Are you feeling a little nervous about not seeing DC1 much during the hospital stay? Maybe this is my own fault but me 16 month old has never spent a night away from us. On top of it I'm having a C-section so I won't be able to pick her up and interact with her as much right in the beginning. I'm worried for my baby girl and for my poor parents who will be taking care of her while I'm in the hospital. DH will be a great help too I'm sure but just wanted to voice these concerns a little. It's hard enough leaving bean at daycare and she will be home with me the week before sprout arrives. I miss her already!
Re: second time moms
Yes! I am really stressed about this part. My H works a ton and we live 1000 miles from family, so it's just me and DS all the time! He is 25 months and isn't happy even being away from me for a few hours.
We have a lot of friends who have offered to watch him in labor, and after that I'll send H home to spend the nights with him while I'm at the hospital. I know they'll come visit but I'm sure he'll be totally freaked out. I wish we lived near family that he knew well so I'd know "oh he'll be happy with Grandma" but that is just not the case! Oh well - we'll all get through it and be fine I am sure!
Yes ... that's going to be the worst part. DS has never woken up in the morning without me in the house (no one close enough to baby-sit overnight) and the hospital only allows siblings to visit during visiting hours. Not that I would want him to stay in a hospital overnight, but I think it will be tough for him to have to leave me when it's time to go. He's still really attached to mommy, too.
DH is going to spend nights at home this time to give DS a sense of normalcy. I'm just hoping I have another vaginal birth so I have only a minimal hospital stay to deal with.
i was hospitalized this time around and didnt get to see my little girl for over 3 days. she is 21 months and had never had a night away from me or my husband before. I guess the whole time we were gone (my husband spent as much time with me each day as humanly possible) she would look around and ask for us.
I have been sick and sore most of the pregnancy i have had very little time to play directly with her on the floor or let her bounce and jump on me. I have found though that she is very smart. If you treat your child like they will have the potential to understand, they will. you just have to explain it simply and repeatedly. your little one will still love you, even with the c-section keeping you immobile (at least to one that small)
i am having a repeat cs this time myself. I already feel bad for my little girl but i have been working on ways of teaching her to play with me like bringing toys to the couch instead of on the floor, encouraging book reading time (she loves animal pictures), or just watching a discovery show about babies on tv. she 'helps' mommy with dishes by playing with her plastic bowls in and out of the dishwasher. she is learning (slowly) how to use crayons without eating them. this is a fun thing, we use a convertible booster chair (instead of a high chair) i can now take off the tray portion and push her up to the table. while we do not use this for food yet, i will tap down a large piece of drawing paper (12x18) and just let her go. there is more than enough space and i can sit/rest/or do something else in eyesight. we still have a lot of fun, i just tell her mommy is a little sick today.
I know that is going to change a little bit with the new one coming and having to divide my attention. But i hope she is learning fun ways to play with me around, just not directly with her. Doesnt mean I dont feel bad. I know I am missing out on an opportunity right now that I wont ever have again, even with the second, simply because there will be two of them. But I know I have to do what is healthy for me and her new little sister. That doesnt change after birth.
Yes, my DS usually only spends 1 night away from us and, even then, I drop him off around bedtime and pick him up right after breakfast. He loves spending the night with our aunt though so perhaps at least he will enjoy his stay. Maybe DH will be able to leave the hospital and go spend some time with him during the day while I'm at the hospital. We'll see...
When I went on a hospital tour of labor & delivery, I saw a little girl about my son's age wearing a "Big Sister" t-shirt standing outside one of the rooms crying. I couldn't help but tear up (I'm soooo hormonal) thinking that is gonna be DS (and me).
DD1, Kathleen 9/15/2007
This EXACTLY
DD #1 born 9/07 ** DD #2 born 7/11 ** Operation Take Back My Body has begun 10/11
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yup, she goes for sleepovers pretty often, its the aftermath that worries me
Yes I was feeling really uneasy about this too. I finally left DS (14 months) with my sister overnight. He'll be staying with her and her family when I go into hospital so it was a relief to me that he had a great time! She has 2 kids so he really enjoys being around them.
I know I will miss him terribly but he's going to have a lot of fun. Might not be a bad idea to do a trial run beforehand so LO get a taste of being somewhere else overnight. Good luck!