My husband is working on a very time sensitive project that is pivotal to the success of his company. There is an investor meeting in NYC that he needs to attend when I'm 38 weeks pregnant. This is our first baby and I went into preterm labor at 32 weeks. We managed to stop labor and I'm on bed rest now, but I have a feeling this baby is going to arrive before her due date.
What would you do? The meeting is really important to the well being of his business, but I really don't want to labor/deliver alone.
Re: Husbands travel schedule...
How long would he be gone?
I would have him go. Work almost always comes first. Yes, family is important and so is the birth of your child but work is what supports all that. Kwim?
DH was out of town a lot during the end of my pregnancy. I had a coworker on standby to be my labor coach in case he couldn't get back in time. But it was my second child so I was bit more relaxed about it.
Good luck
That's exactly what I was going to suggest.
are there flight options, though, even if they aren't direct? I would be nervous, too if I were you!
I don't think you're being overly sensitive at all. I would have been pissed if DH had missed the birth. His job doesn't involve travel though.
If it is really important to the success of his business, I'd have him go.
Your first labor could take a really long time. I was at the hospital for about 22 hours before I delivered DD #1, so there would have been plenty of time for DH to come in from out of town if we had been in that sort of situation.
Since you have a doula, you will have a labor support person that you know and are comfortable with.
Could you also have a close friend or family member come and stay with you while your DH is out of town? That way you would have someone else to be with you for the birth should your DH not be able to make it in time.
If DH has access to the internet, you could sk y pe him in on a laptop. I've seen baby birth shows where this has been done.
You're not being overly sensitive, but you just have to remember that this trip is something he *has* to do, not something he *wants* to do (like a trip with the guys). It sounds like you've already got a great plan in place with a doula and there really isn't much else you can do except hope you baby stays put a little bit longer to wait for Daddy to get home!
I would be nervous too, I don't think you're being too sensitive. First time moms need all the help and support you can get, esp you had some complications early on. Plus I feel having a baby is a joint effort, if you would not travel for the same reason, he shouldn't have to either. Not having him be there in case you go into labor would be hard on you and he will forever regret not being there for the birth of his first child. I feel like Austin is a really tough place to fly in and out of because of lack of direct flights. I would have him exhaust all the options (send in someone else, conference call in, etc) and only go unless it's a "lose your job" type of situation. But then again, we were on the conservative end, dh stopped travelling when I was 36 weeks. Good luck.