I had my second UC in a kiddie pool. I bought some cheap one from walmart for like 8 bucks. It was definitely wide enough although the one I picked I think was only like 18 or maybe 22 inches deep....I can't remember. I remember it was three rings deep...but the rings were not big rings. All I know is that it definitely could have been deeper. The water didn't cover my belly completely....so I found myself trying to lay down in the water but still my belly was barely covered.....which somewhat defeats my purpose for me water birthing. I intended to keep for reuse but it was very cheaply made. It was emptied by being drug outside and dumped and rinsed. So basically it become disposable...which I hated the waste but thankfully money wise it wasn't much I lost out on.
Just FYI- Intex brand makes cheap and very thin plastic. I have had several kiddie pools (including my first pool I birthed in), rafts, and pool accessories of this brand and even though it is nice that they are cheaply priced...they are also cheaply made. Not a single pool made it more than one season and sometimes they didn't make it setting out in the elements for more than a couple of weeks (not that that pertains to waterbirth). Although with that being said, I am still planning to buy a cheap pool....so far made my intex....but I don't expect it to last more than for my birthing. So that may be something to bare in mind. =)
This time I am looking into one on amazon for about 30 dollars that is deeper than my first and bigger in general and has some good reviews for water birthing.
In regards to filling with air, I had an electric pump (like for an air mattress) it blew it up so quickly it was awesome!
I would not suggest putting water in the pool more than a day or so ahead of time.....as I made that mistake and it got all slimy and I had to empty and re-wash it to use it. Thankfully I have always known the day before that I Will deliver the next, so with this last UC, I filled it half full the night before......but unfortunately it was too chilly for me to be comfy in the morning even though it had set overnight....we had to bucket warm water in....and honestly I never got it to the temp I Really wanted.Â
I had bought a new hose for like 11 bucks from walmart.....rinsed and cleaned it thoroughly and this is what we filled it with. We had an adapter to use for the faucet but for some reason it didn't work and we had to end up hooking it up to the hose outside the house.........which only gave me cold water.....so any warm water had to be dumped in via a bucket....which was slow going. Always make sure everything works ahead of time!
My first UC was in a standard bath tub. I put towels on the bottom to make it more comfy. It helped...but it still wasn't the most comfy thing in the world. I did enjoy being able to add warm water easily...but I had to continuley drain water as I filled the tub so the tub wouldn't over flow. And of course it wasn't quite deep enough either. Plus I hated that I had to clean it before I got in because the tub is used daily and I wanted it fresh and clean for my water birth. Also given that there can be a lot of debre in the tub after the birth.....a lot of that stuff shouldn't go down the drain....so I had to kind of catch it before it went down the drain (after I had the baby and was going to wash off).
My birthing center birth was in a corner jacuzzi....it was a bit too deep for me to feel comfy in......but the water could have been just less full...but obviously I wasn't the one that filled it.....and I am barely 5 ft...so I am pretty short.....so I sort of felt like if I relaxed I would drown and when my baby was born I kept handing him to the midwife and she kept handing him back....but I felt like I was going to drown him if I tried to hold him in the water!
I think I like deep kiddie pool best. =)
Oh and I put a tarp under the pool to contain any splashes and such.
In regards to electric blanket...I haven't tried that....although I did try a heating pad...and honestly I couldn't even tell it was there. I planned on trying to use my water bed heater....but I haven't figured out how to make that work with what I Am wanting.
Edited by BlessedOne - 3/8/12 at 2:58pm
