who did you tell when you went into labour?

[Cazm2]

Hi all posted in pregnancy but maybe better here! 37 weeks with first bubba. Wasn't planning on me and Dh letting anyone know when in labour however kmil has announced she wants to know Dh wavering. I might if things get complicated or need extra support tell my mum. But I don't want Dh constantly on phone with updates or disappearing mil is demanding. What did you do?

I vaguely recall not wanting to tell people with ds - but in the event we did tell mil, who lived locally. She decided to cancel her weekly trip into London, even though dh told her there was no need as it was likely to be a while. She said she wouldn't be able to enjoy a day out knowing what was happening so stuck to her guns.
The return train she always caught to come home, crashed that day, killing several people!
With dd, I went into labour during ds's 2nd birthday party, when we had around 30 people round for tea. So... not exactly a secret then. But it did get me out of clearing up.

With the first baby both my parents and my sister found out i was in labour and spent the whole time pacing up and down in the hospital corridor which was truly awful especially when i wanted to go to the loo. I really did not want my dad listening to the groans. Actually I didnt want DH there either as he was useless and kept fainting. With DD 2 we made sure not to tell anyone -in any case she was very quick anyway! Much the best way is not to tell the wretched family

Realise how we were lucky it was a Saturday so didn't have to tell anyone at all. I think giving birth is a private thing personally so just us and the midwife was perfect!

Waters went midnight, labour started about 1 am. Don't think anyone would've wanted to be woken up then anyway. Labour progressed well so there wasn't any spare time IYSWIM, might have let them know if there had been any longueurs; it didn't arise, so I don't know.

Actually about 10 o'clock the lady from the breastfeeding class I should have been at rang the hospital to ask if I was there. So all my NCT group knew but they were easy not to think about!

DP rang gps once we'd had some time together and he went home to get the car seat.

I was going to say 'just as Question Time' started. It was 16 days before my due date. Bloody kid, never been eary or on time for anything since.

With DD, I couldn't even find DP to tell at first! BIL was with me when I went into labour (he was there for the birth as well :)) so he obviously knew. Phoned my mum and siblings and then PIL.

Was more than happy for them all to know. They are all very levelheaded and wouldn't panic. I wanted them to feel involved. I'm not really the 'this is my baby and my labour, and I will tell people when I feel like it' type of parent, I like having my family involved. :)

... That was because I misread the title as 'When did you go into labour?' on my teensy blackberry screen.

both sets of parents knew, but they didn't bother us, DH phoned with good news. at one point i was bouncing about the living room on my ball with the tens machine on with the curtains closed when DHs friend arrived, he wouldn't let him in and when he told him i was in labour he quickly disappeared :)

I had a planned induction and DS arrived 3 hours after my water broke so only DP my Mum and dad knew

Just OH and my lovely brother whom I'd told due to the fact that my labour started while OH was away. I knew my own mother would worry and everyone else would do my head in
Good luck!

With number 3 DS I told no one for the first twelve hours not even my DH!! DH would have panicked too much!! Another relative walked in and knew before my DH - DH did not realise at all - the relative did - told them to shut up and say nothing!! Told only those who had to know, those looking after DD's 1 and 2!! Was wonderful telephoning people myself and saying we had a son!!

First time, no-one at all.

Second time round, I was due to go and drop in on a church holiday club that was taking place that week. I normally run it, but had taken a year off on account of being PG. I went into labour at 8am on the day I was due to go and visit them. Rang to let them know I wasn't coming. So that's about 25 adults and 80 kids who immediately guessed that I was in labour ... each of whom told a couple of other people ... needless to say, by the time DD2 was actually born the whole flippin' town knew I was in labour

First time, just DH, second time DH and the friend who was looking after DS1 whilst DH took me to hospital.

first time, we didn't tell anyone except the midwife, we continued to answer the phone without telling anyone, until afterwards.
second time mum and dad knew because they came to pick up ds1 and the neighbours knew because I forgot to close the window

I told DH. He told everyone at work as he ran for his car. I didn't tell my Mum, because she would have been fretting.

However...I had a show in the morning before DH went to work and I didn't tell him.

First time around my husband rang his parents and mine as soon as the decision was made to induce me (because I had pre-eclampsia and was being induced at 35 weeks.)

My mother and sister got on the next available train and travelled for five hours to come to see me. They got to the hospital about half an hour after I'd given birth and came into the delivery room when I was having my bed-bath. It was really nice actually - quite emotional.

I wasn't so keen on having my parents and brother in law waiting on the ward as I was wheeled in. They stood around looking awkward and saying inane things. I was kind of buzzing and euphoric though and having a laugh with my mum and sister (telling them about my labour) so didn't really pay much attention to the in laws. Husband took them to see the babies in the incubators and then they left.

In a way it was good having our families there immediately following the birth, but in another way it took away 'our' moment together with our new arrivals. I made sure that the second time around we didn't tell anyone (aside from the childminder who looked after the twins) when I went into labour...but everyone worked it out from my absence on Facebook :oS Was really freaky when I next got online to see all these messages from people wishing me luck and knowing stuff they'd picked up on the FB grapevine.

With DS I had a planned CS and so both sets of parents knew I was going in. I think a few close friends knew too. We (my DH and I) had our phones hidden away and on silent and so only got 'pestered' when we felt it was time to see if anyone had tried to get in touch! Which was long after we had safely come through and recovered a bit! We'd only had a few texts though and by then it was nice to take time out and tell people :) I think we're lucky to have parents that are level-headed and don't pester - they all waited patiently for news as far as I'm aware :) (ponders at whether everyone was secretly panicking... )

This time round it will depend on whether I go into natural labour or not. If I do then I expect it'll be the parents and my best friend. If it's another ELC I guess there'll be a wider group of people who know, but I am going to try and keep it to good friends only. Keeping it off facebook will be the hardest thing though, I'm sure!

DS1: no one except DH; I did think for a second to ring my mother when contractions started but didn't - she lives abroad and it wouldn't have helped and she'd have worried (baby was 3 weeks early so not entirely expected)

DS2: DH of course; plus my MIL as we'd arranged for her to stay with us to take care of DS1 once the birth happened; DS2 conveniently arrived the day before his due date; she was very discreet, just waved me off (had 4 DCs herself) - well it was 2am

DS was 6 days late so I had already had a week or so of people going, 'Oh, not had that baby yet?'
My official due date had coincided with a big day out/party for my dance team and the midwife had said I could go if I a) felt well enough and b) made sure I had my notes with me. So I went, and all day, every time I hiccupped or moved someone would say, 'Are you starting?' In fact, the day before DS was born I was sent into hospital by the GP because my blood pressure was going through the roof; my mum (who was going to be there for the birth along with my best mate) was going to a funeral that day so I was calling her every two hours saying, Nothing's happened yet, just waiting around to see if they will induce me or send me home. My mate arrived at lunchtime and the two of us hung around the hospital all afternoon, they stuck me in a room after three hours and kept popping in and out to take my blood pressure. At about 10pm I phoned my mum again to say that they were keeping me in overnight but not going to induce till the morning and to go to bed; she insisted on coming in anyway. She arrived just as a midwife appeared to chuck my mate out, both mum and mate were sent home.
So the next morning, once the drugs had been administered, mum and mate turned up again and we all got on with it, my dad and my brother knew it was ongoing but didn't phone or appear, and DS was born at 9pm that night.

I am really surprised that so many of you were able to go into labour alone. I had my mum & sister on the phone constantly in the days leading up to it, and after it started. We went into hospital and didn't have a baby untill 17 hours later, I rang my mum just after he was born and was yelled at for not calling - 'WE HAVE BEEN SO WORRIED!!' No congratulations, nothing.

And then my sister arrived and stayed for three hours..... then told me the next day how shellshocked I'd looked.

Seriously envious of the boundaries some people have managed to maintain with their families. I am definitely keeping my due date a secret if there's a next time but very much doubt I'll be able to keep my mother at bay.

There's nothing worse than feeling 'monitored' and it's such a private, beautiful thing for a couple, i really regret not being firmer with my family.

We told parents and siblings but it just meant they worried. I went into hospital to be induced at 11pm (waters had broken sometime earlier) so we told people that evening at about 7pm ish that we'd be going in. They didn't get round to me till 6am and from then it was 26hrs. My DH kept them updated throughout, but at the pushing stage at 5am the next day, the baby just wasn't coming out. He didn't text at that point because he was helping me and it was night. As it was, no-one was sleeping and just checking their phones for more updates and assuming the worst.

As baby had got stuck, I was taken to theatre and given all drugs for a CS and told I had three pushes to get the baby out before they did a CS and it was really important I focus. At that moment someone appeared next to us with the message, "FIL called, can you phone him back when you get a moment?" I was furious!

Best of luck Indith and ignore my story above - the baby came out on the third push and it was amazing. :)

I didn't tell anyone except my mum, who was driving us to hospital. My sister texted my mum while I was in labour (she was up lambing through the night) so my mum let her know. DH texted his mum but I didn't find that out til afterwards. Mum and DH were, apparently giving text updates throughout but never when I needed them and I was completely unaware until afterwards so didn't really care.

First time round, no one but DH. When DS1 was born, I had to go into theatre for stitches, and was in a bit of a state, but the midwife lent me her phone, and I called my Mum - she was waffling on about how I hadn't answered the phone, and they were worried that I might have gone into labour. Took me ages to get a word in and point out that i had actually had the baby:o

DS2, I was at the park when my waters broke, and DH was working away, so had to phone around to get some help to look after DS etc. My parents knew, and were hanging on the phone the whole way through, but the inlaws didn't.

Tbh, I think you have to do what is the right thing for YOU at the time - not worry about what the grandparents think. I often feel quite sorry for the parents on One Born Every Minute who suddenly find themselves surrounded by family who were practically listening through the door.

I was induced, to just texted family to say as much, and that we'd let them know once DD had arrived.

The main reason for texting was that I was already 2 weeks late, and beyond fed up with the hourly calls of "Has it started yet" so figured it would shut them up.

moobee that is the reason why we didn't tell anyone the due date. we left it at early [month].
my mother is controlling and a worrier and she would constantly phone me once in labour like she did with my sisters

No-one - I only told DH when he arrived home from work some 6 hours after it had all started - considering it was my first & I was on my own, I was weirdly calm - gotta love Mother nature :)