PostingHot water

Bad news, I'm afraid. Looks like home birth could be in jeopardy. Husband has decided we can't risk having birth pool in flat without first getting engineer to check on wisdom of placing seventy seven gallons of water and pregnant wife on 200-year-old Georgian floorboards in second-floor flat. Such a spoilsport. Husband spent couple of hours yesterday afternoon taking up fitted bedroom carpet, prising off floorboard in the corner where I was hoping to site pool and discussing - in agitated manner - benefits of hand versus electric saws. I watched, worried, offered tea, felt guilty about causing him worry, tried (and failed) to think of something useful to say about the saws (knowing little of such matters) and did my best not to wince at the mess. ovalpool_Small.jpgWhen the structural engineer arrived, we tried to have laugh with her about the birth pool; but she just rolled her eyes and said she does this type of work a lot. They've seen it all, these people. Walk-in safes - for people who don't like banks. Hot tubs. What's a birth pool to her? She knelt down, donned big gloves and, after borrowing one of Beanie's plastic spoons, used it to scrape away at the layer of ashes under the floorboards placed there 200 years ago to 'deaden' noise between flats. They do a good job. We never hear a thing from downstairs. Fear, though, even ashes might not stop neighbours hearing me crashing through floor, chanting mantras learnt at pre-natal yoga, breathing imaginary gold ribbon in through the nose, out through the mouth, as taught in classes, and meditating. Husband, midwife and doula peering down from hole in ceiling. Would not be neighbourly thing to do.

This 'investigation' was meant to be a formality. To satisfy the insurance people. But it seems we may have miscalculated. The engineer put down Beanie's spoon. Looked serious. Said something that sounded like it should have been said by Scottie the Engineer on Startrek: "The floor joists can't take it." She would send us a full report today, but wasn't optimistic. Mostly, I was disappointed. But part of me felt something else - relief. Now I have to work out if I can handle a home birth without the pool....

Posted 17 June 2008 15:53

Home birth New baby Water birth

Comments

DownToEarthMother said:

I don't know if this will help but I know of people who have hired birth pools for the home birth and then not felt like getting in the water...I guess the filling the pool bit kept the expectant Dad occupied though... was lucky enough to have a water birth but not at home as my hospital couldn't support me at home...I know every labour is different but I reckon it's about what is most important to you and my hunch is that being at home could well make the pain more bearable water or not as you will be in your own surroundings - and you can have gas & air of course.(Hope the engineer didn't remove too much of that soundproofing though....I mooed like a large fresian throughout labour!)

Posted 17 June 2008 19:15

Helen said:

That's encouraging, DTEM, and echoes what the midwives said when I told them of this potential setback.

About the mooing, we are practising that in pre-natal yoga. Good to know it comes in useful on the Big Day. Provided, that is, I can overcome inhibitions to point where I dare make animal noises. I didn't moo last time round. Had an epidural instead.

Posted 17 June 2008 19:22

DownToEarthMother said:

I think it was the vibrations of the TENS machine that really tipped me into full on farmyard mode...never knew i was capable of such volume..scared the wotsits off the poor taxi driver who took us to hospital. I blame the hypnotherapy for the lack of inhibitions...without interventions of beloved husband I'd have got in the taxi naked...the mooing would have paled into insignificance. I forgot to say before - birth is important and personal but you (in my blog-reading opinion) are already a wonderful Mum to Beanie and this wee one....doesn't matter how you get it out, it's lucky already.

Posted 17 June 2008 19:38

Helen said:

I hired a TENS machine but never got round to using it. Might try again this time round. Thanks for nice comments. Cheered me up no end.

Posted 17 June 2008 22:00

zornhau said:

It could be worse:

http://www.thingamababy.com/baby/2007/01/baby_patent_his.html

Posted 18 June 2008 00:46

guineapigmum said:

Oddly enough, we were were discussing (with our downstairs neighbour) rubble beneath floorboards in relation to birth just the other day. As you do. Our neighbour had a home birth mid morning a few years ago, although maybe not with a pool I think. I was away at the time but husband and boys heard not a thing (I bet I would have clocked it, though). She swears she made lots of noise.



Mind you, none of us, up nor down, heard the joyriders crashing into our car on the street outside, not the ram raiders driving a tractor into the co-op next door in their efforts to get the cash machine.



So make as much noise, and as many strange noises, as you want. Noone will hear a thing.

Posted 18 June 2008 11:37

guineapigmum said:

Oh, and whatever you do, don't take out the ash...

Posted 18 June 2008 11:38

Helen said:

Zornhau, that contraption is gruesome. How ever did you find it? Anything's got to be better than that.



Oh, GPM, is this recent, the joyriders crashing into your car? Sorry to hear that. What a year you've had.

Posted 18 June 2008 14:02

zornhau said:

Google is my friend.

Actually, it's an idea I had years ago - a book of bloody stupid inventions, e.g. TNT nut crackers, high voltage animal intentification tool etc. This one was the best of all the bad ideas, but actually somebody once intended to make one.

Posted 18 June 2008 21:45

Helen said:

Anyone who ever complains about over-medicalisation of childbirth, I shall point them towards that contraption.

Posted 19 June 2008 08:33

guineapigmum said:

No. no this year Helen. It was a few years ago and we can laugh about it now!

Posted 19 June 2008 13:17

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