Birth pool in a box - mini or regular?

[MotherPanda]

Hello ladies,

I've decided to go for a birth pool in a box for my home birth but i cant decide what size to go for. can anyone tell me the differences between the mini and regular one?

Do they both have seats and handles? Is the regular one really huge, or will i feel squished in the mini one?

Would love to hear about how long it took to fill either of them too,

Any BPIAB experiences welcome :)

Hello

I have just (today) unpacked my birth pool in a box mini.

It says for ladies under 5ft 6 i think, and that regular is ok for ladies up to 6ft 2. The room in intend to use it in isnt huge so being 5ft 3 i went for mini.

I fit in it fine.... but ONLY JUST..... if my legs were 3inches longer i would NOT fit comfortably. Also i have a normal-ish size body and short legs, so if i had a shorter body but longer legs not sure if i would have enough room (to sit with legs out straight in front of me)....... In reality in not sure if when in labour i will want to sit with legs out and will probably kneel or lean on pool side etc.

Only the regular one has a seat (but with the depth of the mini, and the height of the walls and handles i really dont thing it needs a seat anyway.
They both have handles, and the handles seemed to be in just the right place for me
I blew mine up today with an electric pump and it (the mini) took just 6 minutes!

as for filling time, it depends on your hot water system.... I havent filled mine yet..... i think it said allow 30 - 45 mins of you have a combi boiler, or 2 - 3 hours if you have an old style bolier that doesnt heat water to order. (It suggested if you have an old boiler to use kettles and pans as well to help

I measured my mini and it needed 1.4 X 1.7 meters approx of floor space. Dont know how big regular is. (regular will also take even longer to fill)

If you are taller than 5ft 3 or 5ft 4 max Id recommend the regular. Mini IS ok for 5ft 3 (with short legs) me.... but only just!!!!!!

Thanks Nannyl, I know i'm 160cm tall, so i think thats just under 5ft 3.

oooher - I am impressed at the 6 minute inflating time.

I have a combi boiler, so hopefully shouldn't take too long to fill!

I think thats the only problem, deciding if i want lots of space, but have to wait longer for it with filling time etc, or if i can be ok with just enough space...

Hmmmmm..........

Thank you!

I'm quite tall and we got the regular, but would probably have done so in any case - why restrict yourself and risk feeling cramped? What if you want to stretch or float? I did. Get the most spacious pool your room will accommodate.

I don't recall how long it takes to inflate, but, with an old-style boiler, from opening the box to full took a little under 2h. You can of course get in before it is full, you don't have to wait. If you have an old-style boiler remember to pug it on continuous and turn its thermostat (not the house thermostat) to maximum.

Another reason for buying the larger size is that we get it out a couple of times a year and have a family hot-tub!

I've got the regular birth pool (all I need now is labour! ).

It takes around 5-7 min to inflate and 55 minutes to fill with water from our combi boiler.

It's got handles on the side and a built in seat.

It's a lovely size, very spacious with lots of room to move around in. I'm 5 foot 9.

I think play it safe and go for the bigger one if you can.

Oooh -prettycandles I do like the idea of having a family swimming pool for years to come....

There only seems to be around £15 difference between them really, so I could get the bigger one without feeling too guilty.

I was going to put a mini one in my bathroom (which is HUGE) because i thought it would be easier to empty, and to get me to the toilet when i need to, but then i realised it would be very awkward for the midwives and dh, as they would have nowhere to sit.

so i think maybe i'll go for the regular in my bedroom (on the same floor as the bathroom), I expect my combi boiler to take around the same amount of time as yours rasta.

Will just make the job of emptying a bit tougher for my DH (i think we are going down the buckets route).

Hmmmm....... been given a 20% off voucher from the NCT which I'm going to use for this.....

suggest you get a water pump

there is one on ebay finishing today for only a few £ (at the moment)

you will need a hose to fill it, so can then use hose to empty as well... (but then cant use hose to fill next time)

if upstairs i guess you could just use a hose to siphon out of window into outside drain, if DH is brave enough to suck!!!!!

You can reuse the hose if you sterilise it by filling it with Miltons.