Moneysaving home birth essentials?!

Molly41

Tesco value shower curtains are very good for protecting surfaces.
The birthing pools can be re-used with a new liner and make very good paddling pools a few years on.
The midwife should bring you some pads in the homebirth kit (they usually drop it off around 37 weeks - well I did)
Heating or a good source of portable heating and a torch.
Loads of tea/ coffee/ biscuits and cake for the midwife:p
Towels - washed in hot wash without fabric conditioner and line dried so hard - very good for rubbing baby and mopping up

HTH x

theoldcynic

Thank you Nicki, I hadn't thought of the shower curtains or needing to labour on the bed, what good ideas. Looks like we will have to layer the protection on the floors then incase of pooling etc. Thanks.

theoldcynic

Thanks building with lego great idea about dyeing old towels. Some of ours are getting worn now so maybe i'll use those and get some new ones as a treat for us after the birth.

I'll look the t3sco value shower curtains up thanks Molly41 as well as the arg0s ones. Our current towels are reaching the end of their life so are pretty rough, it's encouraging that they will be better for soaking up 'spillages'.

Great idea of getting lots of sandwiches and cakes for the MWs, we want them on side as much as possible lol!

Thank you all for your encouragement, it is so lovely of you :A

theoldcynic

Thanks WestonDave, good idea checking the TENs machine..can I ask (I'm assuming you're the male birthing partner from your name) were you the guinea pig for the machine? lol! That's great practical advice, my OH will (and I) appreciate that.

meg72

No experience at all of home birth but just wanted to say Poundland do shower curtains, and to wish you well, a happy and easy birth.

theoldcynic

Thank you Meg72, I will definitely check those out! Thanks for the best wishes too

Corelli

Hi, wishing you well for the birth I had all my babies at home, from 1993 to 1998 so my memory is a bit hazy.

If you can afford a pool they sound great. If I was ever to have more babies this is the way I would want to do it. I had a larger than normal bath with (handy hint coming up) blue tack to block the overflow. Beware, OH's who are not driven by hormones and birthing *sensations* may object for fear of overflows and kitchen ceilings getting damaged. I don't think sterility is an issue, I think they have fresh liners. The ones from the Active Birth Centre do anyway (AFAIK)

I was most organised for my last, with a shower curtain and old sheets and towels on the bed, I think I just walked from the bathroom to the bedroom when I was in transition. Maybe with a towel between my legs but I don't think I was that organised.

In those days midwives used to give loads of these sort of things out too http://www.completecareshop.co.uk/categories-disability-aids/65/bed_pads.html so I had them on top of the towels and sheets and things but I wouldn't have needed them as I was prepared to chuck my old stuff anyway.

Something I enjoyed was ice cubes made of sweetened raspberry leaf tea. Good for thirst quenching without filling the stomach and energy boosting.

I strongly recommend this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Birth-A-Practical-Guide/dp/1905177062

This is a good book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Birth-A-Practical-Guide/dp/1905177062

clairec79

I used the £1 odd plastic dust sheets from B&Q for my homebirths (including one where I had a minor PPH) nothing ever got onto the carpet or furniture (for some reason I end up on the floor)

I brought some of the toddler pads for bed wetting from a lidl sale which I put on the sofa afterwards

mandragora_2

My second was a home birth, and to be honest, I don't remember buying or doing anything at all - so pretty MSE!! The MW bought a pack around a couple of weeks before which went into the airing cupboard until it was needed - it had absorbent disposable pad things in, we had old bedding on the bed, plenty of old towels to hand, and afterwards everthing just went in the washing machine anyway. The bathroom floor is lino, so any gubbins in there was easily swabbed away. It was an experience I'll always remember and treasure, so relaxed and easy, being in my own environment and feeling very much in control. I rang her at 4pm, she came over at about 4.30, I was cooking my OH's tea at 6pm and the sprog arrived at 7.45pm - by 9 o'clock everyone had left except us, the baby was fed, clean and asleep in his new bed and I was having my dinner! I wouldn't have had time to use anything I'd spent money on, as it was all over in a flash. In fact, she did bring a gas and air machine over a couple of days before, but I only took one puff, and that out of curiosity...

cottonhead

I had a planned home birth and it all went a bit wrong and I would never try it again, although of course many ladies have great experiences. I dont mean to scare you but make sure you have a bag packed for the hospital just in case you end up there.
I nearly had my baby in the bathroom which would have been fine as the floor is lino so could be cleaned if need be. The midwives brought plenty of little covers that they use in hospital - like brown recyled paper with a felt inbetween. Old towels I agree are very useful. So long as you stay in one place its not that messy. Good luck and hope it goes well.