Complete Clueless Novice -Advice needed

[reeniemartini]

My sister is 39 weeks + 2. It's her first. She has been up since 3am this morning with what feels like terrible period pains running down her legs, belly and back. They started 30 mins apart lasting 30secs. They are now 6 mins apart lasting 1 minute each.
I live 4 hours drive away and am on night shifts starting tomorrow at 6pm - 6am. She has rung her labour ward who said give it another 2 hours and see what happens.
Her husband and my mum are with her so I have no worries that she doesn't have enough support.
Question is, when do I make the call to start driving down?

I want to be there for the birth and she wants me there but we are both aware that this could be a false start.
If I go to bed as I woud usually do for a night shift it would be at about 3 this morning and because I'm turning myself around from working 6am - 6pm I will have to take a mild sleeping tablet.
I could go down now but if things stop I would have to drive back up for more night shifts, or I could go to bed earlier and see where she is at about 8am in the morning then try and drive down.
I know this must seem fairly trivial to you all but she's my little sister, it's the first niece, first grandchild and I so want to be with her. I'm just bloody clueless with this kind of thing - bloody hell I need to be a better big sister!

It doesnt seem trivial but I would go now! My sister-in-law was only 5hrs in labour with her first!!

The problem is that nobody knows! With my first I was a day of contractions about 7 mins apart, then 48 hrs of them coming every 4 or 5 mins till they decided I could have augmentation. For others , things can accelerate quickly once they get going. It does sound like she is heading in the roght direction if they are consistently 6 mons apart and not stopping and starting though. If you want to absolutely guarantee not to miss it, the only way is to go there! Sorry, babies are not v predictable.

Good luck to her and you as a new auntie!

GO!

Did you go and did you see it????

Thanks everyone for the advice. I missed it - boo! But as it happens I wouldn't have been able to even see my sister anyway. There were only 2 allowed in and you weren't allowed to swap. She was born at 10am. I got there at 11:30 but we still weren't allowed in untill visiting hours at 4pm. She went home today. A beautiful 6lb 11 girl called Amelie with the most amazing head of hair. My sister did it all with the merest whiff off gas and air. I am in awe of her and totally besotted by my new niece. I've just left two terrified looking parents to their first night as mummy and daddy. My world has been turned upside down. I've just spent the last 5 hours literally just staring at her. The whole thing has been quiet simply amazing. Now I think I'm going to have a little cry xxxx

Ah that's sweet. Never mind births are mixed bag anyway, not sure I would want to be witness to someone else's tbh, there's a lot of bodily stuff flying around. Congrats on the niece, newborns are scrummy

Lovely being an auntie too :) All the pride and none of the worry :)

Congratulations of being an auntie!! Speaking as someone with 10 DNs, it's ace!