LaBassine tub getting softer after only a few hours- update- hopefully we fixed the leak

[Snapdragon]

I am due any day- or any second really. Anyway- I have the La Bassnne tub inflated. It has been inflated for a few days now. The problem is, it fills up nice and firm enough to sit on- I mean fills up with air in the sides- no water in it yet.
But by the next day it is relatively soft again ! ugh!
Is this normal?
I had dh re inflate it last night and he got it firm. Then about 12 hours later I just check it and it is a but mushy again.

I don't feel any air leaking out. I hope there isn't! It is brand new never been used. We did fill it and deflate it a couple of times due to certain things.
But it has been inflated for a couple of days.

does this mean there is a leak? Or does it just do this? Will we ave to keep adding air to it?
It will still hold water as it is but it isn't as firm as I want it to be. He will refill it with air when I go into labor but it seems too soon to lose air in 12 hours!

added edit- I just called dh and he said he filled the regular fill part.
He said he didn't hear any air leaks. So maybe it is leaking around the fill part? Should I duct tape it?

[Snapdragon]

Does anyone have any suggestions to figure out why it might be deflating? All I know to do is to check the fill places and I think they all seem tight- so I can't figure out where it might be leaking.

I am calling the place I got it from but they are not open for an hour.
I really want it to be firm enough to sit on or have dh sit on and to lean over the sides! sigh.

the only thing I can think is that the big black fill part might have a tiny leak but I don't know how to tell or fix it. Dh doesn't either.

I would think it would stay firm for longer than 12 hours!?

[Snapdragon]

Well, I spoke with the woman at the place where I ordered it. she said to fill it fully up and then go around slowly over the whole thing and look and listen for leaks.
I got dh to come home early as I was kind of freaking out! About to give birth and tub not working right ecetera.
We couldn't find any obvious leaks.
There are a few places with slight dents which may be very small leaks- so he is patching those right now and hopefully it will work. ah, the imperfections of life.

[Toolip]

What a bummer! Did you get it figured out?

[Nicole730]

Yikes! That stinks Katie. I hope you guys get it all patched up before your little one arrives. Are you getting your money back for a faulty product?

[Altair]

My La Bassine leaked in labor, which we didn't know, and then we had to transfer quickly for a c-section. We didn't have anyone who could undertake the process of emptying it (nor did it really occur to us in the moment of transfer that it was a priority, BIRTH was a priority!)... and the pool ended up leaking and causing 10s of thousands of dollars worth of damage. It was brand new also. They leak unfortunately.

Moral of the story-- have a person who you can call in the event of a transfer to come over and take care of all the loose ends! In labor this probably won't be an issue b/c the leak will be slow and you can just refill every once in awhile.

[Nicole730]

Originally Posted by Altair

My La Bassine leaked in labor, which we didn't know, and then we had to transfer quickly for a c-section. We didn't have anyone who could undertake the process of emptying it (nor did it really occur to us in the moment of transfer that it was a priority, BIRTH was a priority!)... and the pool ended up leaking and causing 10s of thousands of dollars worth of damage. It was brand new also. They leak unfortunately.

Moral of the story-- have a person who you can call in the event of a transfer to come over and take care of all the loose ends! In labor this probably won't be an issue b/c the leak will be slow and you can just refill every once in awhile.

WOW...that totally stinks.

[Snapdragon]

It was leaking air- not water- but we didn't have any water in it yet. I think we got it sorted! DH and I spent 2 hours yesterday looking for possible tears. He found one that looked like an actual pin home sized hole and we also patched three oher possble tears. Left it up overnight and it is a tiny bit softer than last night this morning- but only like 5% as opposed to 20%.
Good idea to have someone on call to empty the tub in case of transfer! We had water pipes burst once and that was a huge mess. I do have a neighbor I could call for that.
I wonder if we should fill the tub with water before the birth? So many details! ugh! We didn't want to use a huge amount of hot water just before the birth- which could be as soon as any time now. But maybe we should fill it to make sure there aren't water leaks! we do have duct tape which actually can hold in water leaks, I have used it to stop up a drain in my bathtub (the upper drain) and it lasts for months with water on it. So that may work if needed.

[BirthNut]

Kinda worries me because I was highly considering the La Bassine because of the fact it looked like it would hold up better than a reg kiddie pool.

[Snapdragon]

Originally Posted by BirthNut

Kinda worries me because I was highly considering the La Bassine because of the fact it looked like it would hold up better than a reg kiddie pool.

I still LOVE it though- I think the only reason ours got nicks was because when dh first blew it up a few weeks ago, he didn't know at first that he could also deflate it with the electric pump. So he mashed it down with his body! So I think he tore it.
I love getting into it though- it is the perfect size and shape for my pregnant body and I don't regret getting it at all! I just wish we had been more careful with it that first time.
It seems to be holding up fine now also.

[Altair]

The LaBassine was the perfect size and soooo comfortable in labor. But with all the leaking going on, I don't know that I can recommend it again! The good thing about the leak was that it was a slow air leak, so with having a person on call to deflate/empty it in case of transfer, it shouldn't be an issue.

Though... I think I'd rent a self-heating tub next time anyway. My labor was 3 days and we had to empty and refill countless times.