Jul 15, 20243 min read

Preparing For Your Free Birth - My Personal Checklist With Printable Guides

All printable guides can be found here for download: Printable Free Birth and/or Home Birth Guides

Photo by: Jessica Rinehart, The Heart of Now Photography, LLC

Labor and Birth Checklist: with links

Labor

Snacks and electrolyte drinks (see labor snacks and drinks printable)
4-6 old towels
Comfortable robe and nursing bras
Battery operated tea-light candles / pool lights for birth pool
Labor/Birth Guides (see printable guides below)
Birth pool (I like the earthside pretty white one, but the oasis is a more affordable option)
Air pump for birth pool
Pool liner (you can get the ones that go with your birth pool, or get a generic option)
Plastic covers - (cover your floor, carpets, couch, etc. — this sticky plastic is worth the purchase so you aren't tripping over plastic on the floor, and it provides the most waterproof protection)
Hose, faucet adapter, and pump
Water heater (buyer beware: I have not personally found one that works super well, yet)
Floating pool thermometer
Handheld mirror (if you want to see your baby crowning)
Underwater flashlight (if desired)
Water birth gloves (if desired)
Birth ball (this is the one I have and it is pet hair resistant)
CUB birthing stool (if desired — a toilet works just as well, just don't birth your baby in the toilet!)
25+ Chux pads
Fetoscope
Water birth net
Bluetooth speaker (I like the JBL speakers but you can use any speaker you have)
String lights (if you want to decorate your birth space)
Untamed Birth's Free Christian Affirmations (digital download on untamedbirth.com/services)
Essential Oils and diffuser (see list for uses below — Revive oils are not an MLM and are comparable to DoTerra or Young Living oils)
Gentle birth tincture without cohosh
Blood pressure cuff
Labor combs / labor balls

Birth & Immediate Postpartum

For Baby:

Receiving blankets/4-6 new and warm towels from the dryer
Nose Frida, bulb syringe or your mouth
2-3 Cord clamps or umbilical tie (etsy has tons of unbilical ties — even if you're planning on cord burning, it's good to have these on hand just in case)
Beeswax candles if you're cord burning
Cord burning box if you're cord burning
Sterile umbilical scissors - still in packaging
Eldon card & sterile syringe needle to draw blood from the cord
Scale (either hanging or an animal scale off amazon)
Baby sling for hanging scale
Measuring tape
Ambubag with neonatal attachments

For Mama and Birth Team/Partner:

Sterile gloves
Placenta bowl
Herbs and salt for placenta if you're planning a lotus birth
Disposable tin pan for placenta if freezing, encapsulating, or planting
Gauze sponges for bleeding/tears
Large trash bag for waste
Hydrogen Peroxide spray
Angelica tincture (for a slow to come placenta)
Shepherd's Purse tincture (for hemorrhage)
Yunnan Baiyou herb (for hemorrhage)
Peppermint essential oil (for nausea, energy, or use in toilet for a slow to come placenta)
Cypress essential oil (rubbed on thighs to help prevent excessive bleeding)

Postpartum:

For baby:

Newborn diapers (cloth or disposable)
Coconut oil or olive oil (for wiping meconium)
Baby wipes
Sound machine (if desired)
Silverette Nursing Cups
Nail scissors or file kit
Organic clothes (if desired — I prefer lots of skin to skin following the days after birth)
Car seat (even if you aren't planning on going anywhere, this is good to have ready to go ahead of time, just in case plans change)
Infant tummy relief by Earthley Wellness