![\"Tub\"](\"https:\/\/zimmerscope.com\/Verbisaurus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Tub.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhy have a tub? you ask.
\nYes, it’s true, we already have a bath tub. In fact, we have a Jacuzzi. But this tub is larger than even our Jacuzzi. It’s deeper, and has a greater diameter. There’s also a comfortable pad on the bottom – and it’s sitting on our living room rug, which, in turn, is\u00a0on another pad – so it will be softer on Jennifer’s knees. It’s also easier to get around it. Our Jacuzzi is fixed up against the wall, but here, Jennifer, her midwives, or anyone, really, can access the tub from whichever angle is easiest.
\nIt’s also nice to give birth in a living room, next to the fireplace, instead of in the bathroom, next to the toilet.
\nOf course, this thing weights an awful lot. So I was a bit scared that our 90-year-old beams wouldn’t\u00a0hold and the tub\u00a0would come crashing through the floor. Egro…<\/p>\n
But back to the living room…<\/p>\n Our new video camera is in place. The battery is charged, the data card is inserted, and we’ve affixed it to our oh-so-adorable 12″ tripod. It’s now lying in wait on our shelf above our TV. When the time comes, I will power it up and hit record. The underwater cam is arriving today. Just kidding. There won’t be an underwater cam.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, on another wall of our living room…<\/p>\n Now let’s head into the dining room…<\/p>\n Now to the kitchen…<\/p>\n<\/a>This is the scene exactly 8 feet below the tub. Notice I have installed two metal\u00a0pillars (rated to withstand 12,000 pounds), one under each beam. I call this homeowners’ insurance. It’s so safe that I even let my 3-year-old stand underneath.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Here’s our mantle. Notice the candles on the left. That’s to give the room a real candle-y feel.<\/p>\n<\/a>Here’s a close-up of our mantle. The little white card you see in the middle is a card Isla made to welcome the new baby. She made it in December, so it’s been sitting around for a while. And since our baby won’t be born knowing how to read…it’ll probably be sitting around for a while more. The little green object sitting right in front of the card is a rubber anklet Owen made for the baby.<\/p>\n<\/a>Here are some other items we’re gonna need: A small fan to point at Jennifer in case she gets hot; a\u00a0photo camera for me to take pictures of the baby; some candles to\u00a0burn during labor (Jennifer says they help her “focus”); and\u00a0a CD of Mickey Hart’s album Music to Be Born By<\/em><\/a>, which I will play while Jennifer is in labor. This album played during Isla’s birth, and it’s pretty kickass for activities such as pushing out a human being. There are also two sets of headphones for our two kids, and if you have to ask why we need those, then you weren’t within a half mile of Jennifer the last time she gave birth.<\/p>\n<\/a>This photo shows what is immediately to the left of the objects in the previous picture. You’re looking at a canvas, acid-free paper, and a stamp pad. The canvas is for making a placenta print, which actually is pretty cool, so stop cringing. The paper and ink are for footprints.<\/p>\n<\/a>Here are some large pots. The midwives will be using them. To the right of the pots is a flashlight, just in case they need to see inside someplace dark. And if you’re curious as to why there’s a space heater there, well…it’s not a space heater. It’s a box that used to house a space heater. Notice the box is lined with a plastic garbage bag. This can be set near the birthtub – or anywhere, really – and used as a mobile trash bin. A similar box is sitting in the living room, filled with towels we’ve saved just for this occasion.<\/p>\n