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January 2015 Moms
efujan
member
STM's - what's your "sibling plan" during delivery?
efujan
member
Now that many of us are hitting 3rd Tri, I'm trying to figure out the best plan for DS (will be 22 months) when I go into labor. I'd love to know what other STM's are planning regarding who will watch their older LO's when you go into labor/head to the hospital.
My parents are ~45 min away from the hospital, and FIL & MIL are 2.5 hrs. We really don't have immediate family or other people we feel that comfortable calling in the middle of the night to watch DS that are any closer than that. So unless DS is already at daycare when I go into labor (fingers crossed!!!), the plan for us is to have my mom "on-call" to meet us at the hospital & then take DS back to our place until baby makes his appearance.
I'm hoping we have enough time before we even have to head to the hospital that my mom could make it to our place so we don't even have to worry about carting DS all over our city, but last time went so quickly, I'm a little worried I won't have much time with the 2nd kiddo - so I'm kind of hoping some of you have a better plan in place that I can maybe copy. :-)
My parents are ~45 min away from the hospital, and FIL & MIL are 2.5 hrs. We really don't have immediate family or other people we feel that comfortable calling in the middle of the night to watch DS that are any closer than that. So unless DS is already at daycare when I go into labor (fingers crossed!!!), the plan for us is to have my mom "on-call" to meet us at the hospital & then take DS back to our place until baby makes his appearance.
I'm hoping we have enough time before we even have to head to the hospital that my mom could make it to our place so we don't even have to worry about carting DS all over our city, but last time went so quickly, I'm a little worried I won't have much time with the 2nd kiddo - so I'm kind of hoping some of you have a better plan in place that I can maybe copy. :-)
Myles was so pumped about the baby . . . until he figured out he'd have to share all his toys!!!
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Re: STM's - what's your "sibling plan" during delivery?
If we do go into labor early my neighbor has already told me I could call her and she would come over and watch DS or we could drop him off at her house while we go to the hospital.
If something happens before the planned day, hopefully it will be while my mom is available to come hang out with the kids at my house. She lives the closest and has the most flexibility with her job. MIL doesn't work but lives 45 minutes away, takes care of her mom who lives with her, and isn't the greatest health herself, so she's not always readily available. My two sisters live within 15 minutes but both have stricter work schedules. My sister who is best capable of handling three kids has the hardest time getting away from work and is a single mom, so she's my last resort in a pinch even though she's my top choice.
Luckily, I've got friends who have offered to help out in case baby girl comes super early or something.
Very good question! DD was born very quickly, which makes me terrified for the speed of #2 and getting DD situated with someone. That being said, it is on my OBs mind as well and she mentioned if the weeks leading up to my due date are similar to my last pregnancy (i.e. dilated to a 5 the last three weeks), then they will likely recommend they break my water to start labor. My water had a high tear last time but didn't lead to any contractions which is what sent me in to the hospital and when they fully ruptured my water bag, I went from 6 cm to 10 in 50 minutes. They do not want that to happen without supervision.
So, I'm hopeful to have some more control over this situation. My mom will come if that happens. If I go in to labor on my own, my mom and sister work about 20 minutes away and if it is non-working hours, I have no idea who I can get to come over quickly. I'm hopeful someone from church would come watch DD.
BFP#1 8/24/11, EDD 5/5/12, D&C 10/24/11 due to missed m/c
BFP #2 2/1/12, EDD 10/11/12. Baby arrived 10/9/12
BFP #3 5/6/14, EDD 1/14/15
Plus - does your husband want your daughter in the delivery room with you? I definitely don't want that!!! (But I do want/need DH there for me!) And I do know that there's a possibility I'll be in the delivery room by myself for a while until my mom can make it to the hospital to get DS, but dang if I don't want to miss the window for my epidural!
My brain has been laser-focused in on this whole topic since I checked Facebook this morning. A good friend just had their third baby last night at 11 pm. They hopped in the car right away & got to the hospital just in time for the doctors to deliver the baby - she didn't get there in time to get her epidural. YIKES!! So I'm crazy paranoid about how everything could go down for my delivery now.
My oldest was born the year that H1N1 was hard-hitting, and my hospital stopped allowing any siblings under 12 to visit for a couple of months during the flu season. (Didn't affect us as we had no other kids at home then, and I had her right before the under-12 ban, but I remember it being a big deal for other moms I knew delivering that winter.)
TTC since 11/2009; Lap/HSG/Hysteroscopy: 5/2011 (endometriosis - removed; endocervical polyp - removed; high pressure in bilateral tubes - cleared)
BFP #1: 8/4/11; DS1 born sleeping on 11/16/11 at 19w1d
BFP # 2: 5/7/12, EDD 1/10/13, DS2 born 1/4/13
BFP # 3: 11/8/13, EDD 7/17/14, mmc 10wks
BFP # 4: 5/16/14, EDD 1/15/15, praying for our 2nd rainbow baby
Worse comes to worse, I will have to labor by myself. Hopefully one of my husband's colleagues will watch dd while the baby is being born. Children are not allowed in L&D where I am delivering at.
I did recently talk to someone who found a 24h drop in daycare for their little one when they went into labor. They had to preregister and give who was able to pick the child up, but the place didn't require a notice before dropping her off. We don't have a 24 between us and the hospital, but it would be something to look into if your family may not be able to make it in time.
Last time my oldest stayed at my parents and came to the hospital when I was being discharged so we all went home together. I didn't really want him to come visit and then have to leave. But they're older this time. It will all depend on timing. My 2 were both born right before midnight so they'd be asleep. I guess I'd get them to come the next day.
For me, my DH can only take one week off and I prefer to have him do it when I am home from the hospital. I need his help at home more, since I have nurses to take care of me and baby at the hospital. Also, I know he'd sleep crappy with the constant interruptions all night long, so it's better that he sleep at home and be well rested for work. And it's easier than finding people to take care of the dogs AND kids. (Actually, with #3, DH couldn't take any time off except the day she was born, so between work and kids he could barely visit us in the hospital.)