Continuing on from here https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ml#post3064668
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Continuing on from here https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ml#post3064668
:baby: Babies Arrived :homebirth:
Jennifer13- Baby GIRL born at home 4th January
Bella29- Baby GIRL born at home 10th January
HotI - Baby BOY born at home 21st January
*Ash*- Baby BOY born at home 14th February
loulabelle - Baby BOY born at home 24th February
Cricket - Baby GIRL born at home 15th May
:pregnant: Babies On Their Way :bellyrubs:
...Em - May
chocorama - May
BellyBelly - August
phynna - August
Ambersky - September
lady_neon - September
Cassius - November
pumpkinzulu - December
:angel: Mums of Babies Who Left Too Soon :angel:
ladybirdflies
We're chatting up a storm - great to see so many HB mummas!
yay new thread!
ladyneon if you're around, I went through community midwifery program too and am happy to answer and questions. the care was fantastic.
all is well here. Joshua was weighed today and has put on 190g from his birth weight. he's so lovely! I could talk about him all day.
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Jen: I am also thinking about picking up an Ina May book while i am here. I miss my kitzinger book though (back at home!!!). so was thinking of getting the sarah buckley one to be my reading choice while we are travelling.
loulabelle: *mwah* he is going great guns with the feeding! how are the big kids going with the new arrival?
AFM: all good here. I have contacted my midwife back home and am on the books :dance: so exciting! so nice that i get to be with her again and not have to find someone. I dont have insurance to cover maternity here in the US though. soooo cross right now. it would be cheaper for me to fly back to Oz and have the scan done, but i want DH there so i will suck it up and spend a fortune to have them done here. i couldnt imagine doing it without him, especially if the news wasnt good IYKWIM.
What??! The scans must cost a bomb! We don't have maternity cover either... my H has to get a new job with maternity cover health insurance if we decide to have a baby here :lol:
Ina May was doing a talk in seattle when we first arrived... I was too swamped to go!!!! But maybe you'll be in luck and get to see her or some birthy types while you're in the US! I follow some local midwifery practices on FB for the local HB gossip ;)
Yay for the newborn love Loulabelle :heartbeat:
Yay new thread!
Joshua sounds divine loulabelle...feeling clucky just thinking of him! He sounds like a great feeder too.
Cas, that is insane! I hope you can save the money for the scans! I really liked the Sarah Buckley book, but it is pretty intense. For eg she's a bit anti ultrasound and even dopplers...her writing is very engaging though.
Thinking of all the pg mamas...hope you're all feeling well.
Hi everyone, I stuck my head in late last year, and sadly ended in miscarriage. But here I am again, almost 9 weeks pregnant, due in October (hot1 can you update me please!) I have not really wanted to ring the Dr or midwives yet, I have really for the first time ever not wanted to tell anyone about the baby, I keep waiting for it to change and slowly slowly something is starting to shift. We told the big sisters on the weekend and their joy filled me with much hope. I have contacted the homebirth midwife and she was very supportive, booked me in for the month I needed but said call back when I am 'ready' to start seeing her.
I guess by coming in here to say hello again, I am taking another step in believing that things will be different this time. I have certainly learnt alot about myself over the last few months, and I had an experience of miscarriage that was quite beautiful in it's own way. With my family at home, no intervention, so blessed really!
Hope you are all keeping well, I will come back and catch up on the threads later today....
x
cass- are you for real?! I knew the system over there was bad but never realised it was THAT bad! but, you're right, its important for DH to very around for the scans. I'm so happy you've managed to get the same mw again. oh its just so exciting! I'm still so thrilled for you.
ladybird- I'm so sorry you lost your precious baby. I had wondered where how you were going. I'm glad through it all thee was beauty.xxx congratulations on your pregnancy, I'm looking forward to being a part of this journey with you.
afm- gush, I'm still in newborn bliss, all these happy hormones. I want to do it again! let just hope DH will agree! the other day he made a comment about getting the snip! I just don't feel done though.
my others are so into him that its actually causing fights! both always want to have cuddles. they are being a bit more sensitive than usual though. I guess its more about not having me as available. dd has regressd a little with her toilet training and sleep and is pretending to be a baby quite a bit. poor poppet, I'm trying my best to give them as much love and reassurance as possible. I think its one of those things that just takes time though.
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Welcome back, ladybirdflies, I hope this new baby is here to stay. :hug: And that your little baby lost was able to say goodbye at home too.
Loulabelle - ah no, not the snip! It's the only thing keeping me hopeful, that even though DP says no more, he refuses to do anything permanent. :hug: Although I give you it's hard to think straight when you're drinking in that newborn goodness. I cannot possibly think of not having another baby when I'm giving my angel kisses on her squidgy little face! Still in love here too.
Cassius - OMG on the scans! When will you come back home? I bought the books online and ironically two of them are coming from the US. They were so cheap, the postage was way more than the cost of the books and even then it was still cheap! So maybe worthwhile getting yourself a copy even if you don't bring it back. ;) PM me if you'd like the details.
I have been stalking here with interest just wanted to say the best price I got on the books mentioned above was either UK Amazon or Book Depository with free postage.
I have about 20 books in my 'lending library' now and I think I have spent less than $200 on them all.
I haven't HBd but I did want to and hope to with the next, if and when it should come along, anyway, Ill go back to stalking now ;)
Oooo dragoncookie, we'd love to have you join us for real so you can stop stalking! ;)
Book Depository was good for me too, until they didn't have a couple of the books I wanted. I suspect a couple are out of print, so I needed to find secondhand copies, which AbeBooks finds for you.
I don't really intend for it to be any time soon, unfortunately.
That said, we haven't exactly been responsible at all in the last five months and given AF returned 5w PP with DS we should have been more careful!
Anyway, what will be, will be ;)
I would guess most of you will be finished having babies by the time we are aiming to wait until the next (6-8years :( )
I'm guessing that's because some of us are a little more *cough* further down the road in our reproductive years than you are, dragoncookie!
I would like to wait at least another three or four years again. So before I'm hitting another age milestone!
I'll hopefully be onto my 3rd or so by then DC, so I'll be there having babies with you :hug:
I was wondering, anyone else here who transferred? I know there's MadB, is that all? Can I ask those who did end up transferring, how you felt about it? Mostly, I feel good. I feel good because it was a successful Homebirth, in the way that the system of transferring if needed worked like it should have, everyone was happy, healthy and safe, the birth was great etc. so I feel good about that. And I feel good, no, great, about DD's birth. It really solidified for me that homebirth really is a philosophy, not just a venue. But, I do still feel little pangs of sorrow on not having the wonderful birth I did *at home*. Does anyone else feel this way or am I being ungrateful? When my waters broke there was meconium. It wasn't super dark, more tinged, and DD was strong and fine throughout labour. She was suctioned a few minutes after she was born, as they called in a paed just before I delivered and she had a bit of a crackly chest. I just can't help wondering whether it was really 100% necessary or not. About an hour after DD was born she did a big sticky mec poo all over DH, so she didn't poo heaps in me. She also had all the signs of an overdue baby, despite being born at 40+1, so I wonder whether that plays into it. Just something that keeps playing over in my head I guess. I'm glad that I got the natural, empowering birth I had hoped for, regardless of where I was, and that my support team were integral in helping me achieve that. I do know I am VERY much looking forward to a homebirth at home next time!
PZ, from what you've described, my m/w would not have transferred you under those circumstances. She would have kept a careful eye on the baby post birth and maybe the crackly chest would have called for a post natal transfer to get her checked out, but not for the birth itself. I discussed in quite some detail under what circumstances we would transfer, and light meconium with everything else fine (baby's heartrate, my coping, etc) would not have meant a transfer.
Did you discuss it with your m/w before the birth (I mean, obviously you did, but in how much detail)? The m/ws I know through our group mostly seem to have the attitude that they transfer when the mother wants to, so make sure she's fully informed before making her decision. They might recommend it if they thought there was very good reason, but only in extreme circumstances would they push for it.
But you're right about the philosophy being the thing, not the venue. Which is absolutely why you had an empowered birth!
Now I must finish off this work doc I'm supposed to be doing right now! Too distracted by BB...
Jennifer, I had a feeling that might have been the case for other midwives. Unfortunately, being part of the hospitals homebirth program trial, there was no wriggle room on things like meconium. I am very conscious about not being a woman that cries "had too". I've always stressed that I made the decision to transfer, I'm not about to chalk it up to being 100% I had no choice. But I was alone when my waters broke and when I saw they were tinged with green...well, I wasn't going to force the midwives to assist me when they would not have been comfortable and breaking the 'rules'. I honestly thought the suctioning of DD's lungs was not necessary, and it was just a policy that was being fulfilled. After the birth, I mentioned I had a slightly sore chest. Seeing as I have E cup boobs and laboured with all my weight over a fit ball, I figured that was why. An OB took my bloods, have me two ekg's and told me I'd be having a blood transfusion. I refused because I was fine. I think, although the program was excellent, that a lot of 'policy' still remained and that was its major failing. I know I will definitely be going with a private midwife next time. Sometimes I do wonder what would have happened if I had put my foot down and said I was not transferring, or not even mentioned my waters, as I had no interventions for it or anything else during the birth anyway. But it's no good playing 'what-ifs'. It is what it is. A wonderful birth, and hopefully next time I'll be able to do it all in the comfort of my own home.
PZ you're the reason so many of us can espouse home birth as low risk, because you were responsible and transferred as a safety measure when things weren't 100% perfect. Tbh I might have done the same with my first baby.
As it was, I did go into hospital for monitoring with dd before coming home. I wish I could erase that experience because it was ****ed. It was nearly midnight on Christmas night and I was being bullied into an induction and was forced to stay hooked up to the ctg for three hours! But I'm also glad I did it, because it meant I felt safe to birth at home in the way I did, 'knowing' all was ok.
Who knows if you would have been secure enough in yourself to achieve a great birth if you were stressed about the mec at home? So many factors come into play in a birth, and I think for you the hospital setting might have been exactly what you needed for dd's birth. Each birth is unique...and we all aim for the best case scenario and plan for the worst....what happens in the end is something in between.
Hi PZ
I was planning a homebirth for my first but ended up transfering. at the time I was pretty gutted and cried all the way to the hospital but I was also exhausted. then when I got home after giving birth my beautiful midwife said 'if we had just done such and such then you would have given birth at home.' she said it in a nice way, but it still opened my eyes because at the time I was a bit naive about birth and my body. I didnt trust enough or even understand enough. but im glad I still got a vaginal birth (with epidural) and my midwife was with me the entire time in hospital and was great in telling me that next time I can definately birth at home again. just because the first time it didnt work out doesnt mean it will be the same with subsequent births.
Ive had 2 successful home/water births since :)
PZ, we transferred. I would have loved a homebirth. I feel like I've missed out on something wonderful. However, the birth with DS1 started at 35+3 and we didnt know his position. Transferring was the right thing to do in that case. We knew our IM'S 'rules' when we signed with her. We agreed with them which is why we were confortable with her. We knew she was more conservative than most IMs about transferring and we were fine with that. Like you, we ended up with an empowered vaginal birth. It wasnt a peaceful water birth in dim lighting, as I would have preferred, but that was the compromise we made to have a vaginal breech birth.
I feel really sad we'll never get our HB now. I hate feeling jealous of friends who have. I should probably stop stalking this thread :) however, I see HB as the gold standard of birth. There are reasons to transfer and following those still means a successful HB. There are reasons for a planned hospital birth. I see hospital as the place for high risk and we are now high risk. Which sucks but that's just life. Within that framework of a planned hospital birth, I feel it's important to emulate as much of what makes HB successful. To that end, I've identified the team that will help me with that, including our IM and an OB who has agreed to shared care. Whilst I'm unlikely to have a waterbirth, as MMC only has one tub (what is with that?), hopefully we can manage everything else to be as close to a gold standard as possible.
IMO, hospitals should be trying to reproduce the homebirth model of care as closely as possible.
for me, i would do anything to avoid transferring because i really do not trust hospitals or hospital staff. and so i selected a highly knowledgeable, experienced IM with a low transfer rate to try to facilitate birthing at home. when baby was not engaged and kept rotating from breech to transverse and down to cephalic position (therefore at greater risk of cord prolapse if i went into labour) the IM pulled out all her tricks and when we got baby into cephalic position again i bound my body up day & night and bounced my little touche for hours hoping he would stay that way.
during the birth, waiting for the placenta to come, i lay on my kitchen floor for hours with my IM next to me and i was so greatful to be doing that at home rather than sitting in a hospital bed.
we all make our decisions with the info that we have at the time, and influenced by our past experiences.
i don't think hospitals will ever get close to producing 'homebirths' no matter how many potplants or cushions they throw around.
I did go into the homebirth program understanding it was still a hospital calling the shots, if that makes sense. But to me, I wanted to be one more good statistic that would help it move on from being a pilot program into something women could actively choose at any time over a hospital birth. Thankfully, because a safe transfer = success, it was noted down as a positive outcome for the program. Even so, the program isn't taking off because not enough women are choosing it.
In hindsight, I do think I should have hired an IM. I was a little too optimistic. But, and this may sound weird, I do feel empowered by the fact that I can own that transfer was probably not 100% necessary. I admit that freely, I would hate to be an apologist for my own transfer, espousing about how I 'had to' and all of that. I was scared at that point. And I think a part of me didn't want to fight so much anymore. I'd refused all routine testing up until that point. When we arrived at the hospital, and awful, totally cliched hospital midwife told me I had to stay on the bed strapped to monitors for the rest of my labour. I gave her one or two contractions so she could hear DD's heartbeat and in strapped myself and went into the bathroom. That was one of the most thrilling and terrifying and powerful moments of my life, telling her no, and realising I had taken absolute control over my outcome and from there onwards, it was on me. If I could have done that when faced with meconium...but, cant change the past. I would love to know so many things; why DD's placenta was so deteriorated, why she was so overlooked at 40+1, why there was mec. I know with my next birth I won't be so optimistic about contributing to the greater good (the HB program).
Thank you all so much for your thoughts here. I do draw inspiration from you all and I can't wait to be posting here again as a homebirthing mother.
We live and learn. i was way too optimistic that i could achieve a natural birth in hospital. should have taken a team of bodyguards with me.
PZ, I had mec tinged waters with my dd and after I had been convinced to have every intervention known to man which ended in a c/s, they told me it was really normal to have mec with babies after 41 weeks because their bowels are developed. It is only a concern if it is a sign of fetal distress. Which it doesn't sound like ur dd was in distress. Midwifethinking , has written an interesting peice on mec stained babies. I am lucky this last time that dd2's water didn't beak till her head was out.
Thanks Bella. I feel...lucky isn't the word, not is grateful, but it's somewhere between those two...that aside from a little gas upon arrival (while I was strapped down on the damn bed!) I had zero interventions. Oh, I requested an internal. Aside from that, once the HB midwife arrived, it was great. Doppler on the belly for a minute every 40 mins or so and that was it. I chose to set up the bathroom with the lights off and birthed DD on my hands and knees in there, with DH and my middie in the room with me. It was peaceful and I wasn't ever told to do anything (or not do anything). I really think I had the best hospital birth I could have hoped for. I feel satisfied with it, just not complete itms.
PZ, there are a few transfer stories in the HB birth stories thread. FWIW I prefer the HB transfer stories to the unplanned HB stories. Funny because they're hospital births right? But it's about knowledge and empowerment... key elements that seem to mostly occur in HB stories.
is it weird that now that i have had an awesome HB that i now am even more concerned about transfer?? i was thinking last night that when i was pg with DD2 that i was more willing to consider transfer as 'one of those necessary things if the time arises', but now, now that i had such a beautiful experience, the thought that this time could end up in hospital is just scary?
AFM: found a HB midwifery group here in LA that will take us (even without...insurance!). loads of money but not as medical as the place we went this morning (checked out a couple of places...no sign of the PTSD...yet!).
Cassius - how is it that I never realized until now that you are in the US? On the opposite side of the continent from me, but still a whole lot closer than most of the BB crowd. :)
I can't add a whole lot to the transfer discussion, really, but I'll throw in my two cents. I thought about it a bit with DD3, but I had a calm and confident midwife (whom I really miss!) and everything went beautifully. With DD4, I suppose you could almost say that I transferred, because I had to switch from a home birth to a hospital birth on the day I went into labour, because my GBS test came back positive, and the rule here is that they can't hang IV antibiotics at home. :( It was still a great birth - my midwives handled everything for me at the hospital, and aside from having that stupid IV in my hand, the rest was pretty much natural. I asked for an ARM, because I wanted to hurry things along, but that was it for interventions.
DS was almost a transfer, right at the end. I laboured at home with him, and things went really quickly and easily, but then his head was in a bad position (posterior brow presentation) and I had a very hard time pushing him out. It was when my (annoying, worries-out-loud, and indecisive) midwife said that we should transfer that I finally got mad enough and found a final burst of energy and pushed him out. A transfer at that point would have been terrible for me. I was naked, upstairs, in my own bed, worn out and in a lot of pain, and the thought of having to get onto a stretcher, down the stairs, out of the house, and to the hospital (20min drive) and possibly have a c-section at that stage was unthinkable! My baby was not in distress - he was handling everything very well. If he had been stressed, that would have changed my mind pretty quickly, I think.
About mec in waters - I believe if there's solid mec in the waters when they break then you have to transfer, here. But if it's just mec staining from an earlier BM, you don't, I think.
Cricket: hahaha, it is only a recent move! We are doing a 6 month stint (was meant to be more like 8 months until suprise baby...). There are now 3 of us in the US in this thread :dance:
Tash: well, one tub is better than at the RWH where for about 6 months they told women that they kept losing the plugs for the baths...when in actual fact they never bought them :ROFL: (I kid you not). seriously, pack a plug JIC lol.
Or at RWH where they tell you there is a tub in your room and there is none.
Or they assure you that you'll be allowed to jump in the tub for pain relief, you almost wet yourself with excitement when you see you have a room with one, then they strap you to the bed as soon as you get in the room :rolleyes::
I had a tub at RWH both times. First time, didnt use it. Second time, got to use it after intervention from our IM. Apparently they don't have a 'policy' for using the tub in a stillbirth. FFS. So I was allowed to labour in the tub, but not allowed to birth. My team, including DH, IM and Mum were back and forth to the staff kitchen filling up jugs of hot water to pour into the bath, as the water was only lukewarm. What's the point of using water as pain relief if it's cold? At least we had our IM, both times. Irrespective of place of birth, I wouldn't birth without our IM. No way, no how.
Anyhoo. I dont believe that a hospital birth can come close to a HB. I just see HB as the standard other environments should be reaching for. Yanno, in an ideal world. In my dream world, I'd birth at home, in or out of a birth pool, with only my chosen support people around me, rather than strangers rostered on for a shift. I wish I could have that, but with our history and fear etc, it's not going to happen next time and I won't have a baby just to have a HB, ITMS. I do like the idea of hiring a birth pool for use at home and then transferring at the last minute.... and maybe baby slipping out at home anyway. oops.
We'll cross that bridge if we ever manage to get there.
PZ, I think most of us can look back on our first birth experiences and wonder if we'd known what we know now whether it would have gone differently, or even know that it would definitely would have been different, and certainly better.
I question the need for my c/s for the low lying placenta I had with DD. Maybe I should have known better to just book in, because even when I researched I couldn't find much info on the grade I had. An IM I've spoken to since suggested my ob was being overly cautious.
BUT I learnt so much from going through it that way. I would never have even looked into homebirth had I not been faced with the interventions that a VBAC entails in a hospital birth. I could sit here and question forever, why I didn't at least wait until I went into labour, since there was no immediate concern. And knowing now how quickly I can labour, maybe I would have gotten a lot further in without incident and had a vaginal birth with DD1.
I think being able to question the decisions we made in a previous birth means we can make better decisions in a subsequent birth or at the very least improve the way we look at things and probably the advice we give.
I have absolutely no questions from DD2's birth. Probably because I spent so much time preparing for it so that I was fully informed and confident I could make decisions and probably also because I was incredibly lucky in having everything line up so that there was no need to make any decisions.
I got to talk to some of the Mums at my postnatal exercise class about my homebirth today. Two of them said they could see themselves having a homebirth. One was really interested to hear I'd had a HBAC because she'd ended up with an emergency c/s with her DD.
Loving your comments, L&B, but I think we are also in a situation where at the moment that's the gold standard because it isn't mainstream. We need to see more HBs and then in time, I bet the policies would change and more acceptance of a woman's ability to judge would be there. Also, the more care providers that are experienced in caring for women and babies in HBs, the better their skills and care will be.
tash: i like an *oops* scenario hehehehehehe....
I definitely agree that hospitals should be aiming for that: knowing that it wont be the same (i doubt they have my old sheets lol), but i totally get what you mean. there is little in the way of respecting a birthing families wishes and that, as the bottom line, is what ruins the system time and time again.
Cass I totally understand your fear of transfer and having a hospital. Irrh after a Hb was terrible. If we go again I feel I'll struggle to even form a relationship with a MW. When I daydream I imagine wishing to be just on my own. I will have a lot to work through. I so want another baby and Hb but I'm that scared of havi g to have a hospital birth I think I'd rather not risk it.
Yep, I'm the same. The thought of going to hospital to have a baby is not an appealing prospect for me.
I am starting to come down off cloud nine unfortunately. I had such a beautiful birth but my post natal period has been a bit marred. I am having a difficult bf journey. I feel really disheartened. I have basically been breastfeeding for the last eight years with only 2 short breaks in that time. So why is it so hard this time around? I had a cracked nipple then mastitis and now I have thrush- all in the same breast. Bf has been painful since about day 4 after the birth when my cracked nipple started. I just want to get to pain free bf. I didn't realise thrush was so painful - thankfully I only have it in one breast. It hurts to feed, it hurts when I'm not feeding. I feel really gutted. I have been resting and babymooning, and we just had a two week period of friends cooking for us. Why did it all go so wrong? Sorry for the carry on. I've hardly had any sleep tonight because the pain is unsettling me. I dread feeding him on my left side. I become anxious and nervous. I'm worried about how long it will take to heal.
Dear Arcadia, I know you have endured ongoing thrush. I really feel for you now that I have some inkling of what you have been through. Do you have any advice for me?
I am so grateful that I have the positive experiences of long term bf with my other kids. I am clinging to that now.
So disheartening to have a beautiful, natural, peaceful birth and then struggle post-natally. Thankfully my MW is still doing home visits. That makes such a difference. And my little guy is so gorgeous. He makes it all bearable.
Ugh Ash, that really stinks. :hug: Hang in there and remind yourself that this too shall pass. Several of my babies have had thrush, but it wasn't too terrible for me - a bit of the burning/needle-like pain, but it was bearable. Sounds like you've got a worse case. I have had it though where I had a great birth, felt wonderful, and things went down hill from there. Once with really painful hemorrhoids, and a couple times with some bizarre and painful stomach issue. It's really disappointing and frustrating to feel like you're getting worse, not better. :( And, I find a few weeks post partum is always kind of hard - you WANT to be back on your feet, running your house, caring for your kids, etc., but you're still recovering and exhausted. REST! Nap whenever you can, get to bed early, drink a lot, take your vitamins, eat well, and be gentle with yourself. It will be OK. Feel free to yell and scream and complain here whenever you need to. :hug:
What are you treating the thrush with BTW?
Oh my dearest Ash! Yes thrush, thrush, thrush. I *think* I am in the clear after nearly a year. It is the most goddamned awful thing I have ever had. It totally marred my postnatal experience too.
Ok, the BEST advice is on the RWH site called thrush in lactation. It is written by dr Lisa Amir, who did a PhD in nipple thrush. The cracking is because of the thrush, so once you treat that, the nipple will miraculously heal, I promise.
You need daktarin cream for your nipple and you need to apply it all the time...like every time you think of it. Don't wash off before feeds, and keep it up for at least a week after the nipple has healed.
You need to go to a doctor and get a script for nilstatin. It will clear the thrush from your digestive system, so expect lots of gas and bloating and maybe some pereneal itching (which the candida dies off it makes you itchy).
Then you need to get three of the diflucan tablets from the pharmacy and take one every second day while taking the nilstat and using daktarin.
I would also recommend putting the daktarin oral gel in babies mouth, but don't worry if you can't face it, because I couldn't with ds as a newborn.
I know that sounds like a horrendous amount of drugs, but seriously after a year I wish I'd done the full bomb therapy sooner. I've been to naturopaths and cut out all sugar and white flour etc (no tea or coffee or alcohol or fruit...gah). But in the end the only thing that helped was the drugs.
You need to nuke that bloody ****.
Please, please, please PM me if you want any support or advice. I will give you my phone number if you like.
Oh and ZINC....pregnancy and breastfeeding reduce your zinc and magnesium, so start dosing up. It is an immune booster! Once you have taken all the drugs then start a good probiotic.
It is the absolute pits. I am trying to eradicate the experience from my memory.
I am thinking of you!
P.s. Sorry for the thread detour peeps. I am loving the transfer discussion. It's scary, because home birth is the norm for me, the thought of a hospital makes me wanna be sick. I actually fantasize about free birth, but don't tell hubby that!
Oh Ash, i hope you feel better soon. My postnatal period was not so delightful this time either due to sickness in myself, then DH and DD... We have finally kicked them all, but i wish i could have my babymoon again.
Thank you so much Cricket, Arcadia and HotI :hug: HotI, I am sorry that your babymoon was not as you had hoped it would be.
The LC that I saw on Thursday told me to apply an anti-fungal like Canestan or Daktarin gel and to wash my nipples in bi carb and water. I have just been using Canestan frequently and doing bicarb wash twice a day.
Last night, I was in so much pain - when feeding and when not feeding. I was worried that the shooting pains were mastitis coming back. I decided to google. I actually went straight to the page you mentioned Arcadia! After reading that I realised that I probably wasn't given a good enough treatment plan by the LC. The pain is in my breast not just nipple. I do not feel that a topical ointment alone can knock it over. Thanks for the advice Arcadia, I really appreciate it. I am going to try and get in to my GP ASAP. I am also considering going on anti-candida diet.
Ok back on track! PZ, I wanted to comment about your posts. I had planned a HB for my 1st preg. My situation is a bit different- I didn't transfer per se, rather it became apparent over the course of 3 days that I would have to go to hosp. I had premature rupture of membranes at 36+4, and I didn't go in to labour. My MW's monitored me at home for 72 hours. When I went to hosp, the OB advised an induction. I talked it over with DH and MW's. My MW's were worried about my energy levels. I had barely slept in 3 days- 40+ degree weather and scattered contractions ensured restless nights. The OB said I would have to come back each day for monitoring. He aso let it be known that he would have induced me after 48 hours. And I was taking AB's too. In the end, I agreed to the induction. I'd had 3 days to gradually get used to the fact that I may not have my HB. Once I knew that I would be having bub in hospital, I set a new 'goal' - no epidural. I think I had a good hosp birth because my HB MW's were there. The hosp staff left us alone until it was time to push.my bub out.
I have often thought back over the situation. Should I have said 'no' to the induction and gone in each day for monitoring? Would I have gone in to spontaneous labour on my own, eventually? Could I have had my HB? Did I give in too soon? I know that my MW's think I made the right decision. I thought I had at the time- and I guess that is all we can do. Make the decision that we think is right with the knowledge we have at the time. I know that I used my hosp birth to empower me to HB- if I could withstand an induced labour, strapped to a monitor, without pain relief, I could definitely HB!