We are unexpectedly pregnant with baby #4 and my due date is 3 days prior to DH's last final exam this fall. (Wonderful timing, I know.) I'm due December 10th. Finals start December 6th and end December 13th. He has 3 days- from December 3rd to December 5th- where he doesn't have to be in class. On December 3rd, I would be 39w0d. I VBAC. I've gone at 37w0d, 39w0d and 40w0d, so I've never gone over before. He is not going to be able to miss his finals for the birth of the baby and I don't want him to, but ideally I would like for him to be there. Our options are:
1) Hope I don't go into labor until 40w3d. If I do, we'd be scrambling to get my mom here (she's 3.5 hours away) and struggling to find childcare for our other 3 kids. DH might not be available to take me to the hospital, so I might have to wait for a ride, etc if I'm not in any shape to drive. DH might not be able to make it for the birth as he might be in a final or studying for one, and even if he is taking one or studying for one, he would probably be distracted knowing I'm in labor.
2) Schedule an ERCS at 39 weeks. I'd really prefer to vaginal birth because I recover a lot quicker from vaginal births (my first was a c-section, my last two have been VBACs), but if that's what has to happen, so be it. Scheduling it would give DH the assurance that he would actually be there for the birth. Also, we could schedule childcare, so we would know we had childcare. Also, I would be in the hospital until the 6th recovering, so he could stay with me the 3rd, then go in his hole and study the 4th and the 5th. My mom would come on the 6th and stay for a week which would take us through DH's finals.
3) Find a doc who would be willing to schedule an elective induction at 39w0d. I'm always very favorable from 38w on and I'm a multip so really if they AROM me and give me a whiff of pit I might just go on my own quickly. Might be difficult to find someone willing to do that though because of the March of Dimes initiative and no one wants to do "social" inductions anymore. Same benefits of scheduling as in #2.
Thoughts? Anyone have any advice or can think of alternatives we haven't thought of yet??
Thanks!
1) Hope I don't go into labor until 40w3d. If I do, we'd be scrambling to get my mom here (she's 3.5 hours away) and struggling to find childcare for our other 3 kids. DH might not be available to take me to the hospital, so I might have to wait for a ride, etc if I'm not in any shape to drive. DH might not be able to make it for the birth as he might be in a final or studying for one, and even if he is taking one or studying for one, he would probably be distracted knowing I'm in labor.
2) Schedule an ERCS at 39 weeks. I'd really prefer to vaginal birth because I recover a lot quicker from vaginal births (my first was a c-section, my last two have been VBACs), but if that's what has to happen, so be it. Scheduling it would give DH the assurance that he would actually be there for the birth. Also, we could schedule childcare, so we would know we had childcare. Also, I would be in the hospital until the 6th recovering, so he could stay with me the 3rd, then go in his hole and study the 4th and the 5th. My mom would come on the 6th and stay for a week which would take us through DH's finals.
3) Find a doc who would be willing to schedule an elective induction at 39w0d. I'm always very favorable from 38w on and I'm a multip so really if they AROM me and give me a whiff of pit I might just go on my own quickly. Might be difficult to find someone willing to do that though because of the March of Dimes initiative and no one wants to do "social" inductions anymore. Same benefits of scheduling as in #2.
Thoughts? Anyone have any advice or can think of alternatives we haven't thought of yet??
Thanks!
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