My husband has got a big birthday coming up in February, and ages ago he booked a big National Trust property a few hours' drive away for that weekend so that his (and my) extended family could get together - 21 of us in total, I think. Since then, we discovered we were expecting our first baby (TTC but for so long we weren't really expecting it to happen), due date the week after said weekend.
We've just had our dating scan and afterwards we discussed what to do - my feeling was that the holiday wasn't a good idea, as even though I know most first babies are late it's just too risky and I want to be within a half hour (at the most) of hospital/birth centre, not to mention unknowables like the possibility that I'll be induced early/need to have scheduled C- section etc. Also even if the baby is early it seems crazy to expect ourselves to do that drive and "host" the occasion with a newborn.
We haven't checked the insurance position yet, but I think the best thing is to try and postpone, if possible, or cancel even if it means losing the deposit. DH is obviously disappointed - the occasion was also to mark his mother's 90th, and for obvious reasons we may not get another opportunity to celebrate that - but said that of course it was up to me and "if I felt worried about it" it was my decision. (For the record, he is lovely.) I don't think it's me "being worried", tbh, I think I'm being sensible, but as it's our first pregnancy and a totally unknown quantity maybe I am overreacting. What do you all think?
A footnote: DH is wondering too whether, if we don't go and can't postpone, we should pay the balance (4 figures, we can afford it but it's a lot of money to waste) and tell our families to go without us. I think this is both a) masochistic if we can't be there and b) a bit weird, as my family and his siblings, ex- wife and PILs, daughters, nephews etc don't really know one another and without us there it might feel strange, but would this be the gracious thing to do?
Let me know your thoughts...