Congratulations Eutra!

HotI, my birthing pool came with about a kilometer of hose! We used it from the laundry sink to the spare room about 10m away but it would have reached heaps further. You shouldn't need to pump out - put a hose all the way into the water so it is filled, the put your thumb over one end and throw it out the window and it will siphon. My midwife says it is great for the garden . I liked having mine in the spare room because it was set up weeks in advance so the was no mucking around on the day. It was a carpeted room, we had an old sheet under the bath and a couple of towels on the floor where I got in and out. Wasn't that messy anyway.

Jen, I kept bub warm just by keeping her in the water as much as possible and the room was very heated. When I needed to deliver the placenta she was wrapped in a towel and given to DH.

Ash, we are so lucky here in NZ! One of the MG ladies had her second baby the other week and had planned to go to the birth center but the midwife said since all was going well they may as well just stay at home - I doubt that would ever happen in Australia!