Advice on having other children with you when n labour at matilda

[Tasha2303]

Hi,

I am about to give birth any day now and myself and my husband are a bit worried what we will do with our other two children.
Our eldest is 11 and youngest is 14 months. Our helper will not be starting until after the baby is born and all our friends have children so if is the middle of the night they can't help.
Has anyone given birth at Matilda and had there other children there? I really want my children to be with me until the pushing part but worried there won't be anywhere for them to wait and that my husband will be running back and forth checking on them.
We ideally wanted our helper to start before but she can't and we don't want to loose her.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated : )

 

[carang]

you may want to contact rent-a-mum or something like that.... they can provide babysitters for you. i don't know how it would work or what it would cost if it was a middle of the night situation, though....

 

[Honkyblues]

I don't think Matilda will let anyone apart from the father into the delivery suite - and you'll be there long before you start pushing.

I think you need to make an arrangement with a friend or with rent-a-mum. Surely a friend could come by if it's overnight (as her children will be safe at home with the husband and/or her helper)?

I"m sure you're feeling quite stressed about it. Believe me, I hate leaving my kids behind when I go to give birth (I'm expecting baby 4 in July so I do understand). Best of luck.

 

[nicolejoy]

I would just ask one of your friends - my friend was in a similar situation and I babysat her then 3 year old overnight, even though I have two kids of my own. She had to sleep on mattresses on the floor but it was no big deal - and my friend had no family in HK and no helper so didn't have many choices. Just ask - they can only say no right?

 

[rani]

If you have a private room, can't they wait for you there and your husband can go back and forth and keep an eye on them?

I had my entire family waiting for me in my room at the Adventist.

 

[Tasha2303]

Thank you everyone.
Yes Honkyblues very stressed out!ha ha
There doesn't seem to be any friends we can ask as some have husbands that work away or that would need to be up early for work so would end up leaving them with 3-4 children.
Rani this is what I was thinking and have actually emailed the midwives to ask. That would be the most ideal option and I'm really pleased to hear Adventist let you. When your paying so much for a hospital I would expect to be able to do this.
With my last baby who I had in the uk, I had hubby, mum, sister and daughter with me until the messy part! It was lovely.
Thanks again everyone : )

 

[mummymoo]

Other option is for you to negotiate with one of your friends, perhaps one that has more than one helper, for the helper to come over and baby sit for the night, and then your friend can ask her helper if it is okay by them. If this works out it might be nice to give the helper a bit of a bonus to thank her for the inconvenience......

 

[inkmink]

If the hospital is not accommodating, this is another option. Similar to rent-a-mum but possibly cheaper. I have not used them to take care of my daughter but have used them numerous times for various reasons and have been very happy. All the ladies that came to help me were very motherly and I would trust them in taking great care of my daughter.

http://www.erb.org/smartliving/en/domestic.php

 

[Tasha2303]

Matilda were no help at all, and said they could not accommodate such a request!? What having two children wait in a private room with my husband keeping an eye on them???
Rent a mum want about $2000 per day plus $500 per night to be on stand by as of course I don't know when we might need them. So not an option.
Rani did you ask Adventist or just turn up with your family?

 

[rani]

We didn't plan it. It just happened. I was admitted in the hospital in the morning. Everyone was really excited and my parents, sis and niece all arrived at the hospital after lunch. They just waited in my room until baby was born at 6pm. Had a private room and they weren't in anyone's way.