Homebirth Questionnaire

I usually ignore the questionnaires on Facebook but this one was on Homebirth. I couldn't resist.

For Lilah's birth (homebirth #1)

1. What was your due date? September 24, 2006
2. When was your baby born? October 3, 2006
3. Did you know from the beginning that you would birth at home? Yes
4. Were you born at home? No
5. Was your home birth a VBAC? No
6. Midwife or UC (unassisted childbirth)? Midwife attended
7. If assisted, how long did you wait before calling your midwife? My mw was in and out of our house for several days before Lilah finally made her grand entrance! I had prodromal labor for a week :( Sue, our mw, ended up spending the night on our sofa the night before Lilah was born and was with us all day the day she was born.
8. Was there a Doula present? No
9. Did you have any cravings? Throughout my pregnancy I craved Indian food! And ice cream, of course. During labor? No
10. Did you have an ultrasound? Yes, I had several during my first trimester due to a subchorionic bleed, as well as a NT ultrasound as part of a first trimester screening to screen for birth defects (how ironic), and a 20-week u/s because, really, I just HAD to know the baby's gender.
11. Did you have other children at the birth? Kevin was at school when Lilah was finally born; Annabelle and Daisy were home, but napping (and slept through the whole thing). Joey was home and awake and being looked after by our wonderful babysitter. He did not witness the birth.
12. Was it a water birth? Yes.
13. How long was your labor? Gosh, that's a hard one. As I said, I was in prodromal labor for a week. Active labor? I don't know . . . a few hours.
14. Red raspberry leaf tea? Yes. Well, actually, RRL capsules, as I can't stomach tea.
15. What did you eat during labor? My mw convinced me to eat an english muffin with peanut butter and honey, and I think some cottage cheese.
16. What room did you give birth in? Our bedroom
17. How big was your baby? 7 lbs 10 oz
18. What did you name your baby? Lilah Peggy
19. What did you do with your placenta? My mw wrapped it up and stuck it in our freezer downstairs, where it remains to this day. Still don't know what to do with it. Have thought about planting it, but haven't done it yet.
20. How old were you when your child was born? 38
21. What was your favorite part of pregnancy? I adore being pregnant. The best part is feeling the baby moving around inside. It's like magic.
22. First thing you did after your baby was born? Gosh . . . cried, probably. And hemmoraged :(
23. How old is your baby today? 2.5 years old
24. Is your child still nursing? No, but she nursed for 16 months.

For Finnian's birth (homebirth #2)

1. What was your due date? July 19, 2008
2. When was your baby born? July 7, 2008
3. Did you know from the beginning that you would birth at home? Yes
4. Were you born at home? No
5. Was your home birth a VBAC? No
6. Midwife or UC (unassisted childbirth)? Midwife attended
7. If assisted, how long did you wait before calling your midwife? We initially called her when my water broke at a little after midnight. She told me to check for cord and if I didn't feel any, to try to go back to sleep and call her when my contractions picked up. She came over the next morning to check me, but I still had not started active labor. Later that night, around 10 pm, I guess, when my ctx suddenly became noticeably more intense and closer together, we called her to come over.
8. Was there a Doula present? No
9. Did you have any cravings? Throughout my pregnancy I craved tangerines and macadmia nuts! And ice cream, of course. During labor? No
10. Did you have an ultrasound? Yes, I had one at 7.5 weeks to rule out twins, and a 20-week anatomical u/s (and of course, I HAD to know the baby's gender).
11. Did you have other children at the birth? All the kids were home and slept through the whole thing.
12. Was it a water birth? Yes.
13. How long was your labor? Active labor was about 3.5 hours
14. Red raspberry leaf tea? Yes. Well, actually, RRL capsules, as I can't stomach tea.
15. What did you eat during labor? I was eating ice cream when my contractions suddenly kicked into high gear :)
16. What room did you give birth in? Our bedroom
17. How big was your baby? 6 lbs
18. What did you name your baby? Finnian Hendrix
19. What did you do with your placenta? My mw wrapped it up and stuck it in our freezer downstairs, where it remains to this day. Still don't know what to do with it. Have thought about planting it, but haven't done it yet.
20. How old were you when your child was born? 40
21. What was your favorite part of pregnancy? I adore being pregnant. The best part is feeling the baby moving around inside. It's like magic.
22. First thing you did after your baby was born? I'm sure I cried.
23. How old is your baby today? He'll be 9 months old in a couple of days
24. Is your child still nursing? Yes