Has anyone moved around 38 weeks pregnant?!

[schopenhauer]

My DH has been offered a promotion within his company, more money and a good challenge so we have decided he should take it. Only problem is it's in North Essex/south cambs and we are currently in surrey, almost 2 hours away. Plan is that I should join him there when I start maternity leave, which I think I am fine with (though logistics of moving when 38 weeks are quite scary..).

Reason I am posting here is to ask advice on where to give birth. I am 26 weeks and all set for our local hospital, but should I move a bit earlier than 38 weeks and try to give birth in Essex/cambs or am I better to stay here where I have had all my antenatal care? I'm scared of going in to labour on my own, although there should be time for DH to get here before anything really kicks off, as this is our first. Could I turn up in a new area being very pregnant and expect them to take over my care? So far am low risk and all going fine at present. Would be great to hear if anyone has done anything similar and how it worked out :-)

I moved a few times in my first pregnancy - had 5 different addresses in 3 areas! The last move was when i was 37weeks pregnant.

Between 16ish weeks and 37 i had a job in our original town and a home there (initially our house whilst we sold it, then my parents) and hubby got a new job 1.5hrs away (initially he stayed in single person staff accomodation - where i unofficially stayed with him at weekends and some parts of the week, then once our house was sold he moved into the more expensive couples staff accomodation, so i could officially stay there). During this time i moved my care to the hospital up there, so hubby could come to my extra scans and consultant appointments with me, plus i thought wed remain in that hospitals area and felt it was better to have care there (i didnt want to move to a new hospital at the point of being ready to give birth any day.

We bought a new house and noved in at 37weeks pregnant, then found out that technically we were in a new hospitals area. I didnt change it again as i was scared id go into labour and not know anything about the hospital.

The move itself was ok, my nesting instinct went wild and i probably over did it a bit on the unpacking front and building flat pack furniture, but it was fine. Us not having our proper house until so late in the pregnancy did mean rushing out for a lot of things but again nest instinct seemed to give me lors of energy to do it.

On the whole it was ok but im glad id got a hospital up there from mid pregnancy, although it made appointments a little tricky.

The hardest bit was trying to get to grips with a new area with a new baby - no friends, no local knowledge. It was ok after a couple of months.

Thanks for your reply. Sounds like getting a few appts in before I give birth might be good, so maybe giving up work a couple of weeks earlier than planned is the key. Now wondering about going back to work as my dh's job is one that does require him to move around a lot and in our current area we don't know anyone! Lots to think about!

Hi :)

Im now 38 weeks with my first and moved house a week ago at 37 weeks for the same reason - my partner got a new job so we relocated from Somerset to Sussex when my maternity leave started! The moving house thing was quite stressful as we had a day to do it, and lots of people who said they would help ended up not being able too... but as i've had a simpleish pregnancy I managed to do far more than I had imagined, and cleaning I found quite fun (but make sure someone leaves a chair unpacked... biggest mistake we made!!) :)

Before arriving up here I picked a doctors surgery, and then when we came to look at houses I went in and picked up registration forms but didn't actually register so that I could continue my care until the last minute at my previous hospital. The day after moving i went to the Docs, got an appointment straight away, went to the hospital to see a consultant and get given a tour/booking in appointment (which didnt take 10 mins seeing as they had my info), got given an extra scan :D, and I now feel very ready to give birth here! So its do-able and wasn't too bad for me although I appreciate everyone is different!! Hope that helps and good luck!

Thanks iwantitto, that makes me feel better

On the wondering whether to be a SAHM front instead of going back to work - we used the relocation to make sure we had a house that we could afford on just dh's income, so i had that option. Also if you know your not going back its easier to finish earlier.

Oh and sorry for all the typos - im using my phone.

Yes that's what I'm hoping we could do... Our mortgage is loads and we would have to pay for 5 days a week in childcare if I did work. Plus I might be totally alone if DH was still in this other role (it's within same company but it's only for the duration of the project - about a year). We would have to rent our own house out and we rent somewhere else cheaper which we could afford on just DH income. Because of the nature of his job it's likely that he would be posted somewhere else in future so maybe it's not worth me working. I could earn money doing other things and have family help with childcare in the new area ... But it's quite a scary big step giving up work, though working full time and having a baby in full time childcare doesn't appeal that much either!

Giving up work is a terrifying step but definately if your thinking about it at all, use the move as a way to make it an affordable option.

When lo was a couple of months old i did actually decide to go back to work, then i quickly changed my mind again before id actually got back to work. Now hes 2.5yrs and i wouldnt change it for the world. I love spending my days with him. Im so glad we took the oppourtunity to make it possible for me not to work. Our previous mortgage was massive and theres no way i could have given up work.

Thanks again, you have definitely given me food for thought, it's good to hear positive things. Still loads of things up in the air for us but hopefully things will become clearer in the weeks and months to come