what do i need for home birth.

[ghostspirit]

i really should know all this but i have gone thick.

i have baby clothing,nappys, wipes, towels. baby blankets. sanatery towels. night shirt for giving birth,

is there anything else?

[sunnyoutside]

Takeaway menus for when it is all over

Are you hoping for a water birth or non water birth at home?

Water birth: sieve, cheap shower curtains and towels
Non water birth - cheap shower curtains and towels

I have had both - what I have realised is that you can't have enough towels.

Oh and water ready to drink from the fridge

[ghostspirit]

not having a water birth did think about it but decided no.

have a water dispenser its my best friend

[Onsera3]

Something to feed the midwives

[ghostspirit]

really feed the midwifes :/ never knew that was a think. no harm getting few snacks though

[sunnyoutside]

Ok in which case, snacks, drinks, towels and make sure your hot water is on so you can shower/bath/strip wash after the bath to feel fresh and clean. Pretty much the same as if you were going into hospital.

Heating on for when baby arrives - ds2 was a homebirth on a really hot day in June and I was amazed at how warm the midwives wanted the lounge - We did our skin-to-skin on the sofa (he was born downstairs) after he was born so had a cheap shower curtain over the sofa covered in towels.

[sunnyoutside]

*after the birth not after the bath

[AuldYow]

Yes, we fed the midwives homemade well technically my mum made biscuits and plenty of tea. They were fab both the biscuits and midwives!

We had takeaway pizza after the event and it tasted bloody amazing

[sunnyoutside]

We had chinese after ds2 was born. It was the nicest thing I had ever tasted

[ghostspirit]

ah yes im giving birth in living room as no room in my bedroom. so yes defo cover sofas.

i wont be doing home made things. but i will make sure there are are snacks. i only have one cup in the house. guess i best buy some

i have had 2 babys at home... but i just go a bit dopey at what i need

[chunkymum1]

Plenty of things to protect carpets/bed/sofa (as pp said- you can never have too many towels- I'd make sure some are clean but old though so the worst can be binned).

Pack a very minimal hospital bag, just in case she needs to be taken in to hospital for any reason. Not the full on bag you'd take for a planned hospital delivery- just underwear, nappies, sanitary pads, nightwear, toothbrush).

I didn't need to feed the midwives- they weren't there for long and it was late at night but suppose if it was a long labour they would probably be grateful for a biscuit and a cuppa. However, after the event I was really hungry despite it being the middle of the night, so I'd say make sure there is plenty of easy to prepare tasty food in (maybe a couple of frozen meals and plenty of sandwich stuff).

An easy to watch film/comedy show on DVD. I was so wired after the late night birth that I didn't want to go straight to sleep but didn't really have the brain power left for conversation/book etc.

[ItsTimeForANewUserName]

Midwives usually do a home visit in advance and will give you a list of stuff to get in ready.

[JasperDamerel]

What I did, rather than having a hospital bag, was to have a bag of things I needed for the birth (comfy Tshirt, hypnobirth music cd, bottles of mineral water, towels, biscuits etc) and one of thing I needed for the baby and the first couple of days (nappies, baby clothes, toiletries, breastfeeding book, nice pyjamas, all the snacks, more water, painkillers, soothing spray for battered lady parts, sanitary towels etc). That way, I could take them with me if I needed to go to hospital, but also had a handy bag of stuff (mostly snacks and drinks) I needed once I was tucked up in bed with a constantly feeding baby so that I didn't have to keep calling DP to bring me stuff.

Other useful tips are that disposable baby-changing mats are really good floor protectors, and that newborn disposable nappies work better than sanitary towels for the very heavy bleeding for the first 24 hours or so after the birth.

And it's useful to have something very sugary to eat immediately after the baby is born for quick energy to stop shakiness.

[ghostspirit]

soothing spray? do you remember what its called? did not know there was such a thing. sounds good. where can i get it from :)

yes them square disposable things. i want them for my sofa and then towels over the top. i forgot the name of them.

i have not been adviced on what i need. and the birth pack has already been dropped of.

the nappy thing and sugar sounds good to. thanks

i dont think midwifes will be here that long as my births are fast

[JasperDamerel]

I used this, despite the rather hideous name www.amazon.co.uk/Earth-Mama-Angel-Baby-Bottom-Spray-liquid/dp/B0090YQYMK?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

You could easily make your own, though. There are recipes all over the Internet. It's basically witch hazel in a spray bottle.