What do I need to know... Just in case I ....

I won't even tell you the nightmares I am having as I don't want to add those fears to your list! I am absolutely sure you are going to be fine! I have been concerned about the timing too, but figure it would have to be soooo quick to put me in a dire situation, the chances of that happening are very remote. I love it (not) how being a Mummy creates a whole new 'fear' list for us, so bizarre - noone told me I would feel slightly mad and OCD at times with my OTT concerns for the welfare of the kids!!! Anyway, do you have a neighbour closeby that you can call on in case you do get in a sticky situation? I know you have your maid, so you can always make sure she is looking after you, but if you really are concerned, it might be nice to have someone on call - just to make you feel more comfortable with the situation - although again, I am sure you will be fine! My thoughts, and clearly I am not a medical profession, but having been through this fear and rationalised what I will do.. my thought process has been... I don't think there is an ideal position, just however you are comfortable and that either you, or whoever is there can 'catch' the little one, so they don't drop from a great height. If you have your hospital bag packed, this should have the bits you will need, blankets to wrap the baby in if needed. Just try and make sure you are somewhere relatively clean, any risk of infection would (largely) be related to you, not the baby. The cord can stay attached to the baby for quite sometime, in fact in many countries, they leave the cord fully attached until it stops pulsing to ensure the baby gets all the really good nutrients from it. It is like the first lots of breastmilk that are really, really nutrient rich, the cord is still packed with really good nutrients, so it is thought more beneficial to the baby to leave this attached until it has taken everything from it. You do need a good strong pair of scissors, because the cord is quite tough to cut through - from last time they cut about 4 cms from the belly, and then clamped it - you could use one of kitchen bag clamps if you were desperate. Placenta delivery can take a while as well - although if you breastfeed straight away, this is supposed to help with the contractions, placenta delivery should be natural and you def don't want to pull it out, as they need to examine it post your birth to ensure it is complete and intact when it has come out, or there can be complications. I seriously don't think you would get to this point without an ambulance being there to help you. But if you are at home at this point, I would then be making sure you are lying down, and that your feed are elevated to help with the blood loss... I am now just laughing that I have written this (and clearly given serious thought to this happening myself!). You WILL be absolutely fine though I am sure of it! I am currently thinking given I had a very fast 1st birth, that this second one is going to go on for days (just because I am bracing myself for a fast one like you!) But given everything up until now has been the opposite to what happened last time, so I suspect the same will happen with the birth, and I will be posting on here saying 'I am still in hosp, stll having contractions, still no baby!!!" LOL

I must admit, I have been having the same worries! This is my third baby and my last delivery was quite fast - what if I go into labour during peak traffic hours? How long will it take to get to the hospital? I can't imagine being trapped in the car for an hour or so with contractions, etc. I have thought about an ambulance but I had a friend who tried to call for one and they told her to take a taxi! I know it will all work out okay in the end but I can't help worrying!

hee hee! Have to admit this did make me giggle - only because I had this complete freak out on the way to hospital with DS. By the time we got in the car, contractions were about 1 min apart - our hosp is about 20 mins away from home, honestly, I was saying to DH - move it, I am worried I am going to give birth in the car - and I was genuinely worried that this would be the case. However, we did make it to hosp, and he didnt arrive for another 3 hours... needless to say, this time I still have a few nerves this will come along even faster and I will get caught short (not helping my thought process that DH works in AD!). My suggestion, If you do find yourself in a situation where your waters have broken and your contractions are so close together that you really doubt you will make it in time, I would jump in a bath at home (this tends to slow things down) and call an ambulance - they will at least have some medical expertise to deal with it enroute to hospital, and providing you live somewhere well known (so they aren't going to get lost finding your house) - chances are the local ambulance bay is closer than the hospital you will need to get to, so they will reach you faster, than you would the hospital. I understand (from speaking with someone recently) you can tell them which hospital you want to be delivered to, and they will do it for a charge. Other than that, I did see an episode of the Kardashians once where Kourteney pulled her own baby out by leaning over and just taking him out... hehehe

Cross your legs (just joking) Don’t be scared, you will have lots of time to get to the hospital especially if it’s your first baby.