STMs - Siblings and hospital

sofiaberlin

Hi there!
I'm wondering if any of the STMs are still trying to figure out what to do with their other kids during delivery?
We don't have any relatives nearby and I plan on asking some friends if they're okay with us dropping off my 4yo son at their place on our way to the hospital, but I am nervous that it might be in the middle of the night...
At this point, My preferred plan is to deliver anytime between 9am and 5pm on a week day, while my son's at school Ha!!

hopeby2015

LOL!!  I don't know if that'll work out unless you plan a c-section or something ... we thankfully have family around, so we plan on having dd stay with either nana - whomever is available.

sofiaberlin

@hopeby2015 That's nice! In times like these, we wish we had a grandma close by, but then we remember that we moved to Germany partly to be as far from our families as we could

jsh5

I love how you have an ideal time to go into labor...that is something I would say! Depending on when I go into labor depends on where our son is going to go. My plan is he'll go to my mom's house and we'll drop him off on the way to the hospital. If I go into labor in the middle of the night my brother in law will come sit until my mom gets here. I also have astepdaughter and stepson that are with us half the time, if they're here they'll go to my husband's mom's  (I think).

I am having some anxiety about being away from my son overnight for multiple nights. I'm hoping it's easier on both of us than I'm expecting. 

Are any STM doing big brother/sister gifts at the hospital?

sofiaberlin

@jsh5 Yup. I'd love to be in charge of the planning of that day, but I'm well aware that it's not up to me
How old is your son? Being separated for multiple nights may be a little tough on both of you, but if you explain what is going to happen ahead of time, he might be more relaxed about it?
I have a gift planned from baby to my 4yo son (he'll be 5 next week). He's very interested in stars and planets and anything in the sky, so I found a really cool book with tons of flaps and nice drawings and stories about the solar system. 

melarowan

@sofiaberlin I would hope that the friends you talk to are understanding that labor is one of the most un-plannable things ever and that you might be waking them up.  Maybe some treats or something to thank them for helping you out.

grkgdss00

We plan on using my mom, but she's an hour away so hoping the timing works out - def makes me nervous! My daughter is only 18 months so it would be a bit more work for us if we had to bring her. 4 years old is a good age and they can understand what's happening - I hope it works out with your friends.

stefanirn06

We will probably have her go to a grandparents house. I like the MOTN idea about having someone come to our house though. Let her keep sleeping instead of disturbing her! We thankfully have friends and family close by. One friend lived within walking distance of the hospital so worst case scenario we can take DD to hospital and friend can pick her up and take her back to her house

ShreyaR

I have a RCS booked and my aunt and uncle are coming over for a fortnight to look after my 3 yr old DS, which I am very much thankful about. I am just so anxious about leaving him overnight for a couple of nights, for the very first time in 3 years and 8 months. I don't know how he will cope or how I will cope, this is something I am most worried about  

sofiaberlin

@ShreyaR Your anxiety is totally understandable. We've all been through this: I remember when my son had his first sleep-over at a friend's house, I was so nervous and in the end, he didn't want to leave the next day when I picked him up.
Kids are resilient!
Have you thought about leaving him at your aunt and uncle's for a night before the birth, as a try-out session? You would also get a much deserved quiet night, or even better: date night! 
It is very neat that your relatives are planning to come and stay at your home: your little one will be comfortable and feel safe in his environment...

jsh5

@sofiaberlin He is 2 and a half. He's like his momma in that he's a creature of habit. He loves being with my mom and dad so I am sure that he will do okay but he likes his momma to be home. The few times my husband and I have gone out and stayed out late his sleeping has always been off even though he knew we'd be back home.
Several people have suggested doing a trial run before...but I worry that if that doesn't go well that I'll have even more anxiety about it when the real time comes. 
That's a great idea having the present be from the baby! Love that!

hopeby2015

speaking of presents, what are your thoughts on gifts?  any ideas?  i don't really know what to do about that with dd!  and i think i need to get 2 things, 1 from each baby?  or 1 gift both babies?

marousse

We plan on using the grandparents.
But for my second delivery, my cousin was going to take my son, but she didn't make it to the hospital on time, so my 3 year old was in the bathroom of our room during delivery. He played on a phone and entertained himself the whole time. Luckily I had my second son about an hour after getting to the hospital. 

sofiaberlin

@marousse Wow! Had anyone been in the bathroom when I was giving birth to my son, they might have been terrified by the sounds I was making. Not a proud moment for me, but the epidural didn't work and everyone around could tell... 
Does your son remember the experience? 

marousse

He remembers being there eating Oreos in the bathroom. Lol. I was very aware of any noises and I kept checking on him (well just yelling and asking if he was ok). I didn't have an epidural on purpose. It all worked out well. He got to find out it was a boy and was right there as soon as I was decent enough for him to see me. 

sofiaberlin

Hats off to you, @marousse, I'm seriously impressed

Polythene Pam

My daughter is 4 this week, we'll have my inlaws come to the house, plan B is my sister if we can't reach them. I have a lot of friends from other parts of the country and I've been on "the list" in case they went into labor, I completely expected a mid-night call and would've helped in a heartbeat! 

For gifts, my daughter is a little mother hen so "baby brother" is getting her a "boy" baby doll with toy diapers, etc, and a baby carrier that's for kids. I know she'll want to copy all that I do so even though she has plenty of baby dolls I figured this will be her "baby brother doll."

sofiaberlin

@PolythenePam Aw. I like your gift idea for your little "mother hen" of a daughter.
so sweet...