Preparing for our home birth

Today I am 36 weeks and 3 days. I am finally in the safe zone for a home birth! If the baby were to have come any earlier it would have needed to be a hospital birth. LindaBlue came over this past Thursday for a prenatal visit. It is so amazing to have our care provider come to our home.

Meet the lovely LindaBlue.

We start our time together with lunch. I don’t like to cook but for some reason preparing a meal for the woman that is going to help us through this experience doesn’t feel painful.  We enjoy our lunch and talk about our questions and fears, tell stories about things not related to birth; we are working to really get to know one another. The power was out during this visit and so we discussed how we would handle the birth without electricity, as you can never predict these things.  The biggest issue would be not having access to clean water so we will purchase 2 large Culligan size water jugs.

When we have had enough to eat we move to the bedroom for the exam. Linda takes my pulse, measures my belly, feels the baby, listens to his heart, and has me give her a urine sample. Brandon took his turn with the stethoscope too. The dogs gather round and are very curious about the whole event. I asked Linda to measure my waist. The tape measure wasn’t big enough so we improvised. I currently have a 40inch waist. Again, everything is healthy and on track!  We will see Linda again on 12/12/15.

She was really feeling him...he is still head down and she thinks almost 7 pounds!

40-inch waist folks!

We need to have names and contact numbers for multiple boat captains incase the baby comes in the middle of the night. LindaBlue lives in Panajachel and this is a 15- minute boat ride from our home. There is not access to lake transportation after 7pm unless you have arranged for a private boat. Brandon worked with Cruz, the Guardian of the house to contact 5 captains, let them know when I am due, and to ask if they would be open to being on our list. We have 5 just in case the first 4 do not answer their phone!

Another part of preparing for a home birth is gathering supplies. Linda gave us a list of things to have on hand.  Below is the list:

Supply list for homebirth

2 pkg of underpads: Chux

Large bottle of hydrogen peroxide

1 roll of absorbent paper towels

Extra Toilet paper

Plastic cover (i.e. to cover bed) - a shower curtain works well

Duct tape – to attach plastic cover to bed

2 large dark plastic trash bags

1 large zip lock bag

rescue remedy cream

Peri bottle

Oil for massage: coconut oil or olive oil

Bendable straws

Sanitary napkins (approx. 12 – thick pads not thin super absorbent for the first 24 hours after birth)

Food for Mom during labor (small protein snacks, protein drinks, juice (usually citrus is not a good choice), fruit, yogurt,  honey, etc.)

Please have the following items located together in a box, bag, shelf in closet, etc.
1  sets of twin sheets (1 for birth, 1 for after birth)
4  large used bath towels (double the amount for a water birth)
clean clothes for mom (after the birth)
clothes for baby (undershirt, gown, diapers, socks, 2 receiving blankets)

My mom is bringing some of the items when she comes because they would have required a 4-hour trip to Guatemala City (Thank you so very much mom!!).  We spent the majority of today walking around Panajachel picking up the items that we could find here.  We did run into LindaBlue on the street and of course she had the biggest smile on her face. She always does! She told us that she is getting a new tattoo tomorrow so we should try to not have the baby tomorrow!  Both Brandon and I feel very safe and ready for this!

The last piece is to have a plan B. We need to have a plan for if things are not progressing or if Linda feels that we have some type of emergency. There is a hospital that is a 20-minute boat ride across the lake that is a part of plan B. Linda is going to check out a private clinic in Panajachel that she has used in the past this weekend and then Brandon and I will go and meet the doctor.  Better to be over prepared than under prepared!

XOXO,

Katie and Brandon