What to do with 13 month old dd while in labor?

[Mearaina]

I was wondering if anyone else had this situation. My 2 older girls, 3 and 5, are fine with visiting Grandma or Aunt C while I am laboring and delivering, But L, who is 13 months, is very attached to me and can rarely be apart from me. At this point, we are thinking of having dh put her in the backpack during L/D, since she likes to be worn. Does this seem feasible?

Also, she will stay overnight with us at the hospital. I am a little leery of co-sleeping with her on a high hospital bed, not to mention with the baby, too. Maybe dh will hold her in the recliner all night? Any ideas? I am totally stumped on this one.

L

[artgoddess]

First of all have you checked with the hospital about her being there? is there anyway grandma can make an effort to spend a ton of time with your baby starting today up until you deliver?

My biggest concern would be that if you are worried about your DD, you won't be able to let your body do it's work of birthing your new babe.

[MysteryMama]

im having the exact same problem... i too have a very attached 13mo who will not stay with anyone but me or dh. i plan on taking him with us, but having MIL and/or SIL come to the hospital and taking care of him in the waiting area as much as possible so dh can focus on being my support as much as possible. this way dh is right there at any point that ds needs becomes unmanagable. i figure it's better than nothing. i plan on staying by myself (with the new baby of course) overnights during my post partum stay. i know on one hand it'll suck being alone and not having help those first couple days, but on the other hand, it'll be a chance to bond with the new baby before having to go home and take care of ds too.

if i come up with anything better, i'll let you know, but as of now this is pretty much the plan.

[Mearaina]

Thanks for the comments

The hospital is pretty flexible with family...our doc won't care and he has the final say. ANd she is happy in the backpack. As far as sleeping they let any immediate family and grandparents on the floor 24/7. It's pretty mellow.

I am worried that if she wasn't there I wouldn't be able to concentrate. She freaks out when I am not there...I am talkning hysterical sobs until she gets so worked up she can't breathe. If she is with me I know she is okay.

No one (grandma included) can get bonded with her this quickly. My mom works and sees us about 10 hours a week, but that hasn't ever seemed to help. And if my mom is working when I go into labor she will not be able to leave her work, so I dont know that I want to count on htat. Aunt C and Uncle E are more likely to have an adult at home, since they have kids of their own to care for, but they live a good hour from the hospital and L doesn't deal with them that well. I think I am just going to wait until the last minute to go to the hospital so there is no time to argue or think about the baby being there...and also if she is in the backpack for an hour or so she will be totally fine and not fuss at all. By then hopefully her brother will be here anddh's presence will not be as critical.. We are totally winging this one.

jeannie81 - you will likely go before me...let me know how it goes.

[MysteryMama]

Originally Posted by Mearaina

jeannie81 - you will likely go before me...let me know how it goes.

no prob, i'll let you know how it goes.

[LaughinWillow]

2 ideas - one, you could ask the hospital if they provide a cot for family rooming in (the one I'm going to provides a folding bed). If not, you could go to Bed Bath and Beyond and get a twin Aerobed - they're kind of expensive, but supereasy to inflate and way more comfortable than regular inflatable mattresses. Then you could use it for the night(s) at the hospital and return it when you're done if you don't want to be out the money.