My due date is the end of March but being my sixth child, anything could happen.
So, we’re prepping.
My supplies include:
cord clamp,
birth stool,
roll of plastic,
absorbent sheets,
essential oils (I use Frankincense , Myrrh, and Clary sage)
Sounds simple, right?
Here’s the PLAN:
When I feel the time is near I’ll make sure my husband is home or on his way home.
We’ll prepare the bathroom, since that was the most comfortable room in the house with my last two births.
There I’ll have access to water, both hot and cold. A shower if I feel like relaxing and of course the toilet for, well you know what for.
We’ll roll out our plastic sheets and cover them with absorbent pads to catch all the stuff. This also makes for a much easier cleanup!
This time I’ve purchased a birthing stool to sit on instead of the toilet, because my biggest fear is having the baby land in the toilet.
When the baby is making his way down the birth canal it’s kind of hard to find that perfect position and the toilet relives a lot of the pressure and feels comfortable.
With my second homebirth, my baby’s head emerged while on the toilet. I lunged forward as fast I as I could to avoid his landing in the toilet.
So, I wanted to try the birthing stool this time.
My husband then prepares the oils and heats up some water.
I use frankincense for a relaxing and calming smell during and/or between contractions.
Next, he mixes myrrh and olive oil in a crockpot with hot water to use as a compress if I begin to tear.
The last essential oil he’ll prepare is clary sage. Which he will also mix with olive oil as a rub for my lower back between contractions, as it helps stimulate and keep labor progressing.
My job is to stay calm, relaxed and focused. My body will do the rest.
God is in control, and we trust Him to deliver a perfect baby!
Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child..….. I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory….then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. (Isaiah 66)
The Pilgrim Homestead 