HB permission from landlord?? and other ??s

[rikiamber]

Do I have to inform my landlord that I plan on having a hb? Or that I might plan on a tub birth, considering that we live in a second story apt? Also the water we have is well water and we dont even give it to our dogs we have to go get drinking water. Its very hard water has lots of sulfer in it and other things I dont know. I am not sure I want a water birth because of this and that sometimes the water pressure is well non-existant if the filter needs changing, which is every 3 months and I am due in 3 months. I would really like a water birth, i have attended several and they were wonderful and easy clean up, though it was in a big bathtub not something that needed to be drained somewhere else. Where is the best place to put the tub? our apt has a funky layout with the kitchen in the middle of the apt and bedrooms on eather side (no windows) thats the only lanolium other than the bathroom. I am worried about water damage on the carpets. any suggestions??

[rere]

i didn't tell my landlords and they live upstais from us.

we had a pool in the dining room but we have hardwood floors so i wasn't worried but we didn't have any spillage.you could just cover you carpet with plastic dropcloths.

the water content might make me nervous but i really don't know much about it.

[rozzie'sma]

I don't see why you should tell them. I would make sure that the floor can support the weight of the full birthing tub as you are upstairs. I can't really help on the water issues. I hope someone else can help you more

[mackenziesmama]

Like the others, I don't think you need to tell them. It's none of their business!! As far as water content and pressure...that's a bit harder. Can you get a water test to see what's in it? The local health departments in Michigan do this for a nominal fee, but I don't know what state you're in, so can't tell you where to go. And for the pressure-can you request they change the filter the end of May? Just call and tell them with a baby on the way, you'd like to make sure there's plenty of pressure for baths and stuff??

Good luck mama!

[rikiamber]

The weight of a tub? Oh great I forgot about that. Maybe I will just make DH go buy one of those massaging shower head and labor in the shower. I think a water birth will just be a hassel. Next place we get (a house hopefully) will have a garden tub if thats all it has!! I just hope i am not too loud during the birth. I can get my water tested, we bathe in it and it is drying, now I am sorta worried about bathing baby in it. I will just take a sample down this week and get it done. Reminds me I have to get our water containers filled, its such a pain. There are people in this town who live without running water, more props to them they are far braver than I.


---living in Fairbanks, AK

[annakiss]

The weight of the tub is not really an issue. It's equivalent to about 5 grown men standing together. You're not going to have it there forever, so there should be no problem at all.

Set it up where it's most convenient in terms of space, I wouldnt' worry about spillage. Buy a large tarp for underneath and you will need towels around for getting in & out and drying off after. If it's a new baby pool that your using or if you're renting a tub, there should be no reason it would fail.

I never told my landlord, but I did tell my neighbors. One lady was at work and the other was actually home and doing laundry during my labor. I could hear her in the dryer while I was pushing. I was yelling quite a bit, but she didn't seem phased. I really liked her, so we told her ahead of time, but again, she just said she figured I must be in labor. I felt like I yelled quite a bit, but I don't think it was any worse than a loud television or a party. lol

Good luck on the water content issues, however.

[jrose_lee]

We didn't tell our landlord and they live in the home next to us and their kids live downstairs (house apt.) I was kind of worried about it at first, but thought they would try to tell us we couldn't have one if we informed them. Honestly, no one ever noticed! And ds was born at 2am when all was quiet and everyone was home! They must have just assumed we went to the hospital!
I was in the same situation as you about the tub. I originally planned on doing a water birth, but I decided that I had enough to worry about without worrying about damaging the floors or something by accident. Our landlords are worrywarts. And actually, once I was in labor I never even thought about getting in the water. I do want to try it someday though...hopefully we'll have our own home soon! Good luck with your birth and all your decisions!

[Pariah]

I had a waterbirth in our apartment a few weeks ago with no problems. We didn't tell the people in the office, and even though I was a lot louder then I thought I would be, no one heard. We put the tub in the bedroom, on carpet, and just had drop cloths and towels around. The carpet didn't get wet at all.

[mama_at_home]

We live in an apartment and we did not inform the manager we intended on a homebirth. I didn't see any reason to and I didn't want them knocking on the door or calling an ambulance, etc.