What to use for birthing tub

[laurabfig]

I was going to rent one of the aquadoula tubs from my midwife, but have read on a lot of posts here that many have just used blow up pools from Target. Is that true? How do you keep the water warm in those pools? (i'm not sure our hot water heater even has enough water to fill one...and I don't really want my dh having to boil water to add to the tub to keep it warm while i'm in active labor ) I figured the point of renting the actual birthing tub was that it kept the water at a general warm temperature for the duration of your labor... but if i could save some money by using a plastic pool, I would!
Tell me what you used for a birthing tub....and how it worked out for you.

[TabithaB]

I don't know firsthand, but from what I have read is that you can put plastic and a quilt over the top of it when you are not in it and until you get ready to get in after you fill it up, it stays pretty warm that way.

I bought two pools (one for me, one for the kids so i could see it before the birth). I bought the one referred to as the "star pool. It is not quite round, has three tubes to air up so that if one of the3 tubes has a mishap the whole thing doesn't go down. It is also 3 inched deeper than the "fishy" pool. I can sit my big preggo butt on the sides also.

http://www.amazon.com/Swim-Center-Oc...pr_product_top

Hey another nice thing about that pool. I let the kids use the second one this weekend and hubbie didn't get the valve in the bottom ring of the pool closed well enough. Oops.

But it was a good thing to see. The bottom ring deflated because the valve opened, he didn't push the valve in right. But anyways. No water loss and it was still sturdy on the sides. Disaster averted. That is reassuring after reading some of the leaky water horror stories.

[ShwarmaQueen]

We used the fishy pool from yourwaterbirth.com. DH started filling it when I was at 6cm. It was another 6 hours until DS was born, so DH and the student MWs had to put a few rounds of boiling water in to keep it warm.

Really, it's not that big of a deal. The amount of time it takes to fill a pot with water, then dump it in to the pool when it's boiling is insignificant to the amount of relief and pleasure a waterbirth brings. It's awesome!

[Katzue]

How do you get them full? How do you empty them? It seems like a lot of money!

[LaydieBugs]

Our midwife owns and loans out one of these: http://www.ronshomeandhardware.com/1...htm?click=1014. Most feed and farm stores can order :-)

You laugh ... and no it's not an elegant solution ... but I loved it. The ridges are perfect for bracing hands and feet in all different places, and the slope is great for laying against. I was really happy we didn't have to worry about inflating it, or puncturing it. It fits through doors well.

We just had someone who kept big pots of water boiling, and they'd come scoot me to one end of the tub and dump the hot water in the other end, then dip a potful of the old water out and repeat. But the tub could have accepted various heat devices.

[XanaduMama]

I used a fishy pool (Intex aquarium, bought on amazon, I believe). We had a smallish water heater, but we turned the temp up a week or so beforehand, as is recommended. It didn't take long to fill the pool, or empty it (just siphoned it out with the same hose, into the yard.) We just boiled water on the stove and in the kettle, and added when necessary.