Is it insane to induce to suit childcare??

[NeenerNina]

My due date is on a Sunday.

I have a toddler (not yet even 2) who is in nursery Mon-Fri.

No family support. If I give birth during the night I do have a friend on standby but she has no kids and wouldn't be v experienced!

Last time I went almost 2 weeks over! So I haven't a clue what will happen this time but I imagine I'll go over, but maybe not as much.

Would it be absolutely insane to ask for an induction date on the Monday, so 40+1??

It means I'd go in at 8am, and DS would be happy as Larry in nursery all day. He'd be fed and watered and changed...and possibly I'd have given birth by the evening ad DH will be able to go home and put him to bed! And then DS would of course be in nursery all the rest of the week. It also would be v handy should I have to have an EMCS for any reason.

Basically the worst case scenario is for me to give birth on a Friday and then have to be struggling with newborn + stroppy toddler all weekend.

But then you hear such horrendous things about inductions - everyone seems to hate them.....is it utter lunacy to ask for one without a clinical reason????

Yes. It is.

And I doubt they'd want to do it anyway tbh.

Inductions take days and are often delayed for days especially if they aren't clinically indicated. I think it would be highly unlikely to work out to your preferred schedule, and I'm also not sure that it would be agreed to in the first place - sorry.

OR you ring the hospital at 8am, they tell you they are busy and to call back at 11am. You ring at 11am and they ask you to come in at 2pm. You don't get induced straight away due to a mix up with blood test results. The first pessary doesn't have any effect. You have to stay in overnight.... And so on and so forth. This is what happened to me. You won't be able to keep to any kind of schedule. If I were you I'd just roll with it.

Nina this is exactly what I want to do too! Very similar situation here with no family support.

It's hard without support but I absolutely wouldn't. I was 14 days over when I was induced but it still took 4 days to work and was horrible. You can't predict timing with induction and you can start a chain of interventions that would prolong your stay.

Sweep yes. Induction no.

Oh shit, doesn't sound good!

Induction increases your chances of a c section. It can also be hugely painful. It was going to be next for me if the sweeps didn't work. Thankfully for me my sweep at 39 weeks produced a baby about 10 hours later.

I was induced last time so know what to expect. I'd do it again.

My induction lasted three days and then two recovering from the associated injuries. It doesn't guarantee a speedy delivery.

I don't think a doctor would agree to it.

Well I guess they're going to offer an induction date anyway in case I go too far over. Last time I had one booked for 14 days over but went spontaneously a couple of days before. They were v keen to book a date in their big black book - even tried to book it at my 38 week checkup! I managed to book it as late as possible but it was a bit of a fight, tbh.

So I guess I could book it for 40+8 which is the following Monday anyway since they'll be pushing for a date anyway.

I suppose just let it go and manage as best we can. I hate the thought of going on a Saturday or Sunday and DH not being with me as much as last time cos of childcare.

But maybe if I go spontaneously it will at least be quicker?

I recently had my second child and wanted an induction, primarily in order to ensure there was time for an epidural, but also for childcare reasons for my eldest (family 2hrs + drive away).

I was advised that there was little chance of getting an induction before my due date, and I was also worried about increased risk of interventions so I didn't pursue it.

As luck would have it my waters went early, giving time to sort out childcare; and induction became an option for me because labour didn't start straight away. I could have waited but asked for induction asap. Had the pessary which got things going, had epidural and normal delivery with no further interventions.

In your position I would ask to have an induction asap after going past due date (but I wanted an epidural anyway, so wouldn't have been bothered if I'd needed the drip), especially if you are getting signs that your body is gearing up for labour (and also if you are prepared for the possibility of needing a CS).

Will your DH be taking paternity leave? Your post makes it sound like you will be managing alone after giving birth. Might that be the main problem?

Giving birth at the weekend might not be so bad. IME babies sleep a lot the day after delivery, and around day 3 is when things get really tough - a good day for your eldest to be going into nursery if someone else can do drop-off.

Good luck and hope things work out OK for you.

To be completely honest, I think your priority should be finding childcare instead of planning potentially unnecessary medical interventions to suit your existing childcare arrangements. Would a neighbour or friend or one of DS's friends parents be willing and able to help you out over a weekend? You'll probably find people are flattered to be asked.

It was just under 10 hours from pessary to delivery btw (that was with weak contractions beforehand).

They got the pessary in about 2 1/2 hrs after I was booked in. Obviously not all hospitals will be on the same timescale, but to give you an idea.

No he'll be off. And he's flipping brilliant, and can certainly take care of DS on his own without my input, but I just want him to be by my side at the birth rather than at home with DS.

DS is a total live wire. He's at a crazy age! Nursery would be better both for us and him tbh. He gets very impatient in the house. But I suppose inexperienced friend might be able to take him to the playground at least!

Ah ok I misunderstood what you were saying. I agree with apatheticfallacy about asking for help / people being flattered to be asked. Failing that can you afford any additional childcare if you are in labour over a weekend? Do any of his nursery workers do babysitting?

I really dreaded having to go into labour without DH and was very tearful about it in late pregnancy, so you have my total sympathy btw x

Are there any nursery staff who'd be happy to babysit?

I never thought about nursery staff? Does that happen? I didn't think that was a "thing" tbh.

Inexperienced friend is v willing, mind you. She just wouldn't have a clue what a toddler was looking for iykwim cos he can't really articulate his needs yet. Which is why playground/supervising whilst asleep would be fine, but not sure how she'd get on with putting him to bed etc.

But then I suppose nobody would die, right??!

Has your son got a keyworker he's close to at nursery?
They could offer evening / weekend childcare as a back up. Especially if it's someone who drives & can take him home with them

Yes, nursery staff at the nurseries I've used have offered occasional babysitting for extra cash. You could sound them out by asking if they know of anyone who'd be willing to help out in a pinch.

Not at all. I had DC3 privately and was induced at 38+3, mainly because I have a history of GBS and short labours but also because I was concerned about DH not getting back in time. It was amazing, went in at 8am, waters manually broken and epidural inserted, no pain whatsoever, not one bit and DC3 born by 11.45am. It was the perfect experience and if I ever had another child, which I won't, I would do it exactly the same way.

suit my MIL had a very similar experience to you back in the day, except hers was waters broken followed by drip and baby a few hours later. She was appalled that they do so many stages now