S/O What are your delivery rules...

stewz

Some I'm s/o from IL's and delivery.

What are your delivery rules? Who's coming, when are you calling people to tell them, etc.?

I noticed a couple of people said they wouldn't call until later and I was wondering what your experiences were b/c DH and I were just discussing this and I fear my family and his and the circus that could entail. However, DH says he wants his family there or "on stand by" in case we need something. In fact, he was down right adamant about it. I JUST WANT THINGS TO GO SMOOTHLY with no extra bullshit.  

 

bargar18

the only rules that we have right now, is that we're going to call my my ASAP because she's driving 2 hours to stay at our house with our dogs while we're at the hospital. 

but i don't want DH to call his parents until i'm in active, holy f*ck labor.  i told him that i don't want them coming down until AFTER i've delivered.  i don't want the IL's all up in my business right after i deliver.

Evening869

Okay, my IL's are totally nuts, I have this fear that my MIL will want to be there from minute 1. We are calling my parents when the MD says okay its going to be time soon.  His parents want to be there all the time and the same with his family, I would rather have just him and I until the baby is ready then call his parents and mine. And have the rest of his family come later on.  My sister wont be able to get out here, she lives in another state until after the baby is home.

freeburger16

We plan on calling my sister and my best friend when I go into labor. 

I am leaving it up to DH when he calls his parents...but I have the feeling they will be there ASAP after knowing we are there...I figure they can sit for 2 days in the waiting room if they choose to, because everyone has been told I only want DH and I in the delivery room.  As for labor, they can pop in and say hello, but I really just want to play it by ear and see how things go.

And DH has been instructed that no one is allowed to come in the room until we have been moved to the postpartum floor.  I want the first hour or so with just DH, baby and I so we can bond and work on breastfeeding.   

TimingisEverything

I am making 2 phone calls once I have been admitted to the hospital. One to my mom and one to MIL. It will be up to them to spread the word. However, they have both been told ahead of time that if anyone shows up to the hospital they will be in the waiting room b/c I will not be accepting visitors.

little__bit

We're calling immediate family when we leave for the hospital.  They can choose to come to the hospital to wait in the waiting room, but no one is coming into our room to see DS until 1-2 hours after delivery.  This will be a priceless, irreplaceable time for DH and me, and we will protect it.

cubsfan1

Well we were thinking of calling our parents when we were going to the hospital, just for an FYI...but not expecting them to come right away. Now it is sounding like they will come ASAP. I have already told both sets of parents that it will just be my DH and I in the delivery room, they are welcome in the waiting room if they want. But now that I am thinking about it, I am not sure what to do...I mean once our DD is born we will want some alone time to be with her, breastfeed her, and spend some time as our new family before everyone else comes in and wants to hold her, etc... so my fear is that if they are all in the waiting room they will expect to get to see her right away after she is born, and that is just not going to be the case. So it seems like we will be having another conversation with them to lay out the rules...I am with you and just want things to go smoothly and want the focus to be on my DH, DD and I and our new family unit...

FutureNichols

Well only DH & my cousin are allowed in the delievery room. They are going to be my coaches.  My cousin is going to do the phonetree system...calling in laws and then my mom's sisters.  They can all wait in the waiting area untill after I get settled after the birth.

KateVA

We didn't call anyone until after the baby was born.  My parents were staying with us already so they knew we were in the hospital but were very respectful of our wish to be alone until the birth.

DH's parents live out of state so it didn't matter, but they would have respected our wishes, too.

wilberta2006

DH, midwife and me.  That's everyone that will be in the room.  My parents live in GA and I'm in CO.  I know that my mom wants to come, but I'm hoping that I deliver early so that we have time alone with the baby before we get swamped with relatives.

jkyle

DH and I figure that the birth of our child is our moment, so we will wait until either shortly before or right after she is born to call everyone.

Both of our families are a bit on the crazy side, so it will just be less drama if we are on our own for that part.....I envision constant unplanned visits and phonecalls once she arrives for weeks, so it maybe the only time we truly get her to ourselves for the first little while...

JimsBride08

I don't really want to call anyone until baby is here, or almost here.  However my parents and MIL are insane.  My MIL keeps leaving her phone numbers all over the place and reminding us to call when we go to the hospital.  My dad said they want to hang out in the waiting room, and my grandparents probably will, too.  WTF?  Who wants to live in an L&D waiting room for possibly 24 hours? 

jen_and_scott

We will be calling my parent, the inlaws and the SIL when we leave for the hospital. All live over 6 hours away and don't plan on being here for the birth anyway. I wish there would be someone waiting in the waiting room just to know someone is there, but we will get to see all of them within the first month, so that will be fine. I do have a couple of friends/coworkers that we'll call when it gets close. One was a L&D nurse for 10 years or so, and she's on my speed dial in case any questions arise! I hope that I will get a great L&D nurse at the hospital, but you just never know!

misplacedjersygirl

We moved 500 miles away from family and friends mid-pregnancy, so I am not concerned with anything having to do with the delivery.  We did have to set guidelines for MIL though because she was planning to have her bags packed and to be in the car on her way down the moment I went into labor.  She wanted to be there to "help" us when we got home.  Now I know this sounds lovely to some but MIL would be more trouble than help.  Before we have a house guest, because that's what she would really be, we want to settle in for a day or two at home.  So asking her to wait a day or so is our only rule, and thank goodness my h was in agreement!

nolabride06

I'll probably let everyone know when I get to the hospital. ?My parents will be watching DD, so they will know when we leave and won't visit until after the new little one is here. ?My ILs don't cross boundaries, so we won't have issues there. ?I think it'll be okay...cross my fingers!!

krissyface

My mom was really hurt that my sister didn't call her until her son was 4 hours old, so she's asked me to please call her when I go into labor. I don't think she wants to be in the room with me when I deliver, so I don't mind having her around while I labor. I figure she and my best friend can run errands and make our wishes known to the rest of the crazy folk who will probably start calling. I know it'll be difficult, but I'm going to ask that they give me a break after labor to spend with the new addition. They'll have plenty of time to bond with him after I do.

As for my ILs, I don't know what's going to happen with that. They are pretty hands off, but they ask the most insane things! (For example, they want me to have DS early so they can spend more time with him before they go on a month-long vacation in April. Like I can/would control that?) They're pretty useless in the help dept, so I'm not going to sweat them. DH can lay down the law....

Solelle

I'm probably calling my immediate family right before or just after the delivery.  I just want to keep it as low key and low stress as possible.  My sister is begging me to call her the moment I go into labor and I don't want to be bothered. It's like what's the point?  You're going to sit there and obsess about me laboring for hours while I'm at home and what not? 

artsyandi

We are going to call as soon as we know it is not false labor, but the family understands that they will not see us until at least 1 hour after the baby is born so that we can have some alone time first. They live 3 hours away and most of them said they will most likely just wait until the weekend to visit. My mom and sister plan on jumping in the car as soon as we call... but they said that they will probably hang out at my house until we call to let them know Collin is here. Then, my MIL plans on flying from Florida to stay for a week and help out once my mom goes home.

Im sure there will be a lot of visitors but since DH has a huge immediate family it can't really be avoided.

Donniesgrrl

We are calling our sets of parents, it is up to them to call extended family.  We have also informed them that only my H and My mom will be allowed in the delivery room and they will be more than welcome to visit us after we have settled into the family care unit.  We als let them know that while they are more than welcome to come to the hospital before delivery they will not be allowed in the L&D room and that they may be waiting a very long time. 

 

ajax2279

We are calling both sets of parents once I am admitted, just for a heads-up. Since the IL's live an hour away, they are allowed to go to my parent's house (5 minutes from hospital) at that time if they see fit. Then we will call and let them know the sex/name/etc after the baby is born and then give another call when I am in post-partum for them to come visit. We want that bonding time right after baby is born. The waiting area is really small at L&D and kind of secluded from the rest of the hospital so they would be bored there since NO ONE but DH will be allowed in the room with me during labor.

Roothie427

I have been very clear with everyone about my rules. No one is to be at the hospital until she is born and I have called to give the ok. I will call the family with updates and let them phone tree the info out but no one should show up until I say I am ready.

With DD#1 I had the same rule and the nurses knew about it too. They said if any visitors came for me they would be sent away unless I gave the ok. It worked out fine and once I called to say we were ready I had visitors within 15 min.

itsmevkb

We will have to call someone simply because someone in my family will be watching our son when I'm in labor.  However, this time around we will not be calling my in-laws until after the baby is born.  Last time we called them and his mother showed up and wanted to be there for the delivery even though we had already asked them not to come until after the baby was born.  I'm not going to let that happen again.

My basic rule is no-one is to come to the hospital until after the baby is born and really, not until after we've had a few hours to rest and spend time as a family.

SwissPrincessBride

I really don't have any rules. DH and I came up with an "A and B" call list. A is for those who need to know I am in labor and B is for those who will get a call after the baby is born. Guess which list is longer? LOL. My dad isn't big on sitting at the hospital and frankly I don't blame him so we compromised-he can stay home until she is born but he absolutely can not show up without McDonalds, Pizza Hut or Arby's.

almostabuck

We'll call family as soon as there is something to tell. They all know when I am being induced, though, and I have suggested to those who would come to the hospital that the following day is probably best if they need to request off of work.