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Here are some of the things I plan on
having on hand:
~1 pair sharp sterilized scissors
~1 small cotton shoe string
~1 small bulb syringe
~Various
oils for massage and perineal support and warm oil perineum packs
~crock pot for warm oil packs
~recieving blankets
~maxi pads for afterwards
~cotton baby hat
~various chosen herbs for tinctures, teas, and to lessen bleeding, treat
shock, etc.
~shower curtains or plastic sheets for laying on the floor/bed
~superglue for vaginal tears if necessary
~camera(with film) or video camera
~large bowl or pan to catch and hold placenta
~pen and paper to jot down times/
significant events/ anything of interest
~carefully chosen music for soothing purposes
~stethoscope or fetascope (optional)
~tape measure
~hanging fish scale to weigh baby
~towels, rags, all washable
~hydrogen peroxide for blood stains
I
may add more to the list or find some things weren't used at all.
karly
These are the things I used.....
plastic cord clamp
scissors
triple dye
shower curtain
2 sheets
for bed
1 glove(I did one internal)
peroxide for the blood that got on the carpet
herbal tinctures for bleeding
ziploc
freezer bags for placenta
wash cloths/oil for peri area
metal bowl for washcloths...then for placenta
towels to clean
up
garbage bags to toss what I did not feel like washing
juice for during labor
a good meal ready to go after delivery
camera.
This time I want some cloth backed table cloths for the floor as the chux type stuff did not protect the carpet well
enough. Oh and a birth ball.
Sara
What I used as opposed to what I bought...
I had Owen in the tub. All I used was towels to cover him.
String
to tie off the cord. Scissors to cut the cord.
Two plastic grocery bags for the placenta.
What I had bought
was a tarp, a suction thing, scissors, A fish scale. A stethoscope for listening to the heartbeat during. Shepherds Purse
in case of bleeding, and super glue in case of rips. Red raspberry leaf tea, for comfort. That's about it! And of course Pads
and such for afterwards.
Tina Mom to Quentin 3/4/97, Ashton 6/23/99, Owen first UC 4/11/01, due again May
A mother and a baby. Really-- birth can happen wherever you are, with no supplies at all! But there are a few things
that you can have on hand to make things a little more comfortable, simpler to tidy up, or for making keepsakes:
I
really loved massaging my belly/hips/back with arnica & Clary sage massage oil
Super soft blankets to wrap baby
in
Old towels for birthing onto, to save your mattress or carpet (some like to have a waterproof layer down as well)
Camera and/or camcorder (a tripod is handy, too-- and be sure that NOBODY GETS IN FRONT OF THE CAMCORDER!!)
Something
to wrap the placenta in, if planning a lotus birth (some also dust it with powdered rosemary, or salt)
Scissors and
a shoelace or braided string, if planning to cut the cord (don't use dental floss, as it can sometimes cut into the cord when
tied tightly)
Lidded container for placenta, if cutting cord
Good quality artist's paper, for making a placenta
print
Beatrice-- mama to Max (6, CNM hospital birth), William (4, LM home waterbirth), Dora (2, family UC), Wee One
(in belly, arriving late-Winter, UC)
*Bee's Official Disclaimer: All of my answers express my own personal opinion,
and as I am not a trained birth professional, but better, an experienced mother, none of it ought to be construed as medical
advice.*
Newborn clothes, diapers, and wipes.
Lots of receiving blankets and baby towels to wrap up and wipe off baby after
the birth.
A plastic shower curtain liner is on my mattress, under the mattress cover, in case my water breaks or I decide
to birth there.
A waterproof crib mattress pad to put on the floor in case I decide to birth there.
Disposable chux
pads to put under me wherever I decide to birth, if it's on land.
An extra set of baby clothes and diapers in the upstairs
bathroom, in case I decide to birth in the bathtub.
Overnight-sized sanitary napkins. I'm considering buying disposable
diaper-doublers to use as pads for the first day or so.
A peri bottle to wash myself off after using the toilet postpartum.
I bought a drinking water bottle with a sports top for this purpose.
Hydrogen peroxide to clean blood stains off of carpets,
bedding, etc.
A bottle of alcohol to sterilize scissors if we decide to cut the cord. If we feel like tying it first,
we can just use dental floss.
I've also set up the crib, bought a carseat, and in general prepared for the baby, not just
the birth.
A pregnant belly
Husband for comic relief, encouragement & head rubs
Daughter (I remained a lot calmer
for her sake, which helped me out)
Water bottle (should have put juice in it)
plastic bed sheet
nasal aspirator
(didn't use)
lots of towels
baby hat
sharp, sterile scissors
shoelace
My inflatable birth tub or a rented tub & a big tarp to go under it
Dark colored towels
Birthing Ball
Clean, old, soft receiving blankets
Chux Pads Plastic backed table cloths (I hear they slip less than shower curtains)
Clean old sheets
Scented candles
Clean Bottle of Olive Oil
Clean wash cloths, (in case I need warm/hot compresses)
Clean Peri Bottle
Super Glue (If needed--I hope not!;)
Shepherd's Purse & Angelica/various herbs to stop/slow
blood loss, encourage stubborn placenta, etc (Again--I hope I don't need these!)
Scissors & New Shoelaces (if needed
for cord cutting)
Big Bowl & Strainer (for the placenta)
Sea Salt & Rosemary (and incense!;) (for the placenta,
in case of lotus birth)
Plastic Freezer Bags (for the placenta)
Pads for me
Extra toilet paper
Clean Clothes
& Dipes for Baby
Lots of food & juice & water in the fridge
Camcorder (I Hope!) & Our Digital Camera
Dark, plastic garbage bags for clean up
~Carrie
I got myself a big birth kit, then didn't use any of it. I did use the cord clamp, but wouldn't do that next time.
Next time I'll wait a few hours till the valves in the cord have done it themselves, before even thinking about cutting it.
I'll also have straws on hand, so I can drink more easily, if my hands are engaged. Also, clean towels, lots and lots of those,
and some old sheets for wrapping up in after baby is born.
Oh, and I'll splurge and get some really nice Depends undergarments
for after the birth. I want to be able to take a nap with the baby, and not worry about leaking. I won't put my kids in disposables,
but maybe I'll get a few for myself.
Kiley
Instead of Depends, just get yourself a dozen fitted cloth diapers and wear them inside a pair of your DH's underwear.
What I used...
for birth and after. Plastic blow-up kiddie pool, cord clamps, big bowl, shepherd's purse,
scissors, book Emergency Childbirth, Baby Beat to listen to baby if needed, tape measure, fish scale, pouch to attach to fish
scale to weigh baby, towels, cloth pads, general baby items, like cotton clothes, cloth diapers, covers, and blankets.
I
think that is it.
Annabelle Mom to 4 girls and a boy! Makaley 2/24/94, Arden 2/24/94, twins by c/s, Anniston 11/12/95,
HB w/ midwife, Taegan 12/30/98, UC, and Balen 12/7/00, UC.
With my previous homebirths, I bought a prepacked birth kit that my midwife had made up. And now it just dawned on
me that most of the stuff that was in the kit was designed either to keep a "foreign person" (midwife) from infecting me with
her germs, or for easy cleanup via disposability. We don't really need either in a Pure Birth.
So, my list will be
something like this this time:
package of disposable underpads left over from the hand-me-downs I got from a friend
Sea Salt & lavender for the tub
A special braided cord made for cord-tying purposes at my blessingway
fetoscope
Stack of receiving blankets, a couple hand knit baby hats, flannel gowns, diapers, wool diaper covers. (I'll probably
pack up 3 identical bags to keep one in the bathroom, one in the living room, and one in the van)
fitted cloth diapers
and a pair of Jason's underwear for me to wear for postpartum bleeding, and cloth pads to use after the bleeding slows
my
big birth pillow
video camera, digital camera, and my best friend who will come along with them :)
TV & movies
for the kids
maybe herbs for bleeding, although I'd rather just eat a bit of placenta and have it done with. I'd also
like to have a cord clamp handy in case it needs to be cut before the baby's body is birthed, and a suction bulb in case mouth
suction doesn't do the job. (Hoping all this will just be overkill!)
I plan on birthing the placenta onto an underpad,
and keep it in a cloth diaper until we're ready to cut the cord - if we decide to.
We also have a baby scale I picked
up for a buck at a resale shop, so I'll haul that out, too.
And for me, the ultimate supply would be (if it is warm enough
when the baby comes) my birthing tree - a cherry tree in my backyard that has a limb just the right height to support me in
a squat. She's my tree, and she calls to me sometimes.....I hope the weather will cooperate :)
I had very little...
a water trough, a new hose to fill it, plastic sheeting to protect the wood floor, a
new hair-cutting scissors for cutting cord, a bulb syringe (which we didn't need to use), baby shoelaces for tying cord, film
for camera, hydrogen peroxide for blood stains
We borrowed:
a hanging scale, a fetascope
We used:
lots of towels!
Well for my first birth I was totally unprepared. I had done the obligatory baked towels, but other than that I had
no diapers, no baby clothes, no baby blankets etc. It's kind-of funny. For some reason I didn't understand how close I was
to having a baby and hadn't gotten around to getting those things plus we didn't have any money. for that birth I had midwives
come down and they brought some cloth diapers, baby clothes and receiving blankets. For my second birth I had more supplies
but didn't get them out until after the birth (except for the chux pads). My first birth was 3 1/2 hours and the second was
1 1/2 hours. So that is just to give you a little back-ground as to why, this time, even though I know I don't really need
supplies at all, I want to intentionally prepare the environment as soon as I feel labor coming :-) So for this birth I am
looking forward to gathering the following things (and hopefully having time to use them :-)
Candles - if I give birth
after dark, I hope to light candles around the room. a homey, romantic touch that I didn't get the last two times.
Music
- I didn't have any music playing for my last births and I'm not sure I will want it this time but I want to create a special
CD for this purpose so that it is available.
Food - I want more prepared food available for during and after the birth.
In fact my idea is to ask everyone who come to my baby shower to bring a frozen casserole. my dh doesn't cook and I would
rather spend my time gazing at my baby rather than cooking :-)
Camera and/or camcorder - I didn't get any pics of
my last two births and very few pictures of my babies right after. This time I am not sure if I will want to record it or
not but I want more pictures.
Footprint screens - I would like to have a keepsake of my babies footprints this time
- something I didn't get for the last two. This time I will buy footprint screens and I want to get my older boys footprints
with the baby's too.
Massage oil - I don't know if I'll want it at the time but I can see the advantage of having
nice massage oil for during the birth (body massage not perineal massage).
And there's the practical stuff that is
also unnecessary but convenient:
chux pads - I love them because they make clean-up so quick and easy and they are
nice to sit on after the birth and before you want to put something between your legs.
hydrogen peroxide - to take
stray drops of blood out of the carpet (must be done immediately)
soft baby clothes - I will probably dress this baby
in the same outfit that both my boys first wore - at least to get a picture :-)
cloth diapers for all number of great
all-purpose uses.
Diapers - the one thing dh and I haven't decided/agreed upon yet.
baby blankets
a
baby scale - because I really want to know :-P
a clean pair of scissors and cord clamps - I don't know when we will
cut the cord but probably wont do a lotus birth.
a large ziplock bag - to put the placenta in and put with baby until
we cut the cord.
I'm sure there's something I've forgotten but those are my thoughts for now.
Laura
All I ended up using...
All I ended up using was a box of chux pads. I also had sanitary napkins for me, and
clothes and diapers and blankets for the baby. Peri bottle was nice, but only needed it for a few hours after the birth, as
I healed very quickly.
In retrospect, I wish I'd had something to clamp the cord with so I could have cut it myself
(unlcamped cord was a "red flag" that contributed to the cps referral.) I also found that keeping the placenta attached didn't
work very well, it was wrapped up in a receiving blanket but blood still oozed out everywhere, making it hard to hold the
baby.
Ruth
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