Fishy Pool...What Else Do I Need?

[Keeta]

So, I've read that this pool works for a birthing pool...now what else would I need to make this work?! Liners? Adapters? How the heck would it be heated? And where would I obtain these things? I know there are some mamas out there who must have BTDT! Links appreciated.

TIA!

[muse]

your link is not working but i gave birth to dd in a fishy pool. didn't need anything except a hose piping hot water from the sink and lots of kettles on the go. once the water was in it stayed pretty warm, with some topping up from the kettles. LOVED it.....

oh the link works now, yep that's what i used.

[tracymom1]

Yep, that's my pool, too!

I did not get a liner. Since it was only used for me we just cleaned it out and sanitized it after - though I did not actually birth in there. If I had I probably would have just thrown it out.

You need a drinking-water grade hose to fill it up. I ordered one from Dr. Foster's and Smith - it's a pet care website that has aquarium hoses for a reasonable price. We also needed the adaptor for our sink. Amazon.com also has some "RV" hoses but I have heard those produce a bit of an odor.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=3915

We also got a water thermometer - if you plan on birthing in the tub you need to maintain proper temperature.

A small fish tank skimmer comes in handy for, shall we say, *floaters*

To keep the water warm we just kept the tea kettle and a large pot of water heating at all times and added them when needed. I was surprised at how warm the water stayed, though.

There is a sticky in this forum that has a very comprehensive list of homebirthing supplies. I found it most helpful!!

Congrats and happy birthing!

[lotus.blossom]

Hey Keeta! I used a comparable pool, and a new garden hose. We hooked the hose up to our washing machine hookup and didn't need any of the fancy adapter stuff. Make sure you have a cover in case you want to get out, and have a pot of water boiling. Thats what we did for my relatively quick labor, and I never noticed the water getting cool.

[gentlestrengths]

We used the RV hose once too - it isn't an approved drinking water hose, and it isn't approved for hot water use either, but if you're not picky, it's better than the garden hoses (as far as chemicals go).

No liner for me either (and we used the pool afterwards for our kids).

We buy a plastic paint drop cloth for the top of the pool to keep it hot when I'm not in it, and put a blanket on top of that as well.

Buy a thermometer, the pool kind is the easiest, so you know the temp of the water.

I also put grapefruit seed extract in the water (liquid); it purifies the water.

[guitarmama]

wanted to add a tip about covering the pool to keep it warm---dh put a broom stick under the blanket to keep it from falling into the water.