Filling Birth Pool

[dannic]

My husband wants to go thru at trial run filling the pool today...question:

Do you first fill with some cool water before turning un the heat? Or does it matter? Sorry if this seems obvious...TIA, Nicole

[koru]

i haven't done a trial with my pool but i plan on filling it with hot first & adding cold, as needed. i'm more nervous about having the water too cool....

[ReneeC]

Check out the waterbirth pool resource sticky at the top, but I believe it says to fill the pool about 1/3 of the way with cold water first (to avoid damage to the pool) and then switch to all hot water and continue filling the rest of the way.

HTH!

ETA: don't worry about the water being too cold!!! I PROMISE you, you will want the water to be about 100 degrees (F)--any hotter will be uncomfortable during labor, and the pools retain the heat VERY WELL. And it is much easier to **heat** the water up a little more if it is too cool for you than it is to cool it down it if it is too hot!

[Dancinmommy]

i believe we filled mine with warm water...the heater didnt get it warm enough for me and my mom ended up dumpin ghot water in it while i was in transition...are you using an Aquadoula? (that was the name of my tub)

[homebirthbaby]

We did the "1/3 full with cold water" and by the time the pool was full, the water was still too cold for me!:
You should've seen DH & MIL running up and down the basement stairs as they were boiling water and bringing it down to the pool to warm it up! (I got a new microwave out of the deal though since they burnt it up with constant use!)
I only ended up in the pool for 5 min. before DS was born, and was very dissapointed since my labor was VERY intense and I could've used the relaxation from the water!

I would recomend filling it with warm water for a little bit, then switching to HOT and COLD at the end to adjust as needed, but that's just me!

DEFINATELY do a trial run.....that would've saved us!

[StacyL]

Read the pool resources sticky at the top of the forum, but yes, about 1/4 cold then FULL BLAST hot until full.
Get a floating aquarium thermometer so you don't go over 100F - you'll overheat.

A test run is always wise!