Pregnant while being a liveaboard ?

[Abrain]

Anyone have a child on board? Was it okay or miserable? We are planing on having our second child on board. Our first child was born at home in the living room so there can't be much difference, except I worry about the space. All advice would be appreciated.

[Pelagic]

My only advice is that I would leave the final decision up to your wife and the advice of her doctor

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Abrain

Anyone have a child on board? Was it okay or miserable? We are planing on having our second child on board. Our first child was born at home in the living room so there can't be much difference, except I worry about the space. All advice would be appreciated.

i wouldnt reccomend having the birth onboard if you are near proper hospitals due to hygine and accesability concerns.

but up to the birth and 4-5 days after living aboard we never had a problem with our 2 children,one of them we were living in the middle of a river,so a dinghy commute was needed to get ashore!

i would reccomend a backpack or pouch for bub if climbing in and out of dinghys is anticipated.

breast feeding is the best way to go if sailing off the beaten track.

building a a cot with a net is also a good idea unless you plan on having a little bundle sharing the marital bed till it gets to 8years old!

once they get mobile neopreme foam is great for covering knee high projections to prevent head wounds.

at 2 years old they will experimentaly fall overboard,but only do it once!

[Sea Frog]

Originally Posted by atoll

breast feeding is the best way to go if sailing off the beaten track.

Breast feeding IS a way to go regardless of anything else.

[Kettlewell]

My son was born while we were living aboard, though we had rented a dock space nearish a hospital in anticipation. So, it wasn't really any different for us than being in a house on land, other than figuring out how my large and pregnant wife could safely get back and forth off the boat to the dock. Of course once the baby was born we also had to be careful about where he slept so that he wouldn't end up on the floorboards. I built a set of flip-up sideboards for one of our berths so he could be battened right in, and we had a canvas maker create some soft partitions for various parts of the boat when he started to crawl--we didn't want him crawling out into the cockpit.

As to the birth itself, I think everyone has to decide for themselves how much or how little medical intervention or support they need. For our part, my wife wanted to do it in a hospital with attending staff just in case. In retrospect, we should have chosen a different hospital, but all went well. For our daughter's birth my wife was attended by a midwife, but in a hospital setting too.

[minaret]

If you can't spell "pregnant", you probably shouldn't be birthing children at home.

[boatman61]

He did say he and the wife were 'Planning'....

[Abrain]

Yes I misspelled pregnant so thanks for reminding me there are anal people left on this planet.

My wife will decide on all the birth issues. I am sure she will just have he baby with no hospital or doctor. I will let her know of the midwife option. That might be the best solution considering the size of our boat.

I did not consider her getting in and out of the boat. Thanks for the heads up.

[boatman61]

Might also help having a back up plan set up in case of complications beyond a midwife's capabilities..
Maybe some one you know with a large rib... or if there's a local TowBoat or other commercial operator nearby who'd be happy to standby for a call to assist (fee or Pro Bono).. dunno if the CG would find it acceptable behaviour.. being part of the 'system'
The thought of 2-3 people in a small dink..., blowing a 6 or 7.. trying to get across an anchorage.. if that's where you happen to be when it decides to come is scarey..
kinda Spielberg madness

Should add.. many places have 'freelance' midwives... how pro or homespun varies

[Abrain]

We will be tied to a dock for sure.

[mub]

No personal experience but just a thought.

If you need a ambulance (I hope you don't but..) remeber someone has to let the ambulance crew onto the dock if it is locked.

That might take a "third" person.

[Talbot]

The pitter patter of tiny deckshoes!

I dont see any problems with very young onboard from all the stories I have studied. Where there has been a common thread was long voyage while wife was pregnant - and just how miserable and sick the lady became. The mix of morning sickness leading to sea sickness is apparently not conducive to marital harmony!

[Kettlewell]

If you haven't been around pregnant women before they can have some issues with their balance being thrown off due to the pregnancy, so getting off and on the boat can be an issue. I got some steps to make it easier to get to the dock. If you are sailing, keep that in mind too. Don't put her in situations where she has to leap to the dock with a dockline, for example. Getting in and out of dinghies could be tricky. Another thing is heat. If you are in a tropical locale I strongly recommend figuring out a way to put an air conditioner onboard for awhile.

[Hudson Force]

Although both our children were born in nearby hospitals, we were living aboard and they were with us from infancy. There are concerns with safety. Our two year old daughter fell from the dock while boarding with her mother on the day before our son was born. Nancie was far from a condition for a lifesaving jump into the water and fortunately, help came quickly. If you're planing on a home birthing aboard it would be wise to have options for medical help if there is a need. As toddlers aboard, our children were a little late in walking. I think this was due to not having a span of floor distance below where they were not able to take hold of support. We used a basket on the floor as a bed and practiced the axiom that one can not fall off the floor; however, they did a little sliding and rolling on occasion!

[Teknav]

The week that she is expecting to deliver, stay in a hotel. Make life simpler for everyone and the comfort is worth the money. I realize that the date of delivery can be +/- two weeks, but should never exceed 40 weeks. As you get closer to the due date, her doctor should be able to estimate an actual date for the delivery. You really don't want that day to be in a sailboat! Good luck to you both! Mauritz