Should I get a pool?

[Galatea]

My m/w will rent me her AquaDoula. My concern is that the baby will be born too quickly to warrant all the work setting it up. Ds2's labor was 2.5 hours, including a long car ride and me closing down a bit during the ride and getting into the hospital. So this baby could come even quicker. But then I worry if I don't get the pool, then my labor will be long and awful, and our bathtub is really small and I can't really move around in it. So is the pool so great that I will be glad to have it, even if it is only used for an hour?

[Pyrodjm]

In you case I would get an inflatable pool. It would cost much less than renting an Aquadoula, therefore if I didn't use it would not be much of a waste.

[Galatea]

The m/w would charge me $100 for the AquaDoula. Is that not a good price?

[alegna]

You can get a fishy pool for around $25

-Angela

[wryknowlicious]

Originally Posted by alegna

You can get a fishy pool for around $25

-Angela

yeah, plus you can use the fishy pool as a kiddie pool the rest of the summer and REALLY get your moneys worth

although $100 for the aquadoula is reasonable as I ahve seen them rent for $200- $250 usually.


i'd go fishy pool.

[Galatea]

Now I have a plastic pool for the kiddos but it is like 12 inches deep. That's not what you mean, right?

Never mind, checked the sticky.

[sierralily]

i am having the same dilemea. My ds was born is 2 hours from very first sign of labor and dd in 1.5 hours. So I think this labor will follow the same pattern. I was thinking of buying a la bassine pool. but wonder about settign it up in time.

[Galatea]

I'm thinking I should get an inflatable pool and practice filling it. Then we'd know if it will fill quick enough to be useful in labor, and if it is not, then we still have a kiddie pool for the kids to use.

[srlpenny]

My last labor was 40 min ... not from first signs, but from knowing it was definitely labor. About 3 hours from "I'm a little crampy" to "She's here"
We decided to buy a fishy pool (amazon.com had free shipping on it btw) and it is now set up, half full of room temp water so we can just add hot when labor starts. We will change the water every couple days between now and then so it's not gnarly when the baby comes. We got the Python Fill/Drain system so emptying and filling it is really easy.
The only concern would be if you can't close off the pool to little investigators ;-). Ours is in our MBR which is off limits to them for now.
I just figured I wouldn't regret having it, but might regret not and with all the hoses, attachments, net, thermometer etc. we spent less than $75.

[xixstar]

Doing an inflatable kiddie pool here just cause I don't want to rent at all. And this may sound odd, but I really want the water for our garden afterwards.

[janasmama]

Go with the AquaDoula

I would rent the AquaDoula, especially for $100. With my first birth I had a birth pool but there was no heater and the water was cold fast. Right after having the baby I had to get out with placenta still in and walk to the bed.

With second birth I had an AquaDoula ($250 rental)...thought I would never pay that but now I would pay double! It was soooo comfortable, a wonderful heater to keep the water warm and was a breeze to set up.

This is something you'll never have the chance to do again...don't cheat yourself. And you can still use the water anywhere you want...just lead the hose to where you want it to go.

All births are different.... there are no guarantees on time.

[thenaturefreak]

I was also afraid of the trouble of setting it up not being worth it. But, I set up my pool this past week, and can tell you that it felt like heaven to enjoy the large pool full of warm water for an hour of "testing" time. I am definitely glad to have the pool as an option.

As far as renting or buying... if you can rent for only $100 then it is definitely worth it. Especially if that includes help setting up/taking down. If you were to buy an inflatable pool just for the lower cost, you will also need to buy a pump to empty the pool and a drinking water hose which would take you close to $100 if not over depending on what you decide to buy.

[DoomaYula]

I'd rent. My labor was only 90 min from "hmm, these ctx are starting to hurt" to "welcome to the world, baby!" and I still really enjoyed my La Bassine for the (at least) 60 minutes I was in it.

It filled surprisingly fast, and also, you can get in it while it's filling. I wouldn't want to labor without the option of water, it was so much nicer than my three previous "land" births.

[*MamaJen*]

I'd get the pool, fo sho.

[lesliesara63]

I had the same concern since my first was about 3.5hrs of labour. I bought a fish pool and Python drain/fill thing. I think those two things together were maybe $75. Around here it costs about $275 to rent an Aqua Doula. My midwife never really made a recommendation for a pool. But the day of the birth the mw and doula both said they love using the fish pool because its more comfy for them to lean on. I was concerned about not having time to set it up, but my labour didn't start immediately after my water broke. It gave dh enough time to set things up and I probably spent 1 hr of my 2 hrs active labour in it and Z was born there.

[NatureMama3]

I'd do the fishie pool with your history.

I rented an AquaDoula and never will again. I hated how the sides collapsed in on itself and it would NOT be ready by 2-2.5 hours.

[janasmama]

We had an AquaDoula and the sides were very strong, not collapsing. It took about 10 minutes to set the tub up and about 40 minutes to fill it.

[Nature Girl]

I'm guessing things work a little differently here where I live. Luckily we can borrow the birth pool from the midwives for free but unfortunatley for us someone has it at the same time we're due. I had the pool for our first child and I can't imagine going without it this time around. What it did for the pain was amazing!
So to make sure we have something, we purchased a 20" inflatable kiddie pool from Canadian Tire for $15, a hose for $7.99, an adapter for the kitchen sink for $10. Now we just have to figure out what to do for a pump. I'm thinking we can just use the one from the midwives when it's available (hopefully it won't be more than a day or two).
There won't be a heater so we're putting it in the living room near the kitchen sink, and stove if we need to boil water. We're also going to have a portable heater in the room which I'm hoping will help.
My first labour from start to finish was about 5 hours, not quite as short as some of you but this time it could be half that so I'm also worried there won't be enough time to fill the pool and get in - since the last time we cut it pretty close and the pool was only ready for the last 45 minutes or so but it was still worth the effort!
Anyways, my point is get the pool, any pool!

Oh, and if the AquaDoula is anything like the pool we borrowed from the midwives, we also found it a bit of a pain to set up (ie. floppy sides) and I'm thinking the inflatable will be more comfortable for DH to lean on.

[NatureMama3]

yes, it's the leaning on where the collapsing happens.