Preparing for labour at night with a toddler and no family nearby

[MapleSeed]

My husband and I are expecting our second baby. We have 2.5 YO and no family living in the country (we are based in London). Anyone with a similar experience and what did you do to prepare in the event labour started in the middle of the night? We have friends living nearby who can watch our daughter if labour starts in the day… but we’re not sure how to plan for the possibly of a 2am labour, for example.

Any advice or experiences greatly appreciated!

Also, if you have any very nearby neighbours you trust and get on with, ask if they would step in, if there was an absolute emergency.

Our only option was to take our toddler with us. We had my sister lined up to come and stay with us for 3 weeks to try and cover the birth, but ds took us by surprise and came two weeks early.

I would definitely ask your friend. Most good friends would be happy to be on call for something like this.