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My homebirth!Our baby will be here any day now and I'm so excited to be able to experience childbirth at home. I gave birth to my daughter, Calista, at a birthing center with a midwife and doula and loved the experience. She was actually the last baby ever born there because they were shut down due to lack of funding. I have all my supplies and birthing tub ready to go...now we are just waiting on some lovely (ya right) contractions.
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Re: My homebirth!
I'm due in late April and hoping to have a home waterbirth. Had a crappy experience with an OB and a hospital birth last time.
Are you planning on having your DD at the birth? I'm still thinking about it.
Re: My homebirth!
I'm still unsure if I should have my daughter attend the birth. She is a sensitive little thing and I would hate for her to misinterpret childbirth to be a horrifying thing. When the time comes I'm sure I'll know what to do.
Re: My homebirth!
Though I can't help you out with homebirth advice, I do know what it's like to not be excited about a pregnancy.
My pregnancy was super unexpected, to the point where abortion was a definite consideration for me. Throughout the first 15 wks of pregnancy I often have the option of abortion at the forefront of my mind. I kind of just let the 15wks slip by, guess now I don't have to make that decision (sadly the other clinic I could've gone to in Kansas is now closed). At times still I wonder if it would have been best to have an abortion, but que sera sera.
That said, I have little guilt over not being super excited. I'm growing more excited now, in part cause my family is finally starting to come around and be emotionally supportive, but it's definitely not up to par with how pregnant women are expect to be excited. As if being excited makes me a good parent. I've also gotten some books on the subject so I can understand what it is I'm in for and not be so out of the loop.
If my kid ever asks me what it was like when I was pregnant with s/he, I'll tell em' the truth, it was hard and not all that fun. If the kid asks if I ever considered abortion I'll say yes too. Remember, we live in a society that expects us, especially mums, to act as though everything is peachy - even when it's not. Hell, we don't have to. Kids are brought up to be protected within a bubble (and their socialized to believe anything else is just plan wrong), but kids are smart, they know the world can be a frustrating place, it's best to let them see and experience the world for what it is. Honestly is always key, meaning, be honest with yourself, and with you're future child. No prob right? haha!
(oh, and though I don't have any experience with PPD yet, have you ever looked into using the placenta to replenish yourself?)
Re: My homebirth!
I've heard about encapsulating the placenta and taking it, but I'm still unsure if I could really do that or not. Last time around I didn't even realize how useful the placenta was and it was just discarded after birth. I really wish that my midwife had taken a little more time to talk to me about that stuff.... When I look back I think I was a little judged by my age. So therefor, I wasn't really told a lot.
I also really wish that PPD was explained a little better to me... I thought that there was something terribly wrong with me. I had no idea that it was very normal for mothers, especially young mothers, to go through it.
Re: My homebirth!
That's the thing, my 3-year-old can be very sensitive at times and really strong at other times, even about the same things. So I'm thinking I'll try to explain it to her and prepare her as much as possible, and then make the decision when the time comes based on how I think she's handling it.
I'm also having a totally different experience of pregnancy this time. Last time I was just as terrified/stressed as I was excited by the whole thing. The pregnancy was unplanned, I wasn't sure what I wanted, and I had little support and was dealing with an asshat ex. But I also had more time on my hands and could focus more on the pregnancy. This time I have more support and the pregnancy was planned, so I'm approaching it from a totally different place. I'm really excited. But I'm also super busy and I don't have time to focus on it as much as last time. I sometimes forget I'm pregnant at all. LOL! I'm trying to enjoy it more this time because I'm not planning any more kids so this may be my last chance to experience the whole thing.
Re: My homebirth!
I'm having my second homebirth in may, my first was a hospital birth. I chose not to have my three year old at my last birth because she is such a handful, but she'll be 10 this time around, and I definitely want her there. I haven't decided yet whether to have my five year old son there, but I'm leaning towards having him here.
Re: My homebirth!
We're doing a homebirth. As to whether my daughter will be there, we're planning on playing it by ear. I don't want to kick her out for the birth of her sibling, but at this point, my preference would be that she go with my mother during the birth if she's willing.
Re: My homebirth!
Anyone thinking about a waterbirth? One of the main draws of homebirth for me is that you can't birth underwater at the local hospital. And although I'm not sure if I want a waterbirth, I am really drawn to the idea and I want to have the option. I'm a bit worried about having enough hot water though LOL we always run out of hot water.
Re: My homebirth!
We are planning a waterbirth... we have the pool and the supplies ( had no idea how expensive it is). I will let you know how it goes.
Re: My homebirth!
I'm planning my second water birth. At my first we did run out of hot water, but it was okay for me because my birth assistants just boiled water on the stove to heat up my bath.