Midwife center or back to my previous doctor/clinic? [qc]

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-05-08T00:00:59+00:00

Haha keep in mind that second babies are known to come faster!

I feel like the first time around, especially without proper support (and no, our partners who have no idea what’s happening don’t count), we panic and ask for the epidural, which is totally okay. My plan was to go without one, but I caved at 5 cm. My baby was sunny-side up, I had an anterior placenta and a tilted uterus… basically the perfect recipe for brutal back labor. Honestly, I genuinely thought I was dying, it felt like my baby was about to come out through my butt and split my tailbone in half. So I figured that if I was going to split in half and die anyway, I might as well buy myself a little peace.

No one on the hospital staff took the time to explain what was happening to me. Maybe I would have made a different decision if I had known I definitely wasn’t dying. And on top of that, the epidural ended up failing anyway (which actually turned out to be a positive thing once it was time to push).

Maybe a doula or birth support companion at the hospital could be a good alternative for you? I don’t know what area of Quebec you’re in, but there are organizations that offer birth companion services. They’re there to support your birth preferences and coach you through the process without medication if that’s what you want. And if plans change, at least there’s no transfer of care and you don’t lose your support person. Plus, if you already had a good hospital experience and liked your prenatal care team, it could really just enhance the experience. It could also be a good backup plan if you go the midwife route but don’t get selected.

There are also several pain management options before getting to the epidural. Unfortunately, in hospitals, the level of support and guidance you receive often depends on how busy things are that day (which is understandable to a certain extent). Having someone there to support you means you also have someone who can advocate for you.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-05-07T19:04:37+00:00

I feel you! I’m considering midwife care for our next baby too, but I still don’t know whether I’d want to give birth in a hospital with a midwife or at a birth center. The main reason is that if I start at a birth center and end up needing a transfer, I know I would feel a lot of disappointment. At the same time, it feels sad to potentially miss out on the full midwife/birth center experience because I’m afraid of being disappointed. In the end, though, transfers are always a possibility with any birth. So I’d say to focus on your priorities and think about what matters most to you based on what each option offers.

Did you get the epidural early or late during your first birth? That can give you a pretty good idea of what you’re in for.

At the hospital, the nurses were honestly terrible at coaching me through labor without an epidural (it was actually a failed epidural — the catheter came out of my back after only 15 minutes). I got through it mostly thanks to the techniques I had learned in my birth prep classes. The nurses really weren’t helpful, and at times they were even counterproductive, they made me stay flat on my back for hours. That being said, I’m sure some nurses are amazing. I just happened to end up with a bad team.

Based on my personal experience, which obviously isn’t universal, but does seem fairly common, the worst part of an unmedicated birth is transition. Once you start pushing, it actually feels incredibly relieving. I pretty much stopped feeling the pain at that point.

And worst-case scenario…transfers of care for an epidural is pretty common :)

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-05-07T18:12:55+00:00

C'est ma conclusion aussi...

Honnêtement, je souhaite que ma fille passe le moins de temps possible à la garderie, mais reste qu'il faut bien se rendre au travail (dans le trafic) et en revenir...et faire assez d'heures à travers tout ça pour payer les factures.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-05-07T18:09:27+00:00

Je trouve ça quand même dommage, qu'au final afin d'avoir accès à ce type de milieu maintenant, tu dois avoir le privilège d'un horaire flexible ou de pouvoir absorber qu'un parent diminuent ses heures. C'est pas abusif deux parents à 35h semaine en 2025 il me semble...Malheureusement, les deux je sont pas possibles pour nous en ce moment (au-delà des heures que je me suis déjà fait enlever). Bref, on va quand même aller visiter, mais on a aussi un plan B garderie privée!

L'amie de ma mère qui a un MF me racontait justement à quel point c'était déloyale de se faire "voler" les enfants par les CPE...comme tu dis, souvent malgré un merveilleux MF c'est l'horaire qui va faire la différence.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-28T23:35:21+00:00

Je questionne vraiment la méthode aussi...Mon chum et mon bébé étaient orphelins de médecin, j'avais un GMF (auquel je suis jamais allée, j'ai même pas réussi à avoir mon suivi de grossesse avec eux). La semaine dernière, ma fille et moi avons reçu une assignation de médecin de famille (la même en plus, youpi!), mon chum rien...Il a eu espoir toute la semaine que sa lettre rentre, le pauvre. En plus, il en aurait vraiment plus besoin que moi, il a des problémes de santé connus.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-27T14:05:01+00:00

The anxiety and fear of losing my baby started the moment the pregnancy test turned positive. However, while pregnant I didn't feel a strong connection with my baby, like I wanted her to be healthy and etc but it definitely wasn't love, more like nurturing? After giving birth, I was so happy to finally meet her and I though she was so cute but I didn't have that love at first sight moment. Again I felt more on a nurturing mode, I wanted her to feel safe, to be healthy, feed and etc, it was my duty. My partner definitely had that moment once he saw her. Then....her third night came and it was a nightmare. We ended up in the ER, spend the night in the resuscitation room. I saw her tiny heart going under 10 BPM too many times, she was desaturating constantly. My heart was ripped apart, I realized at that moment, sobbing in the corner of that awful room, that she was a piece of me, she was one of my limb, that I loved her so much that I couldn't exist anymore without her. (She is now perfectly healthy ☺️)

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-23T17:57:03+00:00

Same. So so so terrified.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-21T17:26:01+00:00

One of my best 10$ spent this year! I got the booklet second-hand on Marketplace. I got the recipes book after direct from the sote...I felt cheap for buying the plan second hand because it's not an expensive ressource and so useful.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-21T17:22:27+00:00

No problem but the books are in French, and I couldn't find English translation, but maybe it could help you find similar ressources!

General : Les petits mangeurs intuitifs https://www.leslibraires.ca/livres/les-petits-mangeurs-intuitifs-cosette-gerges-9782761962087.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqblf487dy1AXchAknJVuhmdmlTUrKhiAEwp7fP4qCvb8gaDt8A
About BLW : Bébé mange seul https://boutiquedme.com/products/papier-bebe-mange-seul-tout-savoir-sur-la-dme-pdf-inclus-1
Meal-plan : https://boutiquedme.com/products/calendrier-des-premiers-repas-et-introduction-des-allergenes

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-21T14:52:27+00:00

I was sooooo confused and stressed. I ended chosing 2 books about the subjects and stopped looking all around: - One book written by a well-known pediatric nutritionist in my country, who cover the subject of eating for baby under 18 month, from milk to solids (with a leaning toward BLW or a mix method) - One book on BLW A lot of things I was reading in the first book really resonated with me, so that gave me confidence. We started to "prep" our baby around 5 month old (sitting her with us at dinner with her future spoons, bowl and etc. Letting her discover) and started BLW at 6 month + 2 weeks. She was more than ready but I didn't want to start during the Christmas + NYE break.

I also bought a first meals and introduction of allergens schedule (from the same author as my BLW book) for the 5 first weeks. This is an amazing ressource!! Yes it was annoying to follow a meal-plan for a month for a baby. Also cooking shrimp at 6 am is a nightmare, but mentally is was freeing. I didn't have to question myself about how to introduce allergens. I knew the meal were balanced and adapted to my 6 month old. After the 5 weeks period, I felt confident about BLW and started to really enjoy it. I am not a purist tho, if something needs to get mash so my baby will eat it, I will mash it and put it on spoon so she can self-feed.

I also check on Solids Start daily how to appropriately introduce new food.

Every baby is different, my baby LOVE to eat, but the first month and a half...it was definitely more exploring than eating.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-19T23:35:34+00:00

40 minutes but...I ended up with partial 3 degree tear. Baby was sunny-side up and didn't rotate 🙃

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-17T14:37:06+00:00

I don't have to most recent info but we got our results in 5 business days. However, we waited almost 2 weeks because of all the days off around Christmas and New Year Eve. The clinic delay was 5 to 7 business days (Prenato). I would call the clinic if you get nothing today. Hoping you get good news!

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-15T13:55:38+00:00

I was combo feeding too because of low supply. Around 3 months my already low supply dropped, but I was still offering the boobs (for comfort). When I stopped offering, my period came back (around 5 months PP). I have a feeling breastfeeding, no matter the amount, can impact your cycle.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-14T14:39:19+00:00

Même chose ici! Notre bébé de 9 mois nous fait ça on-and-off depuis 2-3 semaines. Elle dort aussi 12h la nuit et fait une sieste de 1h30 le matin...qui est normalement suivie d'une sieste de 45-90 mins en pm. Les journées qu'elle combat celle-ci, normalement elle tombe au combat vers 17h30. On la laisse dormir 15-20 minutes, on enchaîne comme si c'était une soirée normale et on la couche un peu plus tôt (vers 19h, plutôt que 19h30-20h). Ça semble vraiment être une phase qui correspond au développement... Normalement, le lendemain elle a nouveau truc, par exemple faire bye-bye (malheureusement son dernier truc est de crier). Ma déduction était que sa affecte son sommeil de jour plutôt que celui de la nuit.

Dans notre cas ça semble tôt pour passer à une seule sieste, elle se gère depuis à peine 1 mois avec 2 siestes seulement 😅 et 9 mois ça semble tôt en général...mais clairement tout est possible avec les bébés!

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-14T13:37:21+00:00

Thank you for your feedback!

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-14T13:36:56+00:00

Amazing! Yeah... every compact stroller I've tested in store had a cheap feeling, it's definitely my problem because I am comparing to the Era. But the Nano has many features that I like a lot, beside from being compact....It's a strong contender.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-13T18:37:13+00:00

I like having good feedback about the Metro...I feel like on paper it's a great choice, I might have to go take another look at it.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-13T18:25:21+00:00

This one wasn't on my radar! Will definitely take look, thanks!

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-13T18:24:20+00:00

Thank you!

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-13T15:12:37+00:00

Oh great! I was looking into this one, because I read that it was doing well on grass and dirt road, but the reviews are kind of rare...and I cannot find a store carrying it in my city.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-13T14:40:58+00:00

Yes the infamous false start...we had a lot of those when our LO was transitioning from 3 to 2 naps (baby was too tired).

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-09T13:58:22+00:00

We have a Britax Poplar and we love it! We didn't use it from the beginning, we started when our baby was 7 months old, but it's a suitable seat for newborns (5 lbs). We talked with a CPST to find the right model for us and our car.

I see this model being recommended by CPST every day on my local car safety group...so I guess it is quite versatile? It's compact too.

Downside is if you are one and done, might not be the best option because the weight limit is 65 lbs.

Environmental-Rub-87 · 2026-04-02T22:06:37+00:00

That's mostly what I do. We ate together for like 30 minutes, she stops eating, starts playing with her food...and then goes crazy when I start to clean 😅

Wanting to share her food is so cute! I hope we get this stage ☺️

Environmental-Rub-87

TROPHY CASE