Prepping for a Home Birth

Things are so much different this time around. About this time with Jeffrey, the top items on my list was getting the car seat installed and my hospital bag packed. Neither of those are an issue this time. We'll probably still get the car seat installed sometime soon, but there's no rush since we can just do it after the baby is born before we leave the house for the first time. Instead, I'm ordering the few items that we'll need and making plans to get our house nice and clean! I'm so much more calm about everything; I truly find that there is nothing that can make me stressed or nervous about the upcoming birth. I'm SO excited about it.

Our plan is to have my mom come over to be with Jeffrey and to take pictures. They're going to bake and decorate cupcakes for Gavin's Birth Day, play, watch TV, go to the park, or basically do whatever he wants to do. We'd like him to stay close to home, but, if he starts to freak out during the birth, she'll just take him somewhere else (likely her house- 5 minutes away max). I'll labor wherever I want to be in the house, but the goal is to actually deliver him in our bedroom (that way, Jeffrey still can have his space since that will likely be the most difficult part for him to watch, potentially). The shower I'd use is in the master bath, and we'll have the birth tub set up in there, as well. I'm hoping for a water birth- makes for a quick and easy clean up! Afterwards, I'll cuddle/nurse him for the first time while we wait for the cord to stop pulsing and the placenta to come out. This is when Jeffrey will come to meet him, as well, if he isn't already in the room. It's so important to us that he's the first to say hello to his brother (with mom and dad). Then, it's off to daddy and the midwife to be weighed and bathed while I take a shower and get cleaned off. Once I'm in bed, we'll call the immediate family to come say hello to the newest little arrival. It should all be super low key and wonderful.

To get ready for that, there are a few things that we have to do to prepare. I've already ordered most of it, and I just need to figure out how to organize it.

This is the list of items that we need for the birth:

• 2-4 large bottles of Hydrogen Peroxide (for clean-up)
• 4 oz bottle of almond oil (to help prevent tearing)
• Bottle of Pedialyte
• shower curtain (to avoid mess)
• heating pad
• trash bags
• 6 towels and wash cloths
• cotton baby blankets
• cotton infant clothes
• fish strainer (for pulling out any unwanted objects that may come out during pushing...)
• package of Depends
• large bowl (to catch placenta)
• birth pool liner
• Tucks pads
• Sitz bath
• garden hose (to fill the birth tub)

Everything else (including the birth tub) will be provided by my midwife, who will bring it all during our home visit on the 22nd. After that, we'll be all set to go to birth a baby boy! Hopefully, I can get the house clean before then :)