Homebirth/Birthcenter/Unmedicated Birth - m/o March

suzycupcake · March 2019

This is a thread to connect Moms who have already chosen to plan a homebirth/birth center birth. (Feel free to jump in if you're doing an unmedicated hospital birth as well.) We'll need some good support when it comes time!

Note: Please don't come in this thread and bash people who are choosing out of hospital/unmedicated births to judge us or scare us with your horror story. To the ladies in here, this is also not the place to judge those Mamas who don't choose the route we are choosing.

Who is your support person? How are they preparing and how is that going?

What method/CBE class did you decide to go with, if any?

What worries/fears are you dealing with and what are you doing to cope?

Have you found any good resources/books on unmedicated birth?

Any questions?

GTKY: What is your favorite plant/flower?

mrosek91 · March 2019

Who is your support person? How are they preparing and how is that going? My husband and Doula. For my first DH came with me to classes, but by now (#3) we both feel we're as prepared as one can be.

What method/CBE class did you decide to go with, if any? We took the course offered by the hospital I gave birth, and my doula gave us two one hour sessions with our first, with our second she gave one 1 hour refresher course, and will probably do the same with this one.

What worries/fears are you dealing with and what are you doing to cope? I am GB+ and I am worried that I will not make it to the hospital with enough time to get the needed IV anti-biotics, I'm going to talk to my doctor when it gets closer, about whether there are any pills that could work that I could start taking before my due date.

Have you found any good resources/books on unmedicated birth? For my first I read A Labor of Love. It's specifically geared towards Jewish women so there's a lot in there about G-d and faith, not sure how many people that will interest, but I found it very informative. It went through each of the stages of labor, what to expect and strategies for dealing with it. And interspersed throughout the book were other moms' birth stories.

Any questions? No

GTKY: What is your favorite plant/flower? My user name probably gave this away but Roses. My middle religious name is named after a great-grandmother whose secular name was Rose, my mom didn't use it for my secular name because she thought it was too old fashioned, but I've always felt a special affinity to Roses.

suzycupcake · March 2019

@mrosek91 How long was the course at your hospital? Did you feel it adequately prepared you for an unmedicated birth? Sorry about GB. I hope that whatever plan is made, that it puts your spirit at ease.

Who is your support person? How are they preparing and how is that going?
My husband and my Doula. My husband says he doesn’t have any worries about prep on his part *snicker*

What method/CBE class did you decide to go with, if any?

Hypnobabies. I decided to do something different than what has always been done aka this course will help me to focus on all of the things I’m not used to like breath, relaxation, etc. rather than intellectualizing and wanting to control everything.

What worries/fears are you dealing with and what are you doing to cope?

The fear of the pain is still there. It comes and goes. Sometimes the confidence is strong (I can totally do this) and other times, anxiety creeps in (Am I fooling myself? What if I suck at it?). Coping for me is watching birth videos and reading positive birth stories. It also means mentally playing out the various surprise scenarios that could happen—visualizing myself and baby being okay.

Have you found any good resources/books on unmedicated birth?
BirthTUBE on Facebook, Guide To Childbirth book by Ina May Gaskin, YouTube videos, etc.

Any questions?
For those of you who are past a first unmedicated birth, was there anything that you feared/worried about that your handling of it when the time came surprised you? I don’t even know if that question made sense.

GTKY: What is your favorite plant/flower?
Right now, tiger lilies...but the orange ones because those were my Dad’s favorite.

mrosek91 · March 2019

@suzycupcake Thank you. The class was not specifically geared towards unmedicated births, it was what was offered by the hospital we used. It was 3 classes, (2 evenings and a Sunday, I think 10ish hours total). They talked us through the different stages of labor, how we know when it's time to come to the hospital, and explained different pain management techniques. (breathing, massage, medical options, etc.) The sessions with the Doula helped me a lot more, but honestly, and I'm not sure this is going to make sense, but I think the thing that most prepared me for an unmedicated birth was the fact I wasn't attached to it. I went in saying, this is what I want to do, but I'm going to go with the flow, and if it doesn't work that's ok. With that mindset I was able to say, ok give it 5 more minutes and re-evaluate, give it 10 more minutes, and then eventually it was you made it this far, let's just keep going. Obviously, that's not going to work for a lot of people, because they feel much more strongly than I do about being unmediated.
To answer your question I don't know if it rose to the level of worry, but one thing I thought a lot about was positioning, they taught us so many positions, I kept wondering how I was going to figure out what the best one was to keep the labor moving, and then once the contractions came my body just kept telling me what it wanted. Now I need to walk, now I need to get on my knees, I didn't even think about it, my body just kept doing it.

suzycupcake · March 2019

@mrosek91 Thanks for sharing. That’s so incredible that our bodies know what to do like that. You make a good point about having an open mind. It makes sense to since we can’t possibly know exactly what’s going to happen. I watched a birth video the night before last and the Mother said she had gone through like 50 positions already within a couple of hours of labor—most had never been practiced. I feel so blessed to have birth videos to watch online. Every time a baby comes out and the Mother makes the sound of joy, the tears come. Every time.

wabash15 · March 2019

@mrosek91 i was GB+ with my last and my MW said they were overly cautious with the standard antibiotic therapy and if for some reason I did not get there in time, they could deal with it, and the chances of it being a problem were very very slim.

mrosek91 · March 2019

@wabash15 thanks! I was GB+ with both my boys, and the doctor did really make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. But then with DS#2 my water broke as we got to the triage desk, and I felt the urge to start pushing. They made me hold it for 20 minutes while they administered the anti-abiotics, so that's an experience I would like to avoid having again.
But then again DH always says I'm not happy unless I can find something to worry about.

so pregnancy and childbirth are perfect for me, full for lots of worrying opportunities.

emqbee · March 2019

Who is your support person? How are they preparing and how is that going? My husband. Honestly, I think the preparation will start when we go to a birthing class, or when he comes with me to the group appointment at the birth center about L&D. He’s a man of few words so I’d probably be surprised at how much he’s already looked up and read about to prepare. I tell him different things I learn about or what’s important/beneficial that I want him to be thinking about and understand. For example, benefits of doing everything naturally.

What method/CBE class did you decide to go with, if any? Haven’t decided yet. Probably Bradley or Hypno.

What worries/fears are you dealing with and what are you doing to cope? If I think about it, I get concerned about labor and start wondering if I’ve made a poor choice, but then I read from other women that talk about how you just get through it. It’s what we were made to do and it’s a natural normal thing. I think it’s probably the toughest thing I will have ever done and I look forward to the pride I’ll have in having done it this way. I’m also concerned about life after baby comes because well...Everything changes. Nothing will ever be the same again and there’s some things I’m going to miss that I wasnt entirely prepared to let go of yet.

Have you found any good resources/books on unmedicated birth? Not yet

Any questions? So so many. But ultimately they are things I’ll have to decide on. I’m just overwhelmed. Ooh! Here’s one, a/s tomorrow, are there any questions I should be sure to ask the tech?

GTKY: What is your favorite plant/flower? Favorite plan, Angel Wing Begonia. Flower would be a tulip!

edited for spelling errors

wanderlustsoul · March 2019

@suzycupcake, thank you for posting this thread. I had actually been thinking to just do one for a few months for now and then switch to monthly in June because it doesn’t get a lot of posts. I am still so hopeful that I can give birth in the birthing center and not the hospital despite my new thyroid problem. I’ve been reading some blogs and books. I also am thinking of attending a hypnobirthinf class.

has anyone been to one?

suzycupcake · March 2019

@emqbee We have many friends who had kids later than a lot of other people who have told us that having a child doesn't necessarily mean that everything has to change. I don't know if they're right (we've never been parents until now lol), but they said that we should just keep living our lives the way we always have. The only difference will be is we will have a baby so there will be some scheduling change ups and emotional adjustments, but that we should still be able to keep being ourselves. Sorry your AS question didn't get answered. How did it go?

@AKuzReve I didn't know you have a new thyroid problem. Sorry that sucks. As far as posting this thread, I know that you travel a lot and figured you were out of the country again.

wiscobabies · March 2019

Who is your support person? How are they preparing and how is that going? My husband. This is baby number two, and I had my son as an unmedicated water birth January last year, so it's still pretty fresh in our minds. I don't think we'll be doing any preparing so to speak, and honestly I don't need him to do anything other then come to the hospital with me and not be annoying haha!!

What method/CBE class did you decide to go with, if any? We did the hospital birth class with my son, which was geared more toward birth with an epi. I don't plan on going to any classes with this one, but as it gets closer I do plan on reading natural birth blogs again. Hearing empowering stories was helpful to me last time.

What worries/fears are you dealing with and what are you doing to cope? Ugh, now that I know what kind of pain to expect, and it was only a year ago I'm just dreading it a little. I know it'll be fine and I'll get through it, but man sometimes I wish I wanted an epidural/wasn't so scared of the complications that can follow one.

Have you found any good resources/books on unmedicated birth? With my son I enjoyed reading natural birth stories. I don't remembe any specific blogs, sorry!

Any questions? None at the moment

GTKY: What is your favorite plant/flower? I love lillies, especially calla lillies

jmesue1030 · March 2019

Who is your support person? How are they preparing and how is that going? My husband and the midwifery team I see. We haven’t started preparing this time around but MH has mentioned that he wants to read the Bradley book again

What method/CBE class did you decide to go with, if any? Last time we did Bradley and I was able to have a really beautiful unmedicated water birth (at the hospital) we will probably do the same again and I might incorporate some hypnobirthing stuff since I already have a regular meditation practice

What worries/fears are you dealing with and what are you doing to cope? Honestly have barely thought about labor and delivery yet and having a really good previous experience has helped me to feel confident going into this one

Have you found any good resources/books on unmedicated birth? Before my first I read ina may’s Guide to childbirth and the Bradley method book— ina may’s Stuff is inspiring

Any questions? Nah

GTKY: What is your favorite plant/flower? I have a peace lily in my office and it’s my favorite

WinchesterGirl · March 2019

Who is your support person? How are they preparing and how is that going? DH, our doula, and awesome docs/midwives. We will be reviewing our Bradley method exercises from the first time in the next few months, for now he's just talking to baby at nights to get him used to his voice.

What method/CBE class did you decide to go with, if any? We did Bradley with our first, so I think we're good this go around.

What worries/fears are you dealing with and what are you doing to cope? I worry about ending up with another emergency CS. Kind of the lingering, "What if something is wrong with me and I really just can't do this?" But I try to put that out of my mind. Also worried about missing it again with general anesthesia.

Have you found any good resources/books on unmedicated birth? Ina May's books are good, but some of it is a bit, uh, "woo-woo" for me. Highly recommend the Bradley classes if you're a first timer!

Any questime! None for now.

GTKY: What is your favorite plant/flower? Wisteria, hydrangeas, and orange roses.

wanderlustsoul · March 2019

@suzycupcake, not a problem at all. I am glad and grateful you posted for me. My thyroid was only diagnosed 1 week ago so trying to get it figured out but I think it's in a better place now that I've seen the specialist.

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Homebirth/Birthcenter/Unmedicated Birth - m/o March

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