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Military Families
Daddy is deploying 2 weeks before due date!
My husband will be deploying to Qatar with the USAF 2 weeks before our daughter is due and returning 6 months later. This is our first child and I'm wondering if anyone out there has been in that situation before and has any creative bonding ideas for daddy and baby? Are there some good books that he can record on a DVD so our baby can see and hear him? Any creative ideas will be SO appreciated 
Thanks
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Re: Daddy is deploying 2 weeks before due date!
That exact thing happened to us. My H asked for a 2 week extension before leaving. He was approved for a 1 week due to SOS.I'd have my H ask, he might be denied though. IMO it's better than not asking. I had her 2 weeks early so he was able to be with us almost 3 weeks. We skype daily so LO hears and sees him. We also have the Vtech record and learn photo album. We put pics of him and her. He recorded messages for her on each page, I send H an email daily from LO point of view of what we did that day with a short 60 sec or less video or pic for him to download. H loves it!!
Some Drs like mine would be willing to induce at 39 weeks for special circumstances like this. I'll probably get flamed for the suggestion, but it could be an option. Best Wishes!
I agree with PP.
My DH left just a few weeks after our LO was born. We knew I had to have a csection beforehand, so we had her at 39 weeks too (the earliest they allow). My LO without a doubt recognizes her daddy's voice thanks to skype and multiple other items he recorded for her.
We have the Hallmark Recordable Book "All the Ways I Love You"... and I play it for her every night before bed (which is absolutely loves and makes me sometimes play over anld over and over again). He also made her a buildabear with a recording (she loves it and thinks its her friend). Umm.. she has laminated pictures of him for her to play with, and just recently started recognizing his face via skype. Also, for Christmas she got a Daddy Doll (so you'd have to take a pic of him in uniform before he leaves).
Just some ideas... HTH
BTW, in case I'm flamed as well -- she was a perfectly healthy 8lbs baby and thank god has absolutely no health risks. So the Dr. had no issue scheduling her at 39 weeks (which is a March of Dimes requirement) But then again, due to health issues, I had to schedule a csection anyways.
BTW, in case I'm flamed as well -- she was a perfectly healthy 8lbs baby and thank god has absolutely no health risks. So the Dr. had no issue scheduling her at 39 weeks (which is a March of Dimes requirement) But then again, due to health issues, I had to schedule a csection anyways.
BTW, in case I'm flamed as well -- she was a perfectly healthy 8lbs baby and thank god has absolutely no health issues. So the Dr. had no issue scheduling her at 39 weeks (which is a March of Dimes requirement) But then again, due to health issues, I had to schedule a csection anyways.
This happened with our second son. I had an amniocenteses done at 37 weeks to see if he?s lungs were good to go. They were and we had a baby c-section at 37 weeks 1 day. (we did have a plan B, in case things were not in our favor, my husband would go and my sister would be with me during delivery) His daddy left 5 days later. Made it home just in time for his first birthday. We skped everyday and it made things go by fast and much easier.
I would for sure talk to your Doctor about all the options. For us it was huge because this way he didn?t use his maternity time he was actually paid for it, plus he was able to come home for 4 day before leaving the states. He would not have been allowed that time had he taken it right when the baby was born. So he came home for 4 days when he was 2 months and then for his full leave when he was 6 months. That was much better for us, then him being there right away. I was able to get into my routine without him being there. It was hard when he went back from his full leave I realized what I?d been doing all by myself with a 2 year old and new born. But the little breaks are what we looked forward to. It gave us something to focus on instead of looking at the big picture for the whole time.
It was a really amazing year. I wouldn?t trade it for the world. I love my husband to pieces but our family gained more then I would have ever dreamed from his deployment and the awesome gift God blessed us with before he left!
Good Luck to you! It will all work out and one day you?ll look back and it?ll all be over and you?ll all be better for having experienced it together!
Make a pregnancy ticker
We are there right now; my husband was lucky enough to be there for the birth but was deployed right after. Honestly, if he comes home at 6 months I wouldn't even be that worried about getting baby used to Daddy's voice. They will take to anyone at that age. (I know my cousin had problems when her husband came home and their son was a year...he was much pickier not knowing Daddy)
For my older son, DH recorded himself reading books so we watch those sometimes, and before he left he took DS1 to build-a-bear. They picked out an animal together and DH recorded his voice saying good-night. Now when DS squeezes the bear he can hear daddy's voice, and he really likes that. DS2 has obviously heard all of this, and seen DH on skype twice (we're Navy, so we only have contact when they have been in port ever couple of months) but I'm not worried about them bonding when DH comes home in a few months.
Good luck to you! It's not always fun doing it on your own but it sure has made this deployment go by faster!