth pool (again). ATM, the idea is to have it in the kitchen (very practical- close to water, outside door for draining, not carpetted) but the lounge/kitchen are kinda open plan and near the front door if anyone was to 'drop by' (not likely but you never know). I have thought about getting a screen or room divider to have around the pool which would give it a more enclosed feel.
My most recent plan is to have the pool in the study (which is basically a small empty room atm except for one desk). This would allow the support people to chill on the couch, use the kitchen etc and not have me right there. It would be more private for me, and i could set it up earlier (cos it's not in use day to day). Disadvantages are water would have to be transported or hosed through the window, waste water out the window might need to be pumped out (rather than gravity), the floor is carpet. And this room is closer to DD's bedroom.
What do you think? How did you decide where to set up?
Registered User
DH is on leave now so we went out for a fancy lunch today which was nice. The downward pressure on my pelvis/cervix is so, so strong today - walking, sitting, standing is so uncomfortable it's making me nauseous...I hope that's a sign that baby is really close...I've had a few contractions on and off today but they just drop off after an hour or so. I have our next midwife appointment on Thursday afternoon and am tempted to ask if she would consider doing a cervical exam...I have a feeling she'll talk me out of it but it can't hurt to ask right?
Glad you enjoyed your fancy lunch. I deliberately planned some fun things in the couple weeks after 40 weeks pregnancy with my DD so i had things to look forward to, and if i missed them i figured i would be ok about it cos i would have baby. Planning our fav restaurant again this time!
Glad Cass said above that anyone can pop in
I've got some questions about home birth, I mainly would like to know how you got over any fear of anything going wrong (if you had any)? both dh and I were pretty keen on a home birth for ds but ended up at the private hospital as it had such a fantastic reputation. I had a beautiful 100% natural waterbirth and our stay at the hospital was also fantastic. The whole experience was fantastic and in hindsight we are glad we went to the hospital for our 1st birth as the care from the midwives was fantastic. But now we know what we are doing with breastfeeding etc and the birth was so quick and dare I say it easy I think we would ok at home for #2 yet there is still that fear in the back of my head of a 'what if' something did go wrong
That would possibly make me less relaxed and things may not go as smoothly as the first time. I've thought about home birth stacks since ds was born and even more so now that I'm thinking of lowering our health insurance because I don't know if #2 is ever going to happen... So why am I even asking about a home birth
OK so maybe I'm just thinking out loud so that I'd be comfortable with the home birth idea if #2 does happen and I've dropped the health insurance. Other things I have considered are that I would really want ds involved, where he was born they wouldn't have a problem with it or with him staying with us at the hospital either but at home he would be so much more relaxed and in to it iykwim. Thanks for any advice
) and will see what position she thinks bub is in.
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