Putting together a birth box for a homebirth...

[sarahbuff]

Ok, it's a basket, but anyway. So far I have heavy maternity pads, some big knickers (childbirth is so glamorous), a clean baby blanket, and some breast pads. I plan to buy some sort of waterproof cover for putting down on the sofa/floor where I plan to give birth, and a bunch of old clean towels, and when the entonox (which I don't plan to use but doesn't hurt to have just in case) is delivered that will go in too. Also will put in some baby-gros and jammies for baby and another blanket. Any suggestions about other stuff I might need? Don't plan on waterbirth so don't need any of that kit, but this is my first homebirth and somehow I worry there might be something else really useful to have around??

An emergency bag packed for hospital just in case??

Oh how exciting!!

I've had 2 HBs and they've been wonderful!

Some clean PJs ready for yourself? a mat bra?

some bobbels for your hair - i couldn't find one last time and it drove me nuts!

Nappies for the baby, cotton wool balls,

blanket for you ater.

ummm, some boiled sweets to suck on to give you energy or ease sickness afterwards?

paracetamol (or ibuprofen if not BFing)

binbags. Make sure there is a flat area where the midwife can arrange her resusitation stuff just in case. A plug, a good lamp so she can check for stitches. Some of those sheets you can get to put on children's beds when they are still in the we the bed phase (Pampers do them) as they are very similar to what we use in hospital & really absorbent just in case you don't end up giving birth where you plan to.
Good luck, home births are wonderful things

a range of baby size clothes, my dd did not fit into her babygro - she was bigger than we had expected

straws for water/squash it is hard to remember to drink when you are in labour and exhausted - easier if instructed regularly by birth partner to suck straw

have all your kit ready in case you have to go to hosptial. I did with my first and dh was a hopeless packer and I had no money to buy teas etc

Best wishes, I loved my home birth

Excellent suggestions everyone, thanks! Re: hospital bag, I plan to have an empty bag around which I can throw essentials into if I do decide to go to hospital (since I hope it would only be in case of an emergency, have had three natural, pain relief-free hospital births), thanks for the reminder! Our living room has really bright spotlights which dim (lovely because if I want it dim during labour I can, but can have them bright if I need stitches. Hope I don't though!). Definitely a good tip about pampers pads, I was thinking about getting the blue ones they have in hospital (inco?), but only seen them in packs of, like, thousands (maybe not thousands, but far more than I need!). Really good reminder about newborn nappies, thanks! Definitely will put some paracetamol in, the afterpains were worse than the labour with my third baby (this is my fourth). I'm more dreading those than giving birth! Pj's, bfing bra and a hair holder, those are now on the list. Thanks for the help everyone! Also have a bottle of champagne already in the fridge (only 32 weeks now, it'll plenty chilled!!) and thinking of getting a box of extra yummy chocs... And maybe some really nice smelly lotion in case I fancy a massage from hubby...?

I had the inco (?) sheets in my homebirth kit that mw brought round. Also when I had my homebirth I actually had EVERYTHING i needed in my emergency hospital bag so we could just zip it and go. We just took things out as we needed. Straw for drinking through, lip balm, and bucket (in case of sickness). We went through LOADS of towels too, so makesure you have plenty clean! Good luck

Oh and actually the best thing I did was to have clean bedding on bed, cover in plastic sheeting. Then put old/cheap duvet on top and had baby on there. My dh and mws ripped sheeting off and me and baby crawled straight into bed absolute bliss!

Oops, posted before I saw yours, Dott. My second baby was so long I could barely do up the middle snap of the newborn babygros I brought to hospital! So will def have a couple different sizes, thanks for the suggestion. The best method of coping with contractions for me is walking around, and our ground floor is one big circle if you walk through all the rooms (with the doors open!), so I should be passing the cutlery drawer where we have lots of straws at least once per contraction. Perhaps I'll leave a cold drink with straw in on the kitchen counter and take a sip each time I pass...definitely won't get dehydrated then! =) One thing I'm really looking forward to is being able to make a cup of tea/have one made for me whenever I feel like it during labour!

Mamasunshine: I read somewhere that midwife would bring the inco pads on the day, but she didn't mention them when we booked the homebirth a few weeks ago, and suggested I have a waterproof sheet of some sort handy. Maybe I'll check with her whether she'll bring some pads, although probably wouldn't hurt to have my own on hand for putting on the bed after the birth. I plan to have the baby downstairs, so the bed should be clean and ready to go anyway, but if I change my mind, I'll put down the plastic sheet on the bed and another set of clean bedding, good idea!

I would also say put one of those incontinence sheets on your bed anyway because the lochia is pretty messy for a while after - or was for me anyway.

I had lucozade isotonic to drink for energy. Useful sucky bottle attachment thing too.

Do pack a hospital bag for just in case. You won't want to think about it when you're in labour even if it's not a mad dash.

Also what made mine lovely was DH put up candles and fairy lights and the room looked so pretty. Are you sure you don't want a waterbirth? I found getting in (at about 8 or 9 cms) was the best feeling ever. ONly beaten by actually getting the giant baby out

Good luck!

Oh and make sure you have plenty of tea and biscuits and bread for toast making. The MWs made me a cup of sweet tea and some toast and honey after and nothing will ever taste so good...

x posted sarahbuff

Thanks Allora, was def thinking I wanted to have some of the pads on the bed for a few days after if I'm the same as I was with the others, it can be messy as you say! I don't plan on a waterbirth for a couple reasons, for one my previous three labours were 3hrs, 2hrs and 45 minutes, so I am anticipating a reasonably quick labour (not much time to fill up a pool). Also, when I've been in labour with the others, I really never felt the need to get into water and found the thought distracting (presumably because the labours were fast). If I was going to a birthing centre or hospital, I might give it a try but I figure if I want to get into some warm water I'll have a bath (we have a tub downstairs and upstairs so don't need to worry about being on the wrong floor should I want to get out to give birth). And I'm truly convinced the best way for a fast progression is gravity, i.e. on my feet (and plus I've always found contractions more painful when sitting/lying down than when standing up).

biscuits for MW and for you :)

REIKIZEN is on the money...

i also didn't bother with water - i saw it as inhibiting active birth (i like to pace during labour) and a faff....

I packed my bag for hospital with all the stuff you've mentioned but left it open so if I was at home, I could just get the stuff from there, or if I had to go to hospital, it was all there. I don't think it is sensible to think about packing only when you need to go into hospital - one less thing to think about in what might be an emergency situation.

The HB was great. Hope yours goes as well.

Thanks Mrs Gangly! I guess I figure if everything I would need for the hospital is also in the birth box, I can just grab the couple of things I want rather than hubby or the midwife rooting through the bag during labour at home. And since I hope to only need to transfer if it is an emergency, then I know I won't really care if I just have basic stuff (i.e. nappies and a babygro...things like maternity pads they'll have at the hospital anyway). And anything else can be gotten later. I know one reason a lot of women end up heading to hospital in a non-emergency is due to needing more pain relief, but since I've had three easy quick and drug-free births already, (my hips were made for baby birthing!) I don't anticipate that happening...

My midwife suggested having a hotwater bottle to wrap the baby's clothes round and then a towel round them, so they're nice and warm to put on, which I thought was a lovely idea. With my previous homebirth DD did get a bit cold, so will definitely be doing that.

Inco pads - I found a pack of about 10 I think, in Asda, their own brand.

Thanks for the tip Wem, I'll have a look at Asda. I'm due mid-November, so I figure the radiators will be on and I can warm the blankets and clothes on there, although I also read that you can stick them in the oven for awhile wrapped in some aluminium foil...

i bought some of those pads from tesco, pampers disposable change mats, they come in packs of 12 and they are almost identical to the inco pads you can only buy in bulk, and if you dont need them they can be used when out and about in your change bag.
Good luck with your home birth!