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My student midwife came to visit today. Was lovely to just chat about the birth, and the different things that we remembered and saw. She had written notes during the birth and we photocopied them. It was good to see a bit of a timeline.
I have been thinking of how to write my birth story and what to include. I don't want to write anything that could potentially get anybody in trouble, but find it sad that i feel i have to censor my birth story due to the current political climate.
It sounds like you don't want to censor it - so don't. It will be special and wonderful for you to have a 'true' record of your birth to read back on in years to come. if you want to use a more censored version for other people to read, then consider that. But I don't think you should feel that you have to 'hide' some of the realities of your birth if you don't want to. I know I can safely say that all of us in this thread are proud of you.
I always enjoyed talking about my homebirths with my MW's in the days and weeks afterwards. I still like talking about them :)
Thanks *Ash*
I just ordered a few things for presents for my midwife and student midwife! I got a funky tote bag that has a pregnant woman pic on one side, and on the other it says 'we have a secret in our culture, and it's not that birth is painful. it's that women are strong.' for my midwife. Got an ina may gaskin book for my student. and ordered a 'born at home' t shirt for DS. so excited! i think i will get a photo of ds wearing the t shirt and give them a copy too.
still have to get a plant to plant on top of my placenta. thinking of a fruit tree. are there any trees that don't like placenta goodness?
HotI with the placenta, it is good to plant it in the pot for a while before you put in the tree, so it can break down a bit and start fertilizing the soil. It's also less likely to burn the roots that way.
I looked up a tee that corresponds to the month each of my kids were born, so dd has an apple tree and ds a hazelnut tree. It is actually a really great match for their personalities too (I also associate ds with green, hazel colours, while dd's favorite colour is red).
We're getting a Wollemi Pine, based on recommendation that it will do okay in a pot for quite some time. Also, it was first released for commercial sale the year DD1 was born, so it's a nice link between the two girls.
Thanks for the advice on waiting too, Arcadia. Makes me feel better for not having organised it yet!
Arcadia, that makes sense. we do the same with chook poo (let it break down before adding to plants).
I am almost too embarrassed to admit it but....I have 3 placentas in my freezer. :) One has been there for nearly 8 years. We have a big freezer.
We thought we would be moving not long after my DD was born, so DH suggested we just hang on to it until we moved.....we never moved. And then we added two more placentas to the 'collection'.
That's funny Ash! Soon there'll be one more.
I'd get my m/w to make placenta pills if there is ever a next time. She steams it, dries it and grinds it before putting it in capsules. Gotta be better than my postnatal vitamins.
Ash I had dd's still in the freezer, so we bought matching pots and had a placenta planting ceremony for both of them. Then when we actually planted the tree, i wrote messages on fabric and tied them onto the branches, so the messages will forever reach upward.
Jen that's so lovely...I hope to get a peek at the story in the mag!
Loulabelle, I hope you're feeling good! I think you're gonna have a baby soon :dance:
ash- I love it! that's one good collection.
I'm going to do placental encapsulation with half and then I think ill plant the other half under a special rose bush in a pot so I can take it back to Melbourne when we move home and plant it in my rose garden. I'm disappointed that I was never told you keep the placenta with my last two.
on another note,I had forgotten about this constant urge to pee that comes with late pregnancy. I'm going every half an hour.had to pull over twice on the 45 min drive to Ds ot appointment today.
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HotI, I can see your birth story written in ancient calligraphy, decorated like the Book of Kells, on parchment, locked inside a jewelled box. The sacred pleasure you get from opening the box and re-visiting the memories, and the awe on your children's faces when you give them permission to open it and read. And how the written words are a tangible symbol of the heritage you've written on their hearts.
Write from the depths of your soul, your heart-song. It's so precious! Maybe the everyday internet isn't the place to publish it, but there will be other sacred places that will respect your story and keep it safe.
I should get my DH to read this thread. He is so grossed out by the placenta! With our first homebirth, the midwives took it and had it incinerated at the hospital for us. (That was fine with me!). With the second, we put it in a container in the freezer, and had to wait until the ground thawed to bury it. DH nearly gagged every time he opened the freezer, and he was constantly worried that the container of frozen fruit (or whatever) that I took out would turn out to be placenta.... Poor guy. :) I have no idea what exactly the issue is, but I can tell you, there will be no placenta ceremonies here!
I should send you some Placenta Bliss herbs, Cricket! :lol:
our placentas are buried in various gardens around the world. But now that we are home in Australia, we've got one in the freezer awaiting its fruit tree. I'll take note of the tip to let it break down a bit first.
I really wanted to have some for placentophage but by the time I thought of it, my dh said it had been too long in the fridge - bummer.
I was having a chat to my next door neighbour today, who we don't really speak with often. They are pretty old and don't come outside much. Anyway she was telling me how on the day Madeleine was born, that she could hear me labouring and began to time my contractions. She told me how they were about 5 mins apart at 2pm and then spaced out a bit for awhile, and how she wasn't sure if she should check on me cos she didn't think anyone else was at the house. But she didn't want to interfere so they didn't. Ahh the stories that only hb mums have I suppose :) Pretty funny. I guess I was pretty loud :)
That's so funny, Bella! The neighbors nearest to where I was labouring were on holidays. I saw the lady from the other side and she was surprised I'd had the baby at home and hadn't heard a thing! But it was the middle of the night too.
Too funny Bella! My neighbours didn't hear anything, even when i was outside putting clothes on the line in between contractions. When DH told them bub was born, they asked where he was born (i.e. which hospital), DH replied, nah in the kitchen.
Lol Bella. We had new neighbors at the time of DDs birth so when I apologized if I made too much noise. They said no and that they didn't think anybody even lived here, I guess I wasn't as noisy as I thought..
Had a scare Friday morning with some bleeding so spent the day in hospital (on my birthday) hopefully that's the only time I have to ever go again! But got the all clear but just been told to take it easy. Obviously easier said than done with a one year old!
Oh em! How scary and what a boring bday :(. Glad to hear u and bubba are ok.