Homebirth Tips

[SprigofSage]

Hi everyone, planning a home water birth for my first baby due in March.

I am very aware that things may not go to plan, but I'm planning as if it will.

I'd like to know what were the most useful items (or best snacks) that you had in the house or what were the things you wish you'd got in if you didn't have them!

Ditto for the post-partum recovery stage!

Thanks all!

waterproof sheet
shower curtain - in case you do not want to be on a bed
sturdy cardboard box with bin liner in - you will need it & your midwives will love you!
some towels in case you are transitioning in/out of a pool.

A good lamp to help the midwives see what is going on. Crank the heating up warmer than you would usually have it,

A box of biscuits and plenty of tea for the midwives,.

Dread to think what the cardboard box with the binliner is for, hopefully not baby's first bassinet 😂😂😂

Thank you both!

I'm very concerned about having adequate snacks.

I had a blow up mattress and covered it with an old sheet and shower curtain and it was so comfortable and where I ended up giving birth. I had plenty of lucozade sport which was great and also had essential oil diffuser which was great to relax. Other than that there wasn't much I really needed but I have to say it was the best experience ever and am planning to do it again in July. Good luck OP! ❤️

Snacks for the midwives - a lot of ours were vegan so we made sure we had oat milk in. Those puppy pads you can get are great - the midwives will probably supply some but they're good to have. Make sure you have all the right connectors for the hose if you're having a water birth. Bin bags.

@SprigofSage

Dread to think what the cardboard box with the binliner is for, hopefully not baby's first bassinet 😂😂😂

Thank you both!

I'm very concerned about having adequate snacks.

Ask your midwives. Mine specifically requested Doritos cool original

I didn't have a homebirth but do like snacks! For my hospital Labour the snacks that worked best were things like babybel, cheesestrings, nuts, crisps. Easy to eat, not too strong in flavour, nothing likely to upset your stomach.

Make sure you've got a loaf of bread in, toast is a great snack especially post birth. About an hour after DD was born I was starving hungry, my body had caught up with the fact I'd just done something really hard and it needed sustainable. Toast can be eaten one handed, it's filling and the smell of hot buttered toast by itself is magic.

Lots of old towel for labour and a nice towel and drawing gown for after. After I gave birth the midwife ran me a bubble bath so I had a quick bath and cleaned myself up and I felt like a new women.

Lots of lucozade sport. I can’t remember what snacks I had but I didn’t get to eat any as my labour was quick! Tea/coffee and snacks of midwifes.

My husband lent the midwife a head torch to do the stitches afterwards! It was a bright sunny day when I gave birth and we put the light on but it still wasn’t light enough between my legs!

I'm very concerned about having adequate snacks.

I was very concerned about this during the pushing stage. Apparently I suddenly got very insistent they must have a flapjack. I blame the gas and air.

Anyway, my tip is get the car seat out of the car. If you end up being transferred to hospital pre-birth then your partner will have time to put the car seat in the car in order to collect you but if you are transferred after giving birth, you’ll need the car seat for the ambulance. I haemorrhaged after DD was born and it would have been easier to have the car seat ready to go as it was all very rushed. This might be obvious, but we hadn’t thought of it.

I never got a waterbirth but DS2 born at home.
I had the pool up twice though!

Baby no 2 I remember me saying to DH "it's coming", and he was too worried about filling the pool to comprehend that we didn't need it.

I would have your DH do a wet run of the pool filling before you actually need it.
I wouldn't put the heating hot as I was boiling in childbirth.
The midwives needed something to rest my feet on while they did my stitches. We used 2 piles of magazines but a couple of footstools would have been better.

OP the bin bag and box is for throwing out the impressive amount of mess that birth makes. Don’t worry about it, it’s normal.

I never had any need for snacks, so that might not be a worry you need to have.

We never fed the midwives either, I think there might have been a cup of tea made but to be honest they were never here long enough to need anything.

I want to know what the cardboard box was for!

Put all your post birth stuff eg pads and pants in the bathroom. I didn’t really think about that bit and had everything in a drawer in the bedroom, but then had to go and collect it all after the baby was born and take it to the bathroom, which was awkward with a towel wedged between my legs.

Put a little water jug with a spout in the bathroom which you can use to clean yourself easily when sat on the loo, or to trickle water over you when you pee, waters it down to sting less.

Put some pads in the freezer.

Collect all the telephone numbers you’ll need for pre and post birth in one place. Eg people to notify, support for feeding etc.

An insulated mug is a great idea for keeping warm drinks warm for any stage in parenting.

Such great advice everyone thanks so much!!!!

@SickAndTiredAgain would never have thought of that re the car seat - great tip!

@trumpisagit there's a folding footstool sat in my Amazon basket, I'll get two!

Sadly, I won't know what midwives are coming until they turn up so I'll just have to try and cover all dietary bases!

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo I've heard a lot about the post-birth tea and toast - can't wait!

Okay so the cardboard box with the bin liner is in so at the end your midwife can just pull the waterproof sheet off the bed with all the info pads and god knows what on it and bundle it up and bin it. Also for pads, old towels, any undies or clothes that get soiled and gloves. Lots of gloves. It all goes in the bin. Then that goes in a yellow bag and the midwife takes it all away to be incinerated.

Snacks:
Isotonic drinks
Milk for tea and decent coffee
Sturdy biscuits! You know.

Thank you so much for all the tips! In the end my little boy was born at home, in the pool, at lightening speed (RIP my vagina) on Sunday morning - there was certainly no time for snacks!