31 weeks 1 day in photo
Last week Vanessa asked if I could talk about why we decided to have a home birth. I have to give my pal Chanitlly a huge thank you for informing me about home births and midwives last summer because before that I really had no idea what was up with either of them and may not have considered them as options if it wasn't for her. After Chantilly told me about midwives and home births I did some more research, talked to Ivan about it and decided that if/when we have a baby I would really like to try a home birth.My main reason for wanting a home birth is that I'm not a huge fan of hospitals. Don't get me wrong, I am glad they are around and very thankful for their help when necessary but I don't feel like the birth of a baby is one of those necessities (in most cases). Without going into too much detail about why, I will be much more comfortable at home and feeling comfortable and relaxed is something that I feel will help me a lot and lead to a better birth experience for myself and the baby. The only time I get nervous about giving birth is when I think about the possibility that I will have to do it in the hospital. Obviously if I need to go I will, no questions asked but in most cases home births go very smoothly and I'm hoping mine is one of those. In case anyone is wondering we live about five minutes away from our back up hospital.
It is really hard for me to properly express all of the reasons we want to have a home birth. I know it is not for everyone and I'm sure that some people would feel much less comfortable at home than they would in a hospital. It is definitely somehting that everyone has to decide for themselves based on their individual situation. If you have any specific questions I would be more than happy to try to answer them in the comments!
Well, that got kind of long! I was also going to talk about how I seem to have ballooned in size this past week but I will just mention that my plan to wear my regular dresses has mostly been foiled. Even dresses that were loose in the top before I got pregnant (and that fit me a few weeks ago) are out of the question. Basically, I'm carrying a baby in each of my boobs as well as my belly. And I think my ribcage has gotten bigger. Whatever the reason, I need to just bite the bullet and buy a few pregnancy friendly summer items so that I have more than three dresses to wear this summer.
I hope everyone has a good weekend!
♥elycia
Good luck with the home birth. I have a lot of respect for you taking this route. I wish I'd been offered that choice with my daughter.
ReplyDeleteAnd good luck with summer dress shopping.
Looks like we will be making another graffiti stencil for your little one! Delivery was my favorite part! Hope all goes smoothly for you!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous shot! :) And if you ever want to talk about home birth, I'm happy to chat! :)
ReplyDeleteI was also born at home. I have no idea how it would feel to slowly blow up like a balloon - must be weird! I can't help but feel amazed when I think about how incredible the body is for letting a little mini-human grow inside.
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Marielle
I love that you have decided to have a homebirth, I hope you and Ivan have an amazing experience :)
ReplyDeleteAs a midwife it always makes me do a happy dance when people have home births :)
I just gave birth to our son at home (in a swimming pool in our living room!!) 3.5 weeks ago and it's the best decision I ever made. I didn't want to risk an avalanche of interventions at the hospital (pitocin -> epidural -> c-section). Like you, the hospital (and feeling like my ability to make decisions about my body & my baby being taken away) scared me more than the thought of actual birth did. I LOVED giving birth at home. It was so relaxed and I was able to call all the shots. My midwife just let me trust my body and lead the way, and she was there to guide me. It was incredibly empowering and emotional. I even got to "catch" Myles myself which was so amazing - to be the very first person to hold him! Actually the most recent post on my blog is is birth story, if you're curious: http://www.lifeinbeta.com . Good luck, Mama! You got this!
ReplyDeleteI read your birth story and it was beautiful! Thank you for sharing it!! And congratulations on your little Myles.
DeleteThank you! I'm so excited for you! :)
DeleteIt's really awesome that you are doing home birth. I'm getting married in October, and we've talked about having children ans doing a home north when the time comes. for a lot of the same reasons as you've mentioned here. so its really cool that you are being so open about it will be neat to know how it goes for you. best wishes!
ReplyDeleteYou look great! I'm three weeks behiund you (28 tomorrow) and I enjoy following you. I understand why you choose to give birth at home, I attended my friends homebirth and it was wonderful. But I decided that home birth is not for me, so I will go to the hospital, at least this time, which is my first :-)
ReplyDeleteWill you be sharing your birth story on the blog?
Thank you! I haven't thought about whether or not I will share my birth story here. I guess I will have to see how it goes!
DeleteGood on you for deciding what's right for you! I think a lot of people get swept up with what everybody else does without considering other options. Though of course if someone thinks a hospital birth is best for them, that's cool too!
ReplyDeleteBecky
xx
Don't forget a beautiful mess's maternity wear diy series!
ReplyDeleteYou look gorgeous, are you tattoo's glowing?
I was born at home and my nephew was recently born at home too, my sister has a blow up pool but ended up giving birth on the sofa. I totally agree that it's 100% more relaxing and better for the baby and you. Far less tramatic. Have you heard of 'beyond the sling' by mayim bialik? a great read, even if you don't agree with her. Very informative and its advice, not telling you what to do.
best wishes
Barnicles x
I was just about to suggest Beautiful Mess too! Those maternity ideas were all kind of cute for non-baby-carriers as well!
DeleteLoved having a mid wife too! Made things more relaxed for me!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the pregnancy! :) Both of my kids were born at home. No birthing pool. Just me, the husband and two midwives...eventually...I called them rather late in the game. There is something so lovely about having the babies join the family right in your own home. Even the dog was there. ;)
ReplyDeleteJo
http://www.womaninreallife.blogspot.ca/
Thanks so much for answering that question. I'm also not a fan of hospitals, so I think that if I ever did have children, I'd like to give a home birth a shot. I love the idea of the baby being born into it's home, rather than having to go from hospital to home within a few days of being born. Also, it would be mighty comforting to be in a familiar space and be able to go to sleep in your own bed when it's all over. I also think it's a great thing to be able to meet your midwife beforehand and have time to talk it over with them. I imagine that would be much more reassuring than having a doctor you barely know helping your through this experience.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Elycia! Thanks for sharing your choice with us. I hope you don't feel like you have to justify it to anyone, because like you say, it's all about what you're most comfortable with, and how you want to bring your baby into the world.
ReplyDeleteA good friend of mine has had two successful water births at home, and the way she describes it just makes it sound like an utterly magical experience. I think it's a great thing to spread awareness and information about, so would love to hear your birthing story if/when you want to share it!
All the best! Xo
Good luck with the home birth, its a really great idea... although I'm not anywhere ready for kids, I'm already convinced I wanna do it the midwife way.
ReplyDeleteSuch an exciting time for you! My mom used to assist with home births and she loved it! Best of luck :)
ReplyDeletealyssaslifestory.blogspot.com
Yes! Home birth! I had my third baby-boo at home after 2 rather traumatic births at hospital, and it was the BEST thing ever! 7 months later I still get goosebumps thinking about how amazing an experience it was. Can't wait to hear more.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I see maternity clothes at Target, I wish that they had them in the "normal" section, because they look so cute!
ReplyDeleteI hope your birth goes super smooth.
Good luck with the home birth! You seem to have grown so much since the last photo!!
ReplyDeleteP.s. I was born in the ambulance on the way to the hospital - vehicular delivery for me lol
Homebirth is AWESOME. I had my daughter at home last year and I am so excited to go that route again the second time around (when that time comes). It is a really intense and crazy experience but one of THE most amazing experiences I've ever had. I really hope you share your story, I absolutely love anything birth and baby related and I've been following your blog for a while so I am so excited to hear about your experience. :)
ReplyDeleteIf you have an emergency complication do you really want to have to wait for an ambulance, wait to be seen, wait wait wait? Midwives work in hospitals too you know and they are lovely too.
ReplyDeleteEmergencies are so rare and the midwives monitor you very closely at home to detect problems before they become emergencies. Also, the midwives have priority at the hospital, the hospital will know I am giving birth, would know if I was on my way and I would definitely not be waiting at all to be seen. I realize midwives work in hospitals too, thank you. It doesn't sound like a home birth would be for you but it is definitely what I want.
DeleteThat does sound better than I thought... Wishing you all the best. : )
DeleteGuess what you push out along with the baby? You don't want to be in a bath with that.
ReplyDeleteGuess what is obvious after reading your comment? Your lack of maturity and life experience.
DeleteHey Elycia, a little bit of afterbirth soup never hurt anyone. Besides that shit (literally) is the very last thing on your mind at that moment.
Love you Chantilly!
DeleteFellow homebirther! I gave birth on the bathroom floor and didn't care what else was happening other than staring at the baby I'd waited so long to meet.
DeleteIf anyone is scared of a little blood (okay, a lot of blood) then maybe children aren't for you in the first place. :)
Hello, I live in Holland, and it's more common to give birth at home. So the first time I started at home but it turned out I had to go to the hospital. I went to a group of four midwives for accompany the whole pregnancy. The moment I have to give birth I had a midwife who replaced one of the four midwives. So I didn't know her very well. She wasn't that good in her profession and the whole birth takes too much time so I had to go to the hospital with our own car, and she didn't call the hospital so they didn"t know that I was on my way to the hospital. And because it was evening there wasn"t a gynaecologist in the hospital. My son was born and we thought everything was alright but after a year he seemed late in his development and it turned out he has a disability. We cannot prove it has something to do with his birth but I do think so. My second son was born at home, a very quick birth and complete healthy. A beautiful experience, and so peacefull. So my advice: the first one in hospital and if all goes well, the next at home. I wish you and your husband all the luck. Bye Peet
ReplyDeleteI love that you shared this! I feel that one of the most important influences on your birth is your mind. If you are somewhere comfortable, you can get out of the way, mentally, of what your body needs to do - you can let the hormones work and you have the freedom to move in ways that facilitate birth. Sometimes the hospital is not the best place to relax! I just had my second at a birth center after having my first at a hospital and I wouldn't go back to the hospital if I could help it! Your pictures and words make me smile and I am unbelievably happy for you. Enjoy your pregnancy!
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