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Ash and Tegam, I'll add you to my list now. Ash, I used to live in Kingscliff and then Coffs. Many moons ago. I well remember being flooded in! Sounds like it should clear soon. Fx.
Thanks Bella. :hug: I grew up in Tsvlle and come up to visit my best friend every now and then. So maybe one day we can meet IRL too.
I live on the sunshine coast now Jen. Had mima in t'ville whilst we were there for about 12 months.
Ah well that's even easier then, Bella! My family all live in Brisbane so I'm up there every few months. And we holidayed last year on the Sunshine Coast (although Jan 2011 didn't turn out to be the best timing and has literally dampened our enthusiasm to do it again!).
Much better spot than Tville IMHO though!
Ahh... finally had the chance to watch your video again Cassius. Just beautiful!!
Looking forward to seeing your beautiful birth Bella! And I'd love to see your photo too Jennifer :D
How cool Jen!!! I am not one to mix fb and BB much, certainly not with just everyone, but perhaps we should be fb buddies so we can keep in touch a bit better. I would live to meet u irl. I know u don't like to mix BB and fb much either so if u don't want I won't be offended :)
Meow I just can't wait to share! But I want the link to go to my videographers site rather than to the private YouTube place where I can see it. That way she gets credit :).
Mind u louloubelle, if it takes too long I will send u the link before you have your baby just so u can see it before u birth :) You too Ash :)
Beautiful photo, Jen xx It really captures the euphoria of the moment. I have a sequence of 3 photos that I love from my first homebirth that capture the moment beautifully. I might put them up, but I have to censor the bottom half first :lol: I really like Kingscliff, it's not too far from us.
Hi Tegam! How are you? I have read a couple of your posts in various threads - sounds like you are considering number 5. Very exciting! My MW asked me if this was my last baby, and I struggled to say a definitive 'yes', so I just said 'I think so'.
All is well with me. The rain has eased a bit now, so I am hoping that my MW will be able to get to our appt. on Wed. She is bringing the birth pool - we were supposed to get it from her last week. I will feel more relaxed when it is here.
Have a great day everyone!
DD1 is the youngest HBing advocate I know. On the weekend she asks my visiting pg sister if she's having her baby at home and sister says no, she's going to the hospital. DD1 asks, "Why? Is there a problem?" lol
My sister tells her because it's her first baby she's a bit scared. I tell them there's nothing to be scared of, etc, and that actually this was my first labour and birth too (and I had the c/s thing hanging over my head), and it went just fine. I love that DD1 believes birth is a normal, natural process and not something to be scared about.
My health fund has pg members and new mothers followed up by phone by a m/w. I was called by one today who asked how the birth went and how we were going. She was delighted when I told her we'd had a great home birth. She told me she trained in the UK where HB was much more accepted. Apparently I made her day with such a great birth story and she wishes she heard more like that.
I'm quite chuffed to be flying the HB flag! I love talking about it. Ppl will be sick of me soon. ;)
Good on you Jen! I agree, it does feel good. I love your new avi too.
Your DD is so sweet. I love how homebirth is just a normal thing to her. My poor DD, 7yrs, asked why she was born in hospital! She knows DS1 was born in the loungeroom and DS2 in the bedroom- that is normal to her. I love that the arrival of her siblings has always been part of an ordinary day. Just a natural, normal event.I am so happy that I have never had to leave my older child/ren in order to go somewhere else to give birth to their new sibling.
My MW came over today - the rain has eased. Apparently, it may ramp up again later in the week, so she thought it best to come today. She told me that she can still get here if there are road closures while I am in labour, but she would have to go via a longer route. The back-up MW (who was at all my other births) was here too. It was such a lovely appt. :) We lounged around on my bed while my kids played Lego in the loungeroom- for 2.5 hours! They left their birth bags, oxygen and birth pool here! Yay! It's getting exciting. I just need to pick up my synto and I will be ready to roll!
Bella, I would love to see your birth vid before I have my bub. And I would like to show it to my DD.
I'm sending my birth footage to my sister to edit (she's a professional). We watched it all on the weekend. I think I'll ask her to use some of my photos as well, since the lighting isn't great for some of the video footage. And after watching it - I really wasn't as noisy as I thought I was. I wonder why my throat was so sore the next day!
Jen I'd love to see your photo if that's possible!
Cassius - what a beautiful montage!! Pure joy :)
*Ash* - hope that rain stays away later in the week!! Glad you finally got to see your m/w's! Sounds like everything is just about ready to go! :)
DH is still editing my photos but once he's done I'll post here :) Today was his first day back at work which was pretty tough going on me - first day alone as a mama! I haven't prepared a meal since mid October! The lovely man made his lunch last night, but made extra to leave in the fridge for me :)
Hi girls!
Jen: i just love that photo :hug: the pure joy is just amazing xx
Ash: oh man! so so so sooo close now!!
Hi guys, haven't ventured in here for a while! Congrats to all the lovely ladies who had their babies :)
Have a question though, and thought it would be best answered by you guys - I was discussing home birth with a friend of mine who is a student midwife, and we were talking hypothetically about me having one (haha) and she said I would never get a midwife to support me because I've had bleeds after DD2 and DD3 - and because it would be my 5th pregnancy that its too risky, and I'd more than likely have a big bleed and never reach the hospital on time (ie, I'd die....)
Soooo... is that all true? Are you more at risk to bleed more each time?
Yes u are more at risk with each pregnancy, but then again what kind of management did you require with the last births? My sister had small pph's with b2 and b3 and for her fourth we made sure she had synto and there were a few liters of fluids on hand for her. Yes she had another bleed, but it was well managed at home and she was fine.... I guess it all depends on what u have needed in the past as to whether there are further things you could do at home practically. Also on how far from hospital u were and what midwives were around...
Ahh ok thanks :) DD2 I can't remember how much I bled, not sure if its in my birth notes I would have to take a look. DD3 was 850ml (or 800? I'd have to read my birth story again!). Both were managed with, well Synto i guess, they gave me a needle and I stopped gushing straight away. I didn't need any transfusions, or other fluids, and went home from the birth centre a few hours after each birth.
All purely hypothetical you know... of course...
ETA - just checked it was 800ml with DD3.
I lost about 250 mL, but I believe that's minimal? I know there are things you can do beforehand to minimise blood loss. and they can certainly check your iron levels (apparently that's an indication of whether you'll bleed, or there'll be an issue if you do?).
Eutra - added you to my list, hun.
There was an article recently in Birth Matters on things that one woman and her midwife did during pregnancy to reduce pph. if you pm me your e-mail, i can send you a copy.
Hi MNB, I discussed this issue with my MW recently. I have never had a PPH but I had also heard the the risk increased with each bub. My MW said that was not necessarily true. Also, she told me it is important to maintain adequate ferritin level (iron stores) and zinc levels in order to reduce the risk of PPH. I read a great article about zinc recently- it is very important to maintain good zinc levels during preg.
However, I think you should get the opinion of homebirth MW's in your area. Some may regard you as high risk, others may not. And as Bella said there are steps that can be taken to mitigate any risk.
ETA- the article that HotI refers to is a good source of info too. Thanks HotI :)
Hi Mel.....number five hey....im not going again either ;)
One of the many f%^k ups of my pregnancy with Molly Number 4 was the bull about me being ....almost number 5..... not five but almost number five so my chance of PPH were huge......
I have never had a bleed after a baby but it was just another thing they used against me...
So if i went again i can just imagine the $hit id be given for it being number five...... HOWEVER ......IF........ we go again i will NOT be stepping foot near a hospital so luckly i will not be there for said lecture :) If i cant find a MW to HB with i WILL freebirth....
Hugs to everyone with the sad sad news from melbourne. I hope it wasnt anyones MW (only so they arent devisitated at the events...whatever they were) Sadly again it was probably something like a stroke that nothing could have been done but the media will use it as a cause to blame HB MWs AGAIN :( All very sad
There is an iron level cut off here in NZ for home birth because you are more likely to have a pph if you have low iron.
When are you due?? Hypothetically of course...
Hot - my email is ms.mellie77@gmail.com, I'd love to read it, thanks heaps.
Tegam - so you had a hard time finding a midwife to do number 5? You're in Brisbane yeah?
Arte - pmsl, no hypothetical due date. But we are in discussions - I just wanted to know my options.... No trusty independent birth centre here in Brisbane!
Thanks all for the info re:iron levels, mine were quite low during my last pregnancy so maybe that's why I lost a bit? I was on iron supplements though so I dunno...
Regarding iron supplements, some are ineffective at raising ferritin (iron stores). You need a high potency chelated iron supplement. There is a great one made by Metagenics. It is practitioner only, so you have to buy it from a Naturopath. Some health food shops that employ naturopaths will sell it over the counter. My ferritin levels were really low at 30 weeks. I started on the Metagenics tabs immediately, and by 36 weeks my ferritin levels had quadrupled. My haemoglobin levels had also increased. MNB, do you know what your platelet levels were like? It is also important to have good platelet levels to reduce the risk of PPH.
I have no idea Ash. I know they were low but not sure what the actual number was - don't think I was ever told?
Mel: yes I struggled for when I was due and my speedy labours. **** that for a joke in the end but hey u never know what number five could bring.
Really five? Kind of feel nuts suggesting it but I am not done and I love my family :)
Why? Do only crazy people have five (or more!) children? ;):
DH and I believe that children are a great blessing from God, so that's a big part of the reason why we have so many. But aside from that, I think if the pioneer women in the 1600's could begin their families at 15, and raise 10 or 12 or more children in a one room cabin in the woods, with no running water, no disposable diapers, no washing machine, no grocery store, no clothing store, no sewing machine, no laundry soap, no central heat/cooling, etc., etc. and survive it, then surely I, with all the conveniences I have, can handle 5, or 6, or however many we end up being blessed with! (And I know that some of those women were probably unhappy, but there are also records of many happy families!)
Of course, I don't mean that everyone has to think the same way that DH and I do, but I wonder sometimes why people think that 2 or 3 is all they should really have, because any more than that is just unmanageable. We as a human race have never had it so easy!
Anyways, that's just my two cents on that. Feel free to take it or leave it. :)
PPH - It was never mentioned when I had #5 at home, but I did have a synto injection, which I was fine with. Haven't had any issues with PPH so far. My midwives always bring synto to their births, as well as IV fluids, just in case.
Ash - you're getting so close! So exciting! :)
Hope everyone else is doing well!
I love the way you look at it Cricket - DH has basically said that if I want it, I can have another one, however, I'm not clucky at all - yet I don't feel my family is complete either? Its very strange. I'm not the biggest fan of newborns (and I admit it!) they are cute, squishy and everything, but they frustrate me cos I never know what they want. I'm a toddler/kid person I think. When I start having an idea of what they need, I don't feel so useless so perhaps thats why I'm not clucky? I don't know. So confused.
As for PPH - does it matter if it was before or after the placenta was birthed? Both of mine happened after my placenta had come out. (apparently - DH told me!)
Thanks for thinking of me Cassius and Cricket - I am starting to feel very excited. I'm not sure when this little one will arrive. My first child came at 37 weeks, second at 40 +4, and third on the EDD. I do have a slight inkling that this one will come just before the EDD (ha! famous last words), but I am not phased. I am aware that my preg journey is nearly over, and that is a little sad. This is probably our last baby. Yep, we are stopping at number 4 too ;)
Probably....? Hehe Ash, I said that DD3 was definitely my last.... and now we are contemplating another one. Probably never happen though...
But all the best for your upcoming birth! How exciting!
Thanks MNB :) when I was preg with my 3rd child I told a few people that he was our last bub. By the third tri, I knew I wanted to have another bub. So now I just say this is 'probably' my last birth or 'probably' my last bub. The logical part of my brain tells me that this should be it but I don't feel 'done'. I am kind of hoping that I feel 'done' after this bub. But I may just be one of those women who has to grieve the end of her child-bearing years. I sort of envy women who know that they are 'done'. It would be reassuring to feel that way. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that I would have 4 kids- 3 seemed radical! Up until my mid-20's, I wasn't having any kids! DH and I never said 'lets have a big family'. I just assumed I would only have 2 kids- like my own mum. But during my preg with #2, I knew that I wanted another.
Interestingly, DH told me years ago (when we were newly 'dating') that he wanted a large family -4 or 5 kids. I remember thinking 'this guy has got to be joking' :lol: While ttc this bub, I told myself that he/she would be the last one. But now I'm not so sure. DH and I haven't really discussed it, but he knows about my frequent use of the term 'probably' - and he hasn't commented negatively. I have also had a few friends and relatives say that they can easily imagine us having more kids. That probably isn't helping at the moment :lol: Maybe I need them to tell me we are mad!
I was speaking to a close friend- who stopped at 3, despite considering 4. She reminded me that, of course I will be clucky in the first year, and particularly after the birth. I don't intend to decide straight away anyway. I wouldn't be ttc for 2 or 2.5 years anyway.
But now is the time for me to focus on this little bub, whom I can't wait to meet.
Oh that's me too! I think we'll 90% try for another. I'm feeling swept up in "just being a mumma" and I want to keep going and going now. I finally understand the mother of close friends of ours who had 9 babies! I'm getting too old for a big brood now, I think a #3 would be our last.:
I am thinking of you all the time Ash... your little water baby's rainy arrival is in my mind often. If your gorgeous one arrives soon please know I'm dreaming of a blissful birth for you xx
Looking forward to your impending baby MNB ;)
number five hey! I understand that feeling of not being done. although I can't imaging going for number 4, I really don't feel like this is the last. DH is pretty adamant it is though.
yay ash, so close now! I'm so excited for you.
afm, picked up my pool, super exciting. I've been pretty crampy the last few days but hoping its nothing. I have to wait a couple more days until I'm 37 weeks so I can hb! we are moving on the 15th and I have a friend flying over for a week on the 23rd to hopefully be my birth support, so although I'm desperate to meet this baby, I really don't want it to come until then. also, I just don't quite feel emotionally ready to birth yet. maybe I never will though.
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oh man, i hope that i will be able to know when i am done too ash lol! i reckon i am going to be someone that has to grieve the end of the baby days...and then become an overbearing grandma :ROFL:
oh and Jen, love to see you pictures. can you add me to contacts?
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Oh me too! The woman I know who had 9 babies still grieved she was done (had an emergency hysterectomy with the 9th) and started hassling the older kids for grandchildren :lol::
Loulabelle you are so close too! I wonder who will be first. This HBing thing is getting busy!! :D
Aaaww, thanks so much meow. :hug: Your kind and supportive words mean a lot to me. As I type, it is raining again! Like you, I am loving being a mumma. I am very excited to hear that you are most likely going to have another bub. Yay! And we get to do names again :):
Hi loulabelle, you are in my thoughts. I hope your bub arrives while your friend is visiting. I am not feeling quite ready yet either. I'll feel better when the synto is in my fridge tomorrow! My DH purchased the hose today, so the birth pool is organised.
I am organised practically, ie. I have all my labour and baby 'stuff' organised. But I haven't had much of a chance to cocoon and retreat in to myself. My son starts school tomorrow, and I have been quite teary about that. My DH starts his leave in a week, so I would like to have a couple of days with him before the birth. This will be my first experience of mothering a newborn while having older children at school. When DS2 was born, none of my kids were at school.
Eutra - How are you going now that DH has been back at work for a few days? It is lovely that he was able to have such a lengthy time at home with you and bub. My DH always takes 6 weeks off with each bub. He saves up his annual leave from the moment we know I am pregnant. Also, he is entitled to a week of paid paternity leave. He usually takes a week or two of unpaid leave (to bring it up to 6 weeks), but I think it is worth it to have him home for those early weeks.
Ash, how funny is it that your bub will be welcomed with so much water around and he/she will be an Aquarian! Is your m/w still able to get to you okay? And I'd think your feelings about bub's arrival are probably accurate. I'm still blown away that I was right about the date I went into labour. My m/w seems to think mums do have an instinct about it.
I would happily give birth to and care for a few more babies, but with working and juggling the children aspect, there's no chance! We have possible time for one more, but it's unlikely. Ask me in about four years. ;) Although we aren't doing anything permanent and we'll be relying a little on timing for contraception, since neither of us are keen for me to take/use anything. And given our ease of conception, I guess it's partly in the hands of nature.
Loulabelle - what do you have left to do to get ready?
I'll do it as soon as I'm on my laptop and not the iPad.:
Thinking of you every day ash! Im so happy you get an extended baby moon!
Sending birth blessings and love to all of you entering your birthing space. Go inward. Breathe deeply. Holding the space here for you.
oh it is time for birth blessings :loveshower:
Ash, you are so close to meeting your water babe...I am sending you peaceful, supportive and loving birth blessings for your newest arrival xx
Loulabelle: I reckon there will be a time when you will feel ready to meet them. It may happen at a point during labour; keep open to the moment, don't ignore or shut out the fear, embrace it all and it will come :hug:
Not long girls!! eeepp! i am so excited for you all!
Are you 37 weeks yet Loulabelle??? Thinking of you lots too!! I remember waiting for that 37 week mark. I felt really sure baby#2 was coming early (he came at 41 weeks :lol:) so I discussed HBing before 37 weeks. My primary MW was like "Nup- anything before 37 weeks we're off to the hospital". My secondary MW thought anything from 36 weeks sounded fairly reasonable so I decided I was staying home after the 36 week mark :lol:
I just watched Tori Spelling's 3rd birth on TV last night...
*Warning possible triggers*
Ugh! Why do I do that to myself. 3rd elective c-sect (I don't know why she has only had c-sections). She kept saying she was having really strong contractions for weeks before hand... they are called braxton hicks!!! Then she went into labour early- so they rushed off for the c-section. Poor baby was taken over to a bench and suctioned (roughly with no gentle insertion of the mouth piece and no soothing hands to comfort. Was left lying there arms out, naked while dad was videoing and they fussed over trimming the cut cord and whatever THEN finally fully wrapped and placed cheek to cheek with mumma. God, they could do c-sections with SO much more love and respect for the mother/baby bond :(
Then they showed baby's first bath- a midwife abruptly lifted baby up while she was sleeping peacfully! Roughly washed the tiny newborn then poured J&J baby oil and lathered it all over the newborn scalp.
All in all a painful experience to watch. And I wonder what huge amount of money they paid for such crap, uneducated care. Homebirth rocks!
Thank you Cassius and Arcadia for your beautiful blessings. :hug: It means a lot to know that people are thinking of me and my impending labour.
Oh meow, that sounds horrendous. I'm glad I haven't seen it. In stark contrast, I watched a beautiful home waterbirth last night of a birthing goddess, and I was crying tears of joy.
I had planned a HB for my first child, but my membranes ruptured at 36+4 and I immediately thought 'there goes my HB', but my MW's were happy to take a wait and see approach. Unfortunaltely, I ended up in hospital anyway - 3 days later- because labour had not commenced. I know my current HB MW was saying 37 weeks, but I wonder if there would have been some flexibility from her too if it was a little bit earlier.
Jen - currently there are no road closures affecting my MW ability to drive to my place via the most direct route. If there are when I am in labour, she said that she can take a longer route (20-30 min extra driving time). The back-up MW only lives 10 mins away, so she will arrive first anyway. I know that my feelings about my DS2's arrival (and length of labour) were spot on, so I am wondering whether my instincts are correct this time too.