Thanks for putting some of the thread back together! What a shame to lose all that stuff.....

About poop at a waterbirth - I never noticed anything with DD3. I imagine it happened (usually does, I'm told) but I never saw or heard a thing! When we were done, I just got out of the tub, pulled the plug, and had a shower. The midwives rinsed the tub out and refilled it for our herbal bath. This was my own bath at home though, so filling, rinsing and draining were maybe a little easier than an inflatable birth pool.

Congrats Freya! Here's hoping your DH comes around to be a wonderful support to you for this birth. And yes, book in with your midwife soon. One thing to cross off the list, and you'll be sure that you won't miss out because you waited too long, or anything like that!

As for me, I'm getting pretty close here, I think. I was awake all last night with contractions that have died down now. My lovely DH sent the girls to his mother's house, and cleaned everything for me before he headed off to work. (I love him!) Yesterday at the midwife's office I was about 30% effaced and maybe 1cm dilated, cervix still well back, but very soft. This morning by my own guess, I'm much more effaced and the cervix feels a little closer to the front. We'll see how things progress from here. Still having occasional contractions, but nothing regular. I'm heading off for a nap!