Hello, new here

[greenrootsmama]

Hi, I'm Katie and I'm the mom of three amazing kids, two step-kids and one due in June. We are renting a house in Harrisburg, PA on 10 acres in the woods. We came out here with the intention of raising goats, chickens, rabbits and a garden. We obtained our chickens shortly after we moved here and absolutely loved them. Then we recently received a love letter in the mail stating that the land owner filed bankruptcy on the house and it will be auctioned off in April. So we sold all of our beloved chickens. At first we were devastated. But then we started brainstorming and decided that this was a blessing, really. We have been talking about how someday we want to move out of this state. Well, because of this event 'someday' is here. We will be moving to Arizona to fulfill our dreams. All of my family are there so I'm pretty excited.

I love the ideas I've seen so far on this forum and can't wait to put some of them to use. There is one topic, however, that I haven't seen on here that I'd like to touch on and that's home birth. I realize that there is a diverse age range here so it's not applicable to everyone. We had our last baby at home with a midwife and are planning to do the same in June. I am curious if anyone else has had a home birth. In fact, I may post a separate thread on the topic if I can figure out where it would fit.

Anyway, I'm loving this forum and am excited to dig deeper into it.

 

[Beekissed]

Welcome, Green!!! Glad to have you and would dearly welcome home birth stories or info. We've already had some interesting threads about not vaccinating our children and it was interesting, to say the least.

Home birthing is the very ultimate in self-sufficiency, isn't it? It takes guts and extreme confidence in your midwife, I would say.

Glad to have you on the forum!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Welcome!!

Congratulations on your upcoming baby! How exciting for you! I've never had a home birth, but I did have 3 out of 5 deliveries natural.

Kudos to you and good luck!

 

[greenrootsmama]

As with anything, education is key. When you read up on home birth and discover that in many ways it's actually safer than hospital birth then it really helps to dissolve the fears. Home birth is definitely not for everyone but for those of us who are low-risk, it's very safe. Women have been giving birth since the dawn of man and it's only been in the last 60 years that hospital birth has become the norm. In most countries home birth is still the norm. Hospitals are then reserved for moms who are at a greater risk for complications, which is only about 10%.

I have to run and make dinner for the crew but I'll post my birth story later on.

 

[PamsPride]

I wish I could have had a home birth but I am to high risk. I ended up having an emergency c-section two and a half weeks ago.

 

[greenrootsmama]

I wrote this shortly after I gave birth...

Ok, here's the skinny:

I had my appointment with my midwife, Mary, on Friday where we talked about castor oil and sweeping membranes again since just the sweep alone didn't do the trick last time. It was around 1pm after she left that I took the first dose of castor oil. I started having some contractions but nothing I could identify as the real thing. So when 11pm rolled in and still nothing, I took the second dose. It was about 1am when I went to bed. I woke up a few times to the usual urge to pee and the subsequent contractions a few times during the night. Then at 5:30am Saturday morning I had a contraction that had me trying to sit up in an effort to find a position that would bring some relief. As soon as I sat up I felt a little gush. Not sure if it was fluid or just urinary incontinence again, I made another trip to the potty where there was a much bigger gush. Definitely NOT pee.

Our bedroom was full of kids so I quietly woke Josh (DH) and told him the baby was coming. We went down stairs and he started down the "Labor To-Do List" starting with laying out the tarp and blowing up the pool. It was 6am when Josh called Mary. He told her we hadn't timed contractions at all but they were coming and my water had broke. She started out on her way over and arrived about an hour later. By then both boys were up, Josh was filling the pool and had laid the futon out and outfitted it with the appropriate dressing.

The contractions were pretty regular and strong throughout the morning while Josh did some pretty impressive multi-tasking. This man is not typically a multi-tasker but somewhere deep inside he found the ability to cook a turkey, make breakfast and lunch for the kids, hold me through contractions and play host to our midwives and hypnobirth attendant. He was the hero of the day. I don't think any of us would have had a shred of sanity left when it was all said and done if he hadn't been there to hold everything together.

Once the pool was filled I got in and the contractions began to space apart and lose intensity. I think it was 11am and by then I was dilated to about 4cm. Disappointed that it looked like the show was over, I got out of the pool, got dressed and went for a walk in the rain. I had a couple of contractions but nothing like it should have been. At the suggestion of our midwife Josh and I retreated upstairs for some "private time" to get things moving. When that didn't work either I decided it would be a good time to take a nap. The birth crew took the lull as an opportunity to go out and grab lunch.

I think it was 1:30 or 2pm when we all regrouped and started brainstorming plans to get the show back on. I started with running up and down the stairs and pacing the floor. We assessed that although I was dilating the baby wasn't descending and seemed to be hung up on my pubic bone. Then Mary had an epiphany: when a contraction would come, I needed to place my hands at the bottom of my belly, right above my pubic bone, and push in HARD to shove the head back far enough that the contraction could push him down. This action caused the contractions to intensify and then progress was underway. We warmed up the pool again and I got back in.

It wasn't long before the dreaded transition hit me smack in the face. At that point, although it hurt more than anything I can imagine, I trusted that I was going to meet my baby in just a few minutes which made it a little easier to endure. Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong. Mary checked me and I was complete except for a rim or lip of cervix left. With my efforts to push it became swollen and was really handicapping my progress. This intense, earth-shattering pain continued for the next two and a half hours. During that time I got out of the pool and camped on the floor for a little while. Then I made my way to the couch. I just wanted to lie down and have a little rest. Mary kept checking me and concluded that the baby's head was turned to the side which was causing the lip. In an effort to remedy the presentation, she used BOTH hands to reach in and turn him. I thought I would die. I was screaming and crying for her to stop. She kept apologizing but didn't let up. Good thing too because she did manage to get him turned. Once he was facing the right direction I was ready to push. Lying on the couch became very uncomfortable in a hurry so I stood up. I had my left foot on the floor, my right foot up on the couch and my arms around Josh's neck. That was exactly where I needed to be and it felt so right.

Show time. Three contractions: first brought him down, second had him crowning about a silver dollar and third he was completely out in one big gush. I let go of Josh and looked down between my legs to see a very goopy little baby wrapped up in a towel. I reached down to pick him up but was trembling so much that I was having trouble getting a hold of him and needed Josh to help me. I pulled the towel back and saw that he was a boy. I was so happy - I announced that I had my boy and then sat down on the couch to look at him and cuddle him. I just kept saying, "My baby, my baby, oh, my baby." All the kids, who were previously silent and riveted, were immediately surrounding me, wanting to get a better look at their new brother.

Hamilton Hart Mulholland was born at 6:40pm on Saturday, March 8th. He weighed 8lbs., 13oz., was 22.5 inches long and his head was 14.75 inches around. He made a good cry when he first came out but hasn't cried since. He's got a great appetite and is too big for at least half of his clothes. He smells so sweet and is very laid back and calm - even with his brothers and sister constantly running amok around him. He has completely transformed our family for the better. I can already feel a closeness with Josh's kids that wasn't previously there. Brennin feels the need to continuously announce, "that's MY baby!" while Damian and Kierstan just can't get enough of ogling and fussing over him.

Recovery is slow and quite painful but our beautiful little Hamilton gives me a positive to focus upon. I'm eagerly anticipating the days when I feel well enough to take him out and show him off.
~~~~~~~

I have a link to the birth video. Just PM me if you'd like to see it and I'll send you the link. The content may not be suitable for some.