STMs.. what's your plan for LO?

crunchymnm

When it was just DH and I and 2 cats it was so easy... went into L&D at 2am, cats can take care of themselves no problem.
Now we have 2 yo DS, the two cats (still easy), and a beagle that is very much an indoor dog. He hates to be outside unless he's doing his business. Detests his crate too.

So entering 3rd tri here, I'm starting to freak out about what we'll do with DS and a dog. Especially if it happens in the middle of the night again. We're TRYING to plan on having family here so that when we need to go, we can just pick up and go, easy. But what if something happens unplanned, like go into labor early before family is here? *knocks on wood that doesn't happen* We really don't know a whole lot of people here well, anyone that I would trust to come stay in home with DS and our dog has their own kids or a job. And yeah we could put the dog outside and just let him bark all day or whatnot, and find a coworker or something to take DS for the night. But argh.. so stressful and frustrating to think about... don't want to take DS out of his home environment like that into someplace he doesn't know and make him stress out to ya know?

So what's your plan??

Lhyacinth888

We're lucky, my MIL lives about 25 mins away and my parents are 1 hour away. If we needed to get to the hospital in a hurry I would probably just let the dog out one last time and bring DS to the hospital with us until one of our parents got there. If DS was sick or miserable at the hospital I guess I would just have DH drop me off and come as soon as he could. I don't know what we would do without our parents!

lifesadance

My parents live 3 hours away but dad is retired.  Our plan is to call him when I go into labor and he will hop in the car (he can be out the house in 5 mins or less and will probably have his bag packed and in the car weeks ahead of time, like he did with DS) and come on down.  If things go faster, I have a few people in town that I can leave DS with: (1) He already goes to daycare at my friend's house 2 times a week so if he is there we are fine and he can stay later if needed until my dad can pick him up.  (2) My sisters best friend lives in our town, has small kids, and has watched DS a couple of times.  She has said that if I need to call her to watch DS when I go into labor I can call her. (3) My next door neighbors are great and I've got a few other people depending on time of day and day for their work schedules that could watch DS if needed. 

While I wish my parents lived close by I feel comfortable with the options available to us in case my dad can't get here in time.

As for our dog, all the same people that can help with DS would be happy to come let the dog out but I'll most likely ask the next door neighbors because they already have a key and they're our primary source when we need the dog fed or let out.  

JuneBugsMommy

My parents live 5 minutes away from us so they'll come over and stay with DS or take him to their house and he'll stay with them until we come home. Of course, they will bring him visit. YH

principessa81

My MIL is planning on staying with us the week before I'm due, and my mom will fly down and probably stay with us for 2-3 weeks, from my due date on to give us a hand with the new baby. If God forbid I go into labor before 39 weeks, we have our neighbors next door (who are also good friends of ours) or H's cousins that we could call to come and stay with Tony and our dog. 

brevans02

We are very fortunate to live quite near my in-laws (AND I actually like them!). I'm assuming that we'll drop dd off with them, or have them pick her up from school/daycare and she'll stay with them while we're in the hospital. They won't take my dog though. Also fortunately, my SIL lives nearby and has dog-sat for us before...so we'll likely call her to pick up the dog from the house or my work, depending on where he is at the time.

In all honesty, I'm not sure what we'd do if we didn't have family close by.

nyki06

My parents live about 5 hours from the hospital and my husband's parents live about 2 hours so we will call his parents as soon as we go into labor and hope that they can come and get her from us. If they can't come right away we will have to find a local option (call all of our friends in the area) until we find someone to take her until my parents get there. Once they are all here I'm thinking that my parents will probably keep my daughter at our house and stay there while I'm in the hospital. If my labor is anything like my last labor (27-28 hours) my plan should work out just fine, if it's quicker we might have to come up with last minute options. 

Dman85

We only live 15 minutes away from the hospital so we will just put our dog in the kennel until someone can check on her and take her potty etc. DS is going to his cousins house for a day or 2. They also live about 20 minutes from the hospital so they can pick him up there if things are really rushed.

jen629

I dont really have a plan..my family lives far...my mom is going to come when baby is born ..if we elect for a repeat csection than I have no worries as she will probably be here but I really really want to try and VBAC if possible

 

krissymac

Ideally, I will be induced again so we can either drop DD off at daycare or my IL's. they are only 20 min away so should have no problem being on call. We only live 5 min from the hospital so MH can take a break during the day to go let our dog out. We may have IL's just keep DD the two nights I'm in the hospital but MH will go home to sleep. I'm not sure what we would do yet in an emergency where I'd have to go to the hospital immediately. Probably take DD with us and have IL's meet us there to pick her up.

PansyPants

We'll be having my MIL come to stay with DS, however; if I go into labor and things go fast, he'll have to go with us to the hospital until she can come and pick him up. As a second time mom I don't feel as dependent on DH this time, I'll have my doula there to make sure someone speaks up if I'm midcontractions and DH can worry about DS if needed.

Trish&Pete07

We are actually very fortunate that My SIL lives 10 mins one way and the in-laws live 10 mins the other way (2 mins past the hospital), and my girl friend lives a street over. we haven't figured out exactly what we are going to do, but I will make sure that when I pack my hospital bag I will pack bags for the girls too, so that they are ready to go as well. I'm not really too much help, but maybe ask around, talk to a co-worker and discuss the possibility. People can really surprise you and be super helpful if asked. Besides it is only in a worst case scenario, which hopefully won;t happen. Try not to stress too much about it and just have a back up plan. 

EIsieMae

My MIL lives about 5 minutes down the street, so we will probably have her watch DD while I am laboring. After I deliver, DH will probably only be at the hospital during the day and be home with DD in the evenings. I don't want her routine messed with a bunch, especially since we are about to change her life drastically with a sibling. 

ChicagoBroad26

If it's in the middle of the night, my neighbor will come over and stay with Ava until my MIL can get here (she's about 30 minutes away, plus it takes her some time to get moving). If it's during the day, I will see how it's going and probably just call my MIL to come over whenever she can. My mom is also planning on coming up around the time I'm due so she's available, too. In an emergency, I would just take Ava to the hospital with me until MIL could pick her up. 

TnArichmond

Luckily my mom lives 5 minutes from us and my in laws live 10 minutes from us, so either one will be able to come get DD. Do you have a friend that has met DS enough times for him to be comfortable with her for a few hours until family can get there?

Colsdoll

Last time we planned for our neighbor to take DD1. I ended up being induced so DD spent the night over there. DH just went back and forth a couple of times to let the dog out during the day. 

This time - I'm not sure. Our neighbor is currently on crutches, I'm hoping she'll be better by the time the baby comes but if not I will contact one of our regular babysitters to come over and stay. She's sat overnight for us before so it should be fine.  

old_time_girl

I have a SAHM friend that will be taking DS. All our family around us works and can't just call off. I'll have to have DH drive us the 25 minutes to her house, then the 30 minutes to the hospital.
I've secured a friend to come milk my cows and goats in the mornings and then my BILs will come milk after they get off work and feed everyone.
the dogs have outdoor kennels that they will go in while someone isn't there.

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SRK128

We have world's greatest baby sitter so she will watch them. Super lucky.

nearly_klo

My parents are 10 minutes away. If its daytime or I'm induced/scheduled for a section she'll go to them. If its nighttime, they'll come here rather than getting her up. She'll stay with them for a couple of days probably, especially if I have to have a section. If I don't, hubs will be home with her at night.

mrsbea

Unless you can get a friend or family member to do it, I'd start looking into local professional pet sitting and care companies that make visits to your home. I'm an owner of said type of business, so I see how amazing and helpful it is to the people and the fur babies too so they can stay in their own environment.

JSS1002

How big / how old is the dog?  I ask because large dogs should be able to go 12+ hours without going to the bathroom, as long as you potty them right before you leave.  I crate trained my old dog.  So I would recommend just make sure you potty the dog right away, put him/her in the crate, and go -- and then if you need to call somebody to bring the dog to be boarded for a few days, you can do that once it is no longer middle of the night.

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha

When my water broke in the middle of the night for DD2, I called a cab and wen to the hospital on my own. My mom lives 2 hours away, so we had agreed we'd wait until morning for her to make the drive. Also, if it had been a weekday, DH would have taken DD1 to daycare and we would have only asked my mom to come pick her up at the end of the day.

I'm lucky though because my water breaks and then nothing happens, so I need pitocin to get things going. So knowing that, I wasn't afraid DH would miss anything - it's not like the Drs would start me on a pit drip at 2AM.

Ivee4

My sister lives about 30 minutes from us so I am hoping to drop DD off.  If things are going to quick I will probably just bring her to the hospital and have my sister or BIL pick her up from us.  I am worried about spontaneous labor because it runs in my family. My sister made it with only seconds to spare (a nurse caught my niece) and my brother was born in the car on a 5 minute drive to the hospital.