i agree that she shouldn't be there. in fact, go ahead and hve your baby while she's on vacation if you want.
we didn't tell family when we went into labor either. even though my ILs live 1.5 hrs away and my parents live 2 hrs away (though they moved, so now it's 1), i knew that they might just get too worked up and decide to show up even though i knew i didn't want them there and told them so.
btw, not wanting them there upset both families a lot. but, whatever. we wanted our birth private, and honestly, i needed to be uninhibited.
now, my dad got into this funny habit due to his fears in that last week of pregnancy. he would call every day. after the third day, i told him that i would call him about the baby, he needn't call me. in fact, i told him not to call. he couldn't seem to help himself.
so, on the day when i labored, i was in this meditative labor-space, and dh answered my cell. he told my dad that i was "busy", then got off the phone. about 10 mintues later, i think it dawned on my dad that i was probably in labor, so he called back. DH answered and said that everything was fine, i was just meditating, and that i'd call him back later.
then, we turned off the cell phone from that point on.
i didn't call my parents or ILs until 9 hrs after the birth. my parents came later that day, my ILs came the next day. my father had figured out that i was in labor, and my mother said that he was a nervous wreck all day long, and couldn't sleep all night. my mother, also an anxious person, was actually the calm one. it's kind of funny how they balance each other out.
my mother confessed to me: it was good you didn't tell us, because your dad was ready to drive over as soon as you were in labor to make sure you were "safe" and tell you when you needed to go to the hospital. he was a nervous wreck.
and, just his nervous energy would have been too much for me. we had such a peaceful birth. it was so worth not calling and telling anyone.
