[Mummy Duck]

I had bs on my own due to the relationship breaking down with my sons father.

It wasnt ideal, it was a little sterile and lonely. In comparison to my 2nd birth and having my husband with me it was a much better experience.

For baby #3, bd will be at day care for the day as Im also having a planned c-section. Can you look at child care options?

Ask if you can have your c-section to fit in with the day care hours.

I dont think you will regret having your husband with you but its a good chance you may regret doing it on your own.

Good luck OP.

[baby*girl]

Yes, I have. It was just a beautiful an experience as my other two births, with my husband present.

My husband was serving overseas in the army at the time and I wasn't comfortable having anyone else there with me.

It was somewhat a nice experience to only have to think about myself and not worry about how my DH was feeling or anyone else.

[ballogo]

I gave birth to all three children in S.E. Asia. My husband's family didn't live in the same town and the relatives/cousins who did, wouldn't come for cultural reasons. My husband was not allowed inside the labour and birthing area for all three births. For my first and second we managed to "sneak" hiim in for a couple of hours but he had to leave before I gave birth.

When I actually gave birth I was surrounded by a group of people speaking in their own dialect not realising that I understood.... I got a lot of "white" comments. "Oooh white people can't bear pain" "Oh my - you're so fat" etc. etc. Luckly by the time my first child was born I had already lived there for four years and understood the cultural background to such comments.

Lots of strange things happened - like being shaved, someone pushing down on my belly during my first birth and cracking a rib (someone told me later it's called a fundal push? Not something I wanted), having a hot light shine on your privates after birth...

For my first baby the only family visitors were my in-laws who came down. For my other two my colleagues from the school where I taught came to visit.

I've shared stories with my sister-in-laws in Australia since coming back, and I feel a bit sad about what could have been, but I have also experienced something many others in Australia have not, and that has shaped me into the person I now.

[Akatara]

Do you have to leave your toddler overnight? If its a planned cs then it would most likely be during the day.

Could a friend have her for a few hours and then bring her to dh.

Just one thing though... Do you have any support for recovery. How much time can dh take of work. Remember it will be hard to drive and pick up a toddler for a few weeks. Could you set up a bit of daycar of family day care?

Also, will the inlaws expect to be able to come and see you and the baby? Good luck with it all. It cane be stressful... I didn't enjoy having inlaws around, and mine are ok most of the time!

This post has been edited by akakabanna: 10/05/2012, 05:42 AM

[MissButtercup]

I understand not feeling comfortable enough to leave you DD with friends. We're in a similar situation. Check out day care/crèche/nanny options - it would be a shame for your DH to miss the birth. When my DD#2 was born DD#2 was in child care for the day. C/S was at 2 and DH had picked her up by 4:30, so only 2.5hrs later.

ETA - I also have issues with the inlaws and was kind of wishIng we could just forget to tell them I am pregnant at all...

This post has been edited by MissButtercup: 10/05/2012, 09:01 PM