So my husband is in the navy and he'll be doing workups around the time our child is due and his family is almost 6 hrs away. My family has a history of premature births so im terrified im going to b alone at the hospital and worse case driving myself their. Does anyone else have these fears or been through this what are some tips so I can stop freaking out.
Re: terrified ill b alone during the birth.
Also, talk to your ombudsman if his command has one! She may be a great resource to help find people willing to help, our FRGs have always had a Sunshine committee who worked to ensure everyone who needed help with meals or with rides to appointments is taken care of.
This. There is a program similar to OpLove that will provide a free doula for you if your husband is deployed. Also, please please please reach out to Fleet and Family, they have services to help parents (both seasoned and new) and can provide in home visits. The Navy Marine Relief also has a visiting nurse who can help with vitals and weight.
Also, please make sure you reach out to your Ombudsman that way she can be ready to place the red cross message for you should your husband be gone.
Please look into the FRG or FSG for a support group of friends to help in case your in laws don't make it in time. The FRG always tries to be of help to wives in this situation, where as your Ombudsman is the liason who can help find resources, the FRG is for family support.
Your worse case scenario actually happened to me. I drove myself to the hospital and it makes for a funny story a decade later... you think you'd hit the gas during contractions, but I slammed on the brakes. At 2am, not a huge issue. I also scared the crap out of the young gate guard who didn't want to deliver me right there. Baby was out 90 minutes after I checked in, so even if I gave DH a heads up when I left for the hospital, he wouldn't have made it. He did come up briefly the next day and hung out for the afternoon, I joke that it was just long enough to make sure baby looked like him before heading back to PI to finish the course. After the class wrapped he took his 10 days.
They're usually well staffed at labor and delivery and a FTM is really never alone.