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| Hose adapter |
After pumping it up, we got ready to do a trial run with it and fill it up with water, which leads me to some more supplies you need (that are not included in the purchase of the tub!)...a hose and faucet adapter to connect the hose to your water source. I think the hose Brandon got from the local hardware store was something like
this, and the key things we looked for were: for "hot water", "drinking water", and "lead-free". You can see the hose in pics below. As for the faucet adapter, we got something like this one to the right, that connects to our water source: a shower head down the hall. (On a side note, we also have a digital thermometer that we will be using to monitor the temperature of the water throughout the birth so that we can make sure the water is not too hot or too cold for Baby Avery and I!)
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| The trial run... |
Then it was time to try it out! After first blowing it up, I took it up to our bedroom (it's actually very light so don't worry that I was straining myself too hard to carry it!) and tried it in a few positions, but it didn't fit quite right. This threw me for a loop a bit because I have been picturing that we would have the birth in our bedroom for many months now because we've got a bathroom in there, our bed, and there's just something kind of private about being in your own bedroom, as opposed to your living room or kitchen! So this left me scratching my head...where else in our house would I have the birth? Then it dawned on me...what about Avery's room? I carried the tub in there and it fit perfect, plenty of space all around! I then closed the shades, turned off the lights, turned on some of my fav flameless candles, and cranked up some relaxing music on my iPod dock and I was sold! This is where I want to have the birth! Another fun thing about being in that room is seeing all the fun projects and work that we've done preparing for her arrival over the past 9 months, and for her to be born in that room feels very special and right to me. Although these pic above doesn't do the "vibe" of the room justice, you kind of get the idea.
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| Fill it up! |
So, now that the location was decided, it was time to try it out! Turn on the hot water Brandon and let this pregnant mama relax! As green as I am, you know I didn't want to fill the water all the way up to the recommended line just for this trial run, but nonetheless I wanted to see how it felt, so we went about halfway. Once it was ready, I climbed in! We turned off the lights and turned on all my "mood-setters" (candles, music, etc.) and then I relaxed for a little bit. The tub was so comfortable compared to our bathtub, mainly because it was so soft from being inflated. One of my favorite things was the floor of the tub, because it has it's own inflation and as a result, you feel like your sitting on lots of pillows (not a hard, cold, bathtub floor). Two other features I love about this tub are it's cocoon-like shape, and high walls, both of which make it feel more private and safe...not just out in the open.
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| The nice, soft floor of the tub. |
Once the trail run was over...bummer...we tried draining it. This took a little bit more experimenting, but eventually we figured out a "siphon-method" where the water can drain from our upstairs down and out of the house. There are fancy pumps that drain the water out of the tub, but since we were able to get the water out with our "free" method, we're sticking to it!
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| "I think I'm gonna like it here!" |
One last thing about the tub is that even though I'm a planner and I'd love to leave the tub all pumped up and ready to go, I found out that you actually want to deflate it a little bit if it will be a few weeks before your birth. Apparently it taxes the seams of the tub too much to have it filled to it's max, 24/7 for weeks at a time. So when you go to fill it with water on your baby's birthing day, you may find that the seams just give way and snap from the constant pressure. Well, I definitely don't want that to happen, so I've deflated some air from both the sides and the bottom of the tub, and surely it should only take up 5-10 minutes once it's time for the birth to fill it back up to maximum fullness. Alright...enough about the pool! Let's move on to the other supplies I got to help prepare us for our homebirth:
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| My towels |
2- Lots of towels! This was actually kind of fun to do, because how often do you get to buy new towels? I don't know about you, but as long as it still dries me off after a shower, then I'm happy with it...never mind that I've had it for 2-3 years! But I saw this as a chance to upgrade and get some fun, new, soft towels and boy did I have some luck at Bed, Bath & Beyond! I got about 6 or so new towels to help us get ready for the birth and although we probably already had plenty of towels to use, it was a nice excuse to go out and get some new ones...they rock! I can't believe I've waited so long to get new ones!
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| Wash cloths |
3. Extra Wash Cloths- Got a few of these standard wash cloths from Bed, Bath & Beyond while I was stocking up on towels, but the other stack of wash cloths is actually bamboo wipes my aunt got me for Avery's Baby Shower off my Etsy Favorite list. These bamboo wipes are amazing and super soft. I will definitely use them any day over traditional wash cloths when it comes to giving Avery a bath. Here is a
link to the exact product on Etsy where you can purchase your own (there are 6 stitch colors to choose from) and to read up on the benefits of using bamboo! I can't wait to use these on Baby Avery and maybe for myself! Thanks again Aunt Cathy! ( :
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| Tank dress for the birth |
4. Sports bra/Nightgown for labor and birth. Just like many aspects of my birth, there are many things that I am unsure of...will I want lots of natural light or very dark with just a few candles? Will I want relaxing music or will I be rocking out to Eminem? Will I be snacking the whole time or will the thought of food make me want to throw up? I have no idea! The same question comes up about what I will want to wear during the labor and birth? My go-to outfit around the house right now is my favorite pair black yoga pants and one of my maternity tank tops. But since I may want something with a bit more room to move around and have access to a baby potentially coming out, I thought it was time to get a new night gown of some sort.
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| Sports bra and swimsuit top |
My vision was basically like a really long tank top that's kind of form fitting (ask anyone that knows me well, I do not like baggy clothing one bit...especially now that I'm pregnant!). I'm happy to say I found it at Target, here's
a link to it! It's even called a tank dress...love it! Granted, I wasn't feeling the "ankle-length" cut, so my awesome seamstress grandma helped me hem it up to a nice length right above my knee. As to whether I'll actually wear it (or the other two back sports bras/swim suit tops that I have pictured here) I have no idea, but at least I have some options to choose from!
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| Vinyl tablecloth |
5. 2 large vinyl tablecloths with thick white backing. Kind of a boring item on the list, but very important nonetheless, as these will be going under the water tub in Avery's room to protect the carpet from getting wet. Since they smelled "very plasticy" I've been "off-gassing" them in my garage for the last week or so that way they don't reek of plastic when it's time to use them.
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| Extra bed sheet |
6. Extra set of sheets for our bed. This is kind of like the towels I mentioned above in how, I can't believe we've gone so long without a second set of sheets for our bed? Granted we've never had kids before so there hasn't really been any reason to need a back up set of sheets immediately. I mean if they get dirty or it's time to wash them, I simply wash them in the morning and put them back on before bedtime, simple enough right?! But now that Avery's coming along, it feels good to know we have a back up sheet just in case.
7. Epsom salt for postpartum bath- I personally have never taken an epsom salt bath, but after my midwife suggested it for after the birth, I've been researching it and it seems like a pretty beneficial thing to do, not only after the birth, but for other general health reasons.
Click here to read up on it more. I'll post back after I try it. Anyone else every take epsom salt baths before? If so, share below!
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| Cloth menstural pads |
8. Package of maxi pads for postpartum- If this is TMI for you skip ahead to the next section, but for those of you that are interested let me tell you about an alternative to traditional maxi pads that I will be trying. I'm not really a fan of plastic traditional maxi pads, and so I chatted with my midwife about a "green alternative" and she suggested these cloth pads. They come from this awesome company called,
"Mommy and Me Creations" that creates something called,
"Heavenly Cloth Menstural Pads" which are made from organic hemp fleece. They have a very detailed and thorough descripition of their product on their website that I encourage you to read if you're interested. The colored portion is a panty liner with the snap, and the white portion is the part that touches you. You can see what one of the inserts (that are inside of all the pads) looks like at the bottom of the pic. We'll see how they work out for after the birth!
and it kind of reminds us how we are all connected (and at one point in our own mother's tummies!).
