How many towels do I need for a homebirth???

[Thankyouandgoodnight]

Can anyone advise me how many towels I need and what size and where can I get some cheap crappy ones for the occasion??

You need as many towells as you need litres of hot water.

i got super cheap ones from asda.
I think I had 2 for myself and one for ds

a few! had an unplanned homebirth so obv less prepared but got through so many dh had to rush out and buy some from sainsburys, which were neither great quality or cheap

didnt bin any though it all washed off!

it depends on how often you are getting in and out if you are having a pool.

10+ seems to be common.

My midwives told me they would bring everything I required, so I didn't buy anything special. As it turned out I had ds in hospital so I didn't get to test it.

towels are expensive i have gotten some pampers bed covering things you know the ones you use when potty training. There plastic backed so water proof and quite big. Not sure if they'll be much help tho as this is my first hb due in 7days. Lol sorry if that hasnt been helpful. Got two nice ones to clean baby up with though. Lol sorry baby brain!

yep mw's should bring big pile of inco pads for you to use, so no need for towels on the floor

midwife/paramedic on hearing dh was going to get towels, said make sure you get thick maternity ones so he bought maternity pads too, i was miffed as i had a whole drawer full that i had bought when they were half price!

i had one in labour in bath
some on the floor when pushing as waters had to break
one to wrap ds in as he was delivered
one clean one for when we washed ds and dressed him
one for me when i had a bath afterwards
sat on one in bed after i ruined one set of sheets
one for shower after above

so I used about 8! but then i did use all the towels in birthing suite when i had dd, so perhaps i am just a prolific towel user!

TBH I think we used one to wrap DD in and one/two for me after my bath and that was it. DH got plastic from work to cover bed, and I bought a smartprice sheet from Asda that I threw away afterwards (could probably have washed and reused but was v. poor quality). Other than that it was the pampers care mats (I had most of a pack left over from when DS was potty training) or the pads brought by the midwives which were pretty much the same thing.

Okay, I'm intrigued now - I'm having a homebirth in a few weeks and haven't been told to get towels. What are you meant to do with them? We have masses of big thick fluffy dressing gowns and we do have a lot of towels anyway but why specifically would I buy towels? How much ick can come out of a person? I mean, yes the waters but that's what a litre? More?

Should I buy a snorkel just in case?

Er... I didn't use vast quantities of towels. why on earth would I? and I had a pool...

Get dark ones though. That's a good idea. Or a dark dressing gown.

I don't recall needing a large number of towels....

The midwives bring incopads.

If you do buy towels, they don't have to be ultra cheap (ie disposable) - everything can be washed.

when the midwife came to tell us about the hb checklist she didnt mention about towels either. It was only after she left i wondered what baby would be cleaned with surely cotton wool would have been taking the p a bit so decided to get some nice big towels instead lol

I used an old (dark coloured) handtowel to wrap DS in, and used towels after having baths during and after labour, but they all went in the wash no probs. MWs bought inco pads and we had DIY plastic-backed dust sheets down.

Of course my waters broke on the one patch of living room carpet that wasn't covered, but the stain came out with a bit of scrubbing...

I have a washing machine. Is there some special quality of gunk which comes out during childbirth which is unshiftable with detergent and a hot wash?

I've bought some large net laundry bags and they fit into my big plastic laundry basket. So we plan to just fling any dirty stuff directly into that then put the net bag in the washing machine - without needing to handle it excessively. Not that I think either I or my DH would be particularly phased. We have a toddler FFS - she seems to emit most bodily fluids, and some not found outside horror movies!

whomovedmychocolate.

I got into my pool to clean off after having ds2.
stepped out into my cheapo towel and prompty lost about half a pint of blood all over it.

so erm, quite a lot of ick can come out! lol. but it did all wash out and we do still use the towels.

I laboured on a 94p shower curtain covered with 2 inco pads. there was a LOT of ick. but that was all taken away by the midwives.

I was told to get white towels so that if your waters break they can make sure that theyt are clear.

that said my MW's were v reluctant to use them lol

And DS didn't really get washed as such, just a quick wipe, didn't mind the gunk tho.

Half a pint is not that much though - I mean it looks a lot but surely you can mop that up with just one bath towel? I have some of those maternity mat things (they are great btw if your radiators leak - we found this out after we had DD and then had some plumbing emergencies - of the traditional kind rather than the pelvic floor variety ).

I was stood by the side of the bed already pushing when my waters broke and the midwife just caught them in a metal bowl she had ready.

I had a home water birth and had a couple - one to clean the floor, one for the baby, I had a dressing gown.

I have no memory of towels....I assume there were some involved, as it was a waterbirth, and if I absolutely rack my brains I can remember reclining on one afterwards, but to be honest I have no idea which precise towel it was.

Our towels are all quite spectacularly manky ancient, though.