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3rd Trimester
For those of you working full-time until the bitter end....
Do you have a plan of action in case you go into labor at work? Will you drive yourself home from work, have DH come and get you, not risk it and call an ambulance? Will you have a bag packed and at work in case your water breaks there?
I work 30 minutes from home and I plan on working until "go-time" because I need as much money & FMLA time as I can. But now I'm thinking about all the different scenarios.... what if my water breaks while I'm at work? Should I pack a gym back with towels and a change of clothes and just leave it under my desk?
These are the questions that keep me up at night. 
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Re: For those of you working full-time until the bitter end....
It depends on how quickly things happen. If my water breaks at work I'll probably just drive myself ot the hospital. it's only like 3 blocks away.
If I'm having contractions I'll call DH and have him pick me up and we'll go there together.
I'm going ot keep my bag for the hospital in my car when I get down to the bitter end. With my DD I kept a towel in the car just in case too
DH will have to come get me. I park 17 blocks from my work, so it takes me about 30 minutes to walk there and would take about another 15 minutes to get to the hospital. I don't think I could walk 17 blocks while in labor.
He's on high alert until the time comes, and he'll be ready to grab the hospital bag and come to get me if need be.
My hospital is about 20 minutes away, with home being another 10 minutes from there.
I've already talked to a couple ladies at work, who volunteered to drive me to the hospital if I need to go (one would drive my car with me in it, and then ride back with the other one). I don't think I could drive myself - I'd be a nervous mess.
I'd call my husband and tell him to meet me there with my bag.
My husband and I commute together because he works in the building across the street. If I go into labor, he will come and pick me up. My bag is in the car, just in case this labor is a fast one.
My hospital is right across the street from my office, so I can either drive myself or have one of my coworkers drive me.
I'm not too worried about my water breaking while I'm at work. If it does, I'll grab a trash bag and sit on it for the 2 minute ride to the hospital.
I work about 10-15 minutes from home. I plan on working until d-day, I also need as much money and as much mat. leave as I can get.
Maybe you could keep a "just in case" kit in your car with towels, a change of clothes, and whatever else you may need so someone can run out there and get it for you.
Unfortunately, FI is VERY difficult to get in touch with during the day. On another note, our house is on the way to the hospital so if everything should throw down at work, we can easily stop by, grab the dog and the bag, and head down. My doctor's office is in the next town over, about a 25-30 minute drive.
I worked right up to my due date with DS so hopefully I can do the same with this one. I am having a scheduled c/s this time and hopefully will not go into labor before that b/c I don't have a plan if my water breaks at work.
If I go into labor at work, I will take a taxi to the hospital, since it is probably 15 minutes or so from my office. I'll call DH and he will take a cab also over to the hospital. He is in the opposite direction but about the same distance from the hospital as me. He can meet me there. We're planning to start packing the hospital bag pretty soon. We'll leave it at home and I'm sure that once I get checked in and everything, DH can run home and get it. He can either take a cab or literally run home - we only live a short distance from the hospital.
Is there anything I will need from the hospital bag at the very beginning of labor? If so, maybe I'll start carrying that around with me.
Because I had such a fast labor w/ my 1st and because I am GBS positive, I want to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. As soon as I feel that first contraction, I'll drive myself to the hospital. (About 10 min from work.) Then I'll call Dh and have him meet me there after getting my bag and getting DD to my parents house. Maybe I'll keep a towel and an extra skirt here at work just in case. However, w/ my 1st, I started having contractions and then my water broke at the hospital when I was about 5 cm dilated.
I hope to get induced a week early so this won't be an issue.
I've been meaning to put my hospital bag in my car with a towel and some pads or something, but it hasn't happened yet.
I'm sure if I'm able I'll drive myself (like if my water breaks but not contracting or not too bad). If I can't I would call DH and he would bring me, my work is between the hospital and my house. If by chance I go into labor today, I'll just have DH go home first and grab my stuff since he works like 3 minutes away from our place.
this give me some things to thing about...
I work 45 mins from home and the hospital is another 20 mins from there. I am hoping that since this is my first that labor won't be fast and I'll be able to drive myself. Otherwise I will beg someone to take me. Other than towels...some ladies on here have recommended maxi pads...the super duper thick ones...
i still have to pack my bag...I imagine I will keep it in DH's car... or have someone run and get it if need be
MC#1 - BFP early June, 2011 - first u/s showed pregnancy as non-viable - D&C 6/21/2011
MC#2 - BFP early Nov, 2011 - first u/s showed cyst on umbilical cord at 8w2d and no heartbeat - D&C 11/22/2011
MC#3 - BFP April 30, 2012 - miscarriage naturally 5/2/2012 @8wk
MC#4 - BFP Sep 2012 - u/s good at 8wks, 11 wks - no h/b and measuring 8w1d - diagnosed as Turner Syndrome
IVF Round 1 - Retrieved 20 eggs, 8 confirmed blasts as chromosomally normal and one xfrd 9/25/2013 BFP on 10/9. EDD 6/13/2014
I feel soo unprepared sometimes...
Well, we both work less than 10 minutes from home and from each other; we're using only one car for now. And my bag is at home. Also, my parents, who own an business and can sneak out any time, live 5 minutes away. So I can always call them to drive anyone around
I will leave a trashbag, towel and change of clothes I think though in the car to make things easier.
Luckily for me, DH workes in the same building as I do. The hospital I am delivering at is midway between my office and my house.
Once my hospital bag is packed, it will be in whatever car we are driving to work/wherever else we need to go. We'll just switch it back and forth if we switch cars. Although, I would imagine we'll be taking the truck more often since it's easier for me to get in and out of.
In all honesty though, if I do go into labor at work, I won;t be rushing out of here. I have no plans on running right to the hospital to just sit there for 24 huors. I'd probably finish the workday, unless I was in a lot of pain. If I go into labor at the end of the day, I'll probably go home and take care of some odds and ends before we head off to the hospital.
Yes, I do have a plan. Since my hospital is a hour away I feel like I need one all the time. I only plan to work till my EDD though.
I will pack my hospital bag & leave it in the trunk of the car. If DH is off I will try to get ahold of him to come get me & go from there. If he's working I will call him & let him know. But I will call his dad or my mom to come get me & take it from there.
Also for the water breaking I plan to get & keep some adult diapers (sure there is a better term) at the house, work, & vehicles. I hear they work really well and sometimes towels just don't work.
I take the bus to work and DH drives. He works five minutes from the hospital and I'm about 15 minutes. DD is at daycare about five minutes from DH.
We have to work out the specifics, but probably if I go into labor while we're both at work he'll go pick up DD and drop her off with a neighbor and meet me at the hospital. We'll put my hospital bag in his car.
I'll either get a ride from a coworker or get someone to ride the bus with me. Depends on what kind of shape I'm in. Last time, my water broke at home and I didn't even start feeling contractions until I was in triage 90 minutes later. If I start contracting, but not enough to go to the hospital, then DH will pick DD and me up and we'll all go home for early labor. The hospital is just 10 minutes from home, so we're not super-paranoid about getting their quickly.
I'm so glad people started talking about going home and hanging out as long as possible. I thought I was weird for a min there. Labor can take forever and I don't want to be at the hospital all that time.
That said. I work 12 mins from home so if my water breaks either I'll drive myself home or someone will take me. My husband works 45 mins from home so I'll have to wait at home alone for a bit. Once he get's home we'll decide to go to the hospital which is only about 15 mins away.
Yeah, but you never know if you're going to be one of the fast ones. I went to the hospital w/ contractions and the nurse was about to send me home to wait it out. She made me wait 30 minutes until the doc got there to check me. In that 30 minutes I went from 2 cm to 6. The baby was born a few hours later.
Wow, this post is freaking me out. I work about 1 1/2 hours from my hospital, and about 45 minutes from home (w/o Rush hour). I also have a 10 minute walk to my car. Maybe I'll start parking at a closer garage when I'm getting close.
DH works about 1 1/2 hours from me (go figure...HE'S the one who's close to the hospital). So, no chance he'd be able to pick me up and go. Also, I can't imagine anyone driving me.
Honestly, I hadn't really thought about what happens if my water breaks at work. I guess I'll just hope that I'll recognize the signs of labor and at least be able to drive myself home before it progresses too much.