Towels & Condoms, lol - Page 2

[Talula Fairie]

We only have like, two nice towels, so it's easy enough to avoid using them. I'm using my existing crappy towels. If I had to buy towels, I would search thrift store or just buy the cheapest possible, since they may get stained.

[AnnR33]

Instead of the condoms we poured witch hazel on large maxi pads and froze them. They were GREAT! Very soothing and not too cold like I'd be worried about with the frozen condom thing.

I got a bottle of witch hazel at wal-mart for less than $2

[aiyasmama]

I wish I had thought to post about this earlier! I've been looking for towels in thrift stores for ages...no luck. I got some old ones from family and made up the difference with some from walmart ($2.50 each). I wonder if they're too scratchy and I should've gotten some nice ones for wrapping the baby...hmmm...

[XanaduMama]

I bought cheap towels at Big Lots too, so I wouldn't care if they got ruined (they didn't). I did put one of our (only) "nice" towels down there too, which I think we used to dry the baby and me. The blood etc comes right off, so don't worry about it.

[an_aurora]

For DD2's birth I bought a bunch of white towels from Goodwill, and bleached them and then washed them a couple times prior to the birth. This time we just used a couple of our crummier household towels.

ETA: I never used any ice packs, but at the hospital I work at we use baby diapers as ice packs. We fill them with crushed ice, but getting them wet and freezing them works just as well. The crushed ice allows it to contour a little better. You could always get a bag of crushed ice just for that purpose.

[tellmemore]

I have a few older towels I plan to use, but did think of the photograph thing too. Dark looks nice, doesn't stain, and is great for kids when bigger.

I bought 4 new towels adn 4 new washcloths in a dark brown at Wal-Mart. I cut the tags off, but know they are a WM brand and on an end cap of the aisle normally. $3.50 reg price, softer and larger than other cheap ones. There was sage, dk blue, tan, and white w/ those colors of embroidery. I only paid $3 each, $1 I think on the washcloths. They are fluffy and comfy, but wash a couple times alone to get all lint off. I'm satisfied with price and quality for sure.

[mrsfrenchy]

If you decide to use the condom ice packs, you can fill them with dish soap so that they don't freeze completely solid. It worked well for us.

[birthgreeter]

I have my ladies have about 5-6 old towels, if you want to buy new ones for use that is fine, but save the money. a few nice fluffy ones for baby is good. I also agree that most all 'stains' come out well with a little soaking in cold soapy water.

I also suggest that my ladies get a bottle or two of peroxide,(never used on people) but for use on the 'stains' as it removes blood really well. Just poor it on the towels, sheets, blankets and rinse...then redo if necessary, then wash! works really well!

[Mamatoabunch]

We do not buy towels for the nirth, used a few old ones and our regular ones. Hydrogen peroxide will get out any possible blood stain. The frozen condom is great. Fill 2/3's water and a wee bit of alcohol, that way they won't be hard as a rock, more comfy.

[Ceili]

I bought some new towels and washcloths the other day at Target. The "college" stuff is out right now and I got some rather soft plain white towels for about 2.50 each.

Also if you don't want to go the frozen condom route Feme pads are a good reusable alternative.

[mommy2two babes]

We just used our normal towels. They are dark blue and never got stained.
I also did get a bit of blood on our very light carpet and bed sheet. We used a bit of hydrogen peroxide and it came right out.

[mysticmomma]

The frozen condoms are on my list. I dont think its optional.

It's a homebirth. Everything is optional. I'm sure it's for combating swelling pp. Use whatever you want to that end.

[mrscompgeek]

Thanks everyone. I think I will try to fork out the money and buy some new nice towels for the bathroom and use the few we have for the birth and then maybe get a few cheaper towels too.

Ill ask my midwife at my next appointment if its ok if I use frozen pads instead of the condoms.

[LittleBlackBug]

We went to the local thrift store where they were having 50% off and got all of our linens on the list. I couldn't see spending money on new towels when they would be used once or twice for something like birth. The ones we found were plush and large and perfect.

[Pookietooth]

I was going to suggest thrift stores for towels but someone beat me to it. One problem with them is that you never know how clean they are -- definitely sun them well -- and what detergents were used on them in the past, since detergent doesn't rinse well out of them.

[tanyalynn]

If you're worried about the alcohol and the latex, use salt. A dilute salt solution will freeze at a lower temp and should end up slushy.

I just skimmed, did anyone mention a thrift store for cheap towels? I wouldn't buy nice ones, maybe they'll come clean, maybe not, I wouldn't want the stress of wondering.