I am currently in List Writing mode and am trying to start getting things together for what I might need when the time comes.
We have our birth pool, but as we got it for £20 on eBay (it was a demo pool, nobody has given birth in it) I am thinking about not buying a liner and just keeping it for the kids to play in in summer. We wont be selling it on. I may buy a water pump depending on how OH finds the clean up when we have a test run. I will buy a new hose and have bought a tap adapter and thermometer.
I am currently writing lists for;
What OH has to do when I go into labour (fill pool, ring my dad and midwife etc)
What I need to put in MY bag (so stuff is easy to grab, and incase I need to go into hosp so things like baby clothes, couple of nappies)
Things I need for the pool (hose etc)
And things I need for the birth (towels, shower curtains to lay on the floor, baby towel, things like that)

Is there anything you found you needed or just wanted during your birth? Things I may find handy or that my midwife may need? I may be over complicating this

The things i needed most during my home water birth, besides the obvious (pool, HOT water, support network, etc) is lots and lots of towels. 12 was a good number for me. (I got in and out a lot and threw towels down and then would get cold so someone would hand me another, stuff like that). And a plastic bed sheet cover. I put it on UNDERNEATH the regular sheet on my bed. that way my bed was protected but i didn't have to feel uncomfortable on top of plastic. I was getting in and out of the pool (and shower) a lot, so it was def a good thing to have. Also you will want a large plastic sheet for underneath the pool and around where you will get out.

You may want to get a fishnet type thing (for someone to fish out the turds ).
A bowl or small trash can, in case you vomit (happens to me every time i get to 5CM).
A few wash cloths (sometimes you need a cool cloth on your forehead bc the water is so hot, which feels great but you get a bit sweaty).
Food/Drink (a huge water bottle is always nice)
Heating pad.
Lots of pillows (for your bed) but also, i really wish i would have had a waterproof pillow. It would have been nice to have it in the pool with me. However, u can attempt to use a regular pillow for that if you want. I did during my hospital water birth.
Yoga ball.
A few recieving blankets (they can dip one or two into the hot water-while you and baby are still in the pool) and then place it over you and baby to help keep everyone warm.
A Breast pump, if you have one. For some reason it was the ONLY thing that got my labor going AND staying on until the end. When i used it things sped up. When i didnt my labor all but stopped. You may not need it, but it was a nice option, especially bc nipple stimulation in other ways did not work for me.
Oh and the water needs to go your nipple line. Reason 1.) bc at the nipple line it can stimulate labor and 2.) it covers your bump and gives you the best relief

Stalking

Stalking too

I would definitely advise on getting a water pump - well OH would advise it! It made the whole clean up operation much easier.

I also bought a few packs of those cheap plastic decorators dust sheets to go on the floor. Also we bought a couple of packs of those 'dry night' sheets you put in a cot when toilet training a toddler to put on the sofa or bed afterwards. I put a couple on the bed towards my due date in case my waters went during the night as well.

Awesome thread! Lurking!

I would say get more towels, bed mats, and shower curtains/waterproof covers than you think you need and anticipate you might want to move around more than you think you do now, so you'll want to have spares that can be laid out in another room as well if you want to go there. I thought I got enough because I was convinced I'd want to be in water in my lounge. Turns out I didn't! I ended up doing most of the serious labouring walking around my upstairs between the bathroom and bedroom and gave birth on my bedroom floor. Unfortunately for said bedroom floor, I'd only really gotten enough shower curtains/towels to cover the lounge floor! The midwives brought up as much as they could, but two of the three shower curtains were under the birth pool and they couldn't get them out, so I only had one for the floor/bed upstairs. So it got a bit messy! I would say just get double whatever you think you need for covering things.

Also, for me, food was really important. I drank coconut water (3 litres of it!), ate honey off a spoon, and ate dates all the way through my labour. I also used those electrolyte gels that you use in sports recovery (like Power Bar gel, etc.) since I really like them from when I run. The coconut water (lots of electrolytes) and the dates were the things that worked best for me. Think about what you think would be easy to digest and taste good for you. You might not want to eat anything, but if you do, you'll be glad you have it.

Something to put over the pool to keep it warm. Tarp, shower curtain, heavy blanket.
Fishnet to scoop any poo or large chuncks of whatever. Towels, all sizes (some for you, some for baby, some for your neck/forehead). Bendy straws for drinking. Pans in case your water starts to get cold you can dump boiling water into the pool. Pool thermometer to know how hot you've got it.

I didn't buy too much and ended up being fine.

1.) I had a kiddie pool (one of those Intex fishy ones) and it worked out very well!
2.) Three shower curtains was enough (two for the ground by the pool and one to cover the pool when I wasn't in it), but I live in a 1-bedroom apartment so there isn't that much space anyway.
3.) I only used one towel and just grabbed it from our bathroom stash.
4.) I had a fish net, but we never used it (didn't poop, lol!)
5.) Three baby blankets and a nearby hat.
6.) For food, I had my husband make a lot of smoothies and kept a water bottle and a box of granola bars nearby
7.) I used a mixing bowl for the placenta (and I still use this bowl to bake -- I just don't tell anyone I delivered my placenta in it!)
8.) Lead-free hose and a sink adapter.

My midwife gave me a great tip for emptying the tub. If you live on the second storey or above, you can put the hose in the tub and drop the other end out the window into a bush or something. It'll drain most of the way that way and then you can use a bucket for the rest. My husband did this and it worked well. We're also saving our tub so that LO can use it as a pool when she gets older.

Thats what we did! we didn't have to worry about the pump, the hose, the sink adapter, the pool and lid, etc bc the MWs had all of that, however, i remember when they were tearing things down afterwords, they put the hose into the pool and then out the window. it was in our bedroom on second floor and no big deal, especially since we have a swamp back there lol it worked super well even in the middle of winter!