Preparing for home birth

Woo-hoo! I'm officially at 'full term' which means that if the baby were to be born now his lungs are mature enough to survive outside the womb without the need of any special  interventions. It also means that we're really getting close now and it's time to get things ready. Since I'm planning a home birth there's a whole lot of stuff I'll need to have ready for the big day, the most important of which is the labor pool. Now this doesn't necessarily mean that I'm having a waterbirth, although it might turn out that way, the pool is really intended to relieve the pressure of contractions by providing a buoyancy and is apparently the best natural childbirth pain-reliever there is. The plan is that I'll be alternating positions and getting massages for the early part of labor and once I've dilated past 5cm I'll get in that pool and stay in for as long as I feel comfortable, either until I'm completely dilated and ready to get out and push or if I decide to stay in then I won't come out until after the birth.
We rented the pool over the weekend (don't worry, we have a sterile liner!) and inflated it to make sure there's enough room in the kitchen and to give it an antibacterial wipedown. Here's Josh inflating it and me feeling it out.

oh by the way, it's actually called 'birth pool in a box!'

Aside from the pool, there's a whole host of other supplies I'll need for labor, birth, and post-birth and I'm happy to say that I've pretty much got everything ready, this includes: towels and sheets, sterile gloves, pads of all sizes, plastic containers, bulb syringe, cord clamp, thermometer, garbage bags, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, lubricant, blanket and washcloths for baby, a diaper, plastic sheets, hot/cold packs, and a few other things. Of course I'll also need a few comfort necessities: scented candles, roll massager, rolling pin, massage oils, music, lots of pillows, and snacks.

Aren't I so super organized? Of course we'll still not have something and someone will have to run out like mad into the streets searching for it. In terms of the more medically-oriented necessities, my midwife will come equipped with all sorts of fun stuff like an oxygen tank, suturing supplies (which I really really hope won't be necessary), baby heel stick test, and I don't even know what else - stuff to save a life in an an emergency I suppose.
And for all you alarmists out there like my grandmother who is worried sick imagining that I'll be dancing naked around a bonfire in the woods, conjuring up pagan fertility gods while my voodoo witch woman rubs ox blood on my belly, modern scientific evidence has shown that home birth is just as safe if not safer for healthy women with an uncomplicated pregnancy who are having 1 baby which is positioned head down. Check and check. However, should medical intervention be necessary I along with my team are all in harmonious agreement that we have no qualms about going to the hospital, which is very close, where my midwife has a working relationship and will be able to stay with me and communicate my needs and preferences to the intervening staff.
As we're getting closer and closer I'm getting more and more excited (as much as I am exhausted and persistently uncomfortable of course) and I'm completely happy and comfortable with this home birth decision. It's all going turn out perfectly :)