How long DOES it take to fill the pool?

[ishyfishie]

I've been going back and forth about birthing pools (renting, buying, not getting one, etc) because I feel like I'd want to labor in it but not deliver in it...but some recent threads have got me wondering, how long DOES it take to fill a 100 gallon pool like La Bassine or the fishy pool?

I'm not counting my chickens before they're hatched, but the "2nd labors taking half the time of 1st labors" theory would put me probably around 4 hours or so. My mom's first (with epidural) was 7, and her second was 3 hours (unmedicated and her biggest baby at 10 lbs 1 oz), so I want to be prepared for things to move quickly. If the pool is going to take forever to get ready once labor starts, that would definitely impact my decisions as far as having one at all. We do have a pretty deep bathtub and I really liked laboring in the shower with dd1's birth, so I just want to figure out the logistics of everything before I decide!

[jenfl]

My labor was 3-4 hours. It took DH time to get home and run the hose. We filled from the kitchen sink in our apartment. By the time I was pushing and they turned off the water, it was only about 6 inches deep. So for us, it was a waste.

This time around, however, we have a house with a big soaking tub. I filled it last night for a warm bath and it only took a few minutes. So a lot is going to depend on how you're getting water into the pool, and the capacity of your water heater.

[ishyfishie]

Originally Posted by jenfl

My labor was 3-4 hours. It took DH time to get home and run the hose. We filled from the kitchen sink in our apartment. By the time I was pushing and they turned off the water, it was only about 6 inches deep. So for us, it was a waste.

This time around, however, we have a house with a big soaking tub. I filled it last night for a warm bath and it only took a few minutes. So a lot is going to depend on how you're getting water into the pool, and the capacity of your water heater.

Thanks! It'd be coming from our kitchen or bathroom sink...our hot water seems to last a pretty long time but on the other hand, I've never tried to do anything this big with it.

[nikirj]

Turn up the water heater in early labor if you can.

For most houses, it takes a little over 2 hours to fill a tub that's already set up and ready, which is one full water tank plus 1 to 1.5 hrs for the water tank to reheat, and another full water tank.

[beebalmmama]

I have a fishy pool. When dh and I did a trial run, he turned the water heater up 30 minutes before filling it. We had it filled within 30 minutes of running the water from a bathroom sink faucet with very warm/hot water. I don't think the fishy pool is as big (or some of them anyway) as the La Bassine though.

[ishyfishie]

Originally Posted by beebalmmama

I have a fishy pool. When dh and I did a trial run, he turned the water heater up 30 minutes before filling it. We had it filled within 30 minutes of running the water from a bathroom sink faucet with very warm/hot water. I don't think the fishy pool is as big (or some of them anyway) as the La Bassine though.

That's not bad at all--even if it took 2 hours, it seems like that should be plenty of time to enjoy the pool. I was just using the comparison chart on yourwaterbirth.com and it said both the "aquarium pool" and La Bassine were 100 gallons, but I've never seen either one up in person!

[Astraia]

There are a lot of variables here, so it'd be hard for anyone to say for sure. Water pressure can have a huge impact on how long it'll take, as will the size of your water heater. There are different sized pools, so if a waterbirth is important to you then you can look at a smaller tub size (which may run you at a different price, it's true).

You can also fill your pool every other day or so (whats the rule- change the water every 72 hrs or something like that?), even if you just fill it part way, and keep a tarp or flannel backed plastic table cloth over top of it to keep the heat in.

You could also look into a tub rental that comes with a heater, so you can prefill it awhile in advance and not worry about it losing temperature.

The best thing you can do, IMO, is do a trial run. Even find out how long it'd take you to fill your home bath tub 3-4 times (or whatever would equate the same gallon size) or how long you can run your kitchen/bathroom tap before your hot water runs out. At least it'll give you something to gauge it on.


This is my second baby as well- my first was also 8 hrs of active labour, which would put me at 4 hours for this one as well (according to the "rule" you mentioned) I did a lot of thinking before finally decided we'd try for a waterbirth anyway. I'd hate to NOT get a tub thinking I'd go fast and then have a 12 hr labour, y'know?

We've got our pool (from a lovely mama here on MDC! ) and plan to do a trial run to check fill time when I'm a bit closer to 37 weeks.

[rachel65655]

This thread makes me really glad we have a tankless hot water heater and I never run out of hot water. It should take no time at all to fill the tub and then I can enjoy my soak while I wait for my midwives to arrive.