DH away at weeks 35/36 for 7-10 days??

[AnyDream]

Hi I was faced with a similar situation, fewer days but the possibility is still there. It might depend on how far away your DH will be and how quickly he could get home again in that time. ie jumping on a flight btwn Australian capital cities only takes a few hours but internationally you're looking at a much longer delay.

I'd be asking this - is there a chance he could get out of this trip? If it's optional I think it's one time in the life of your marriage where you should be entitled to ask him to forego something for you. Sometimes people think they 'have to' do something when there's really another way around it. In my case it was not optional for my DH as the alternative was military prison (!) In any normal job I would've insisted on him staying with me.

If he does still decide to go, then you will need a plan B - including who's going to take you to the hospital and who's going to support you in labour. Like you say, it's fairly early but anything can happen and you need to be prepared for that. Remember 37 weeks is considered 'term' so it might also depend on how that 10 days falls against your dates.

I hope that helps.

[LimeSlice]

My DF works on teh mines, so is gone for 2 weeks and back for one. He happened to be here for his week off and my DD was smack bang in the middle...Well, I was 8 days late and he had to go back to work, so he went back and I spent the time wondering if I would have to do it by myself!! not happy jan!! lol

But I went in to labour and booked his flight home for him at 3.30 in the morning and rang his boss and told him what was going on. He got to the airport and home and still had time to sleep for a few hours while I was still in the early stages.

Its not an easy thing to do, but if you feel comfortable that he could come back if you needed, then its just a matter of you being aware when you start and gettin ghim back
Although at 36/37 weeks you should be a fairly sure bet of him being back from his trip before bubba comes anyway

Goo luck and I hope he isthere when you need him!!

[MantaRay]

That was great that he made it back in time LS. As I have quick labours my DH wouldn't be going anywhere. Luckily he had taken the day off the day I went into labour with DS2 as it was 3 hours all up, during afternoon peak, and he'd never have even made it home from work in time LOL!!

[Tobily]

I went at 36+3 with our first.
A reasonable percentage of babies will arrive in week 36/37, including first babies.

It's really a matter of what you're comfortable with but I would just be aware that there is a possibility, and it's not exactly tiny either.