Dealing with Mommy Being Away to Give Birth

If you make it a big ordeal and try to calm is nerves too much than it will become a big deal. I wouldn't mention much about it at all. As you get closer to your due date I would just say oh grandma is coming over to stay the night with you when mommy goes to the hospital to have the baby. End of story. He will be fine. I'm sure your parents will keep him busy and he won't really miss you. One more thing I have 3 kids and my husband never stayed the night in the hospital. He would always go home soon after the baby was born so your son might not have to be without him.

He should be fine.:-)My son was 1year and 4months when I had to go in the hospital to have my daughter. I would say let your husband stay with him at night to get him to sleep and just bring him to see you in the morning. (My kids have never stayed away from home over night either):-) Hope this helps.:-)

I would talk about what's going to happen with him when it's time for you to have your baby and talk it up to him and discuss how things will work and who will be with him and where you will be and when he'll be able to see you after you leave. It's very important to prepare early on for what's to come. I would also start weining him a bit. If you can I would try and spend at least two nights away prior to having the baby. Once after you've talked about everything with him and then once as you get closer to the delivery. This will show him that he can be ok when you're gone and that you always return for him and this will give him the added confidence come time for your delivery. He will be going through a lot at the time of your delivery. You will be gone, which he seems to feel quite anxious about and you will have this new baby with you when you return which could leave him feeling left out, isolated, or a bit jealous. The more you can do now to prepare him for being without you overnight then the better. This way he's not struggling with that and with the arrival of his new sibling at the same time! He clearly has a fear of your being gone and this affects his emotions and feelings of safety and security. If you can make him comfortable with being away from you over night now then the less you will have to worry about while delivering your new baby! You will be going through so much with the delivery and arrival of your baby that the last thing you're going to want is to be sick over how your son at home is coping. I would also make a point of calling him at his bed time when you do a few practice runs before the big day!! This way he hears your voice and knows you're ok and can be reassured of his well being and yours and you can gently nudge him to bed while you say good night to him over the phone. I'm sure this will help a great deal as well!

Best of luck and congratulations on your expected arrival!

I would let your son trying staying with the Grandparents a few nights before you give birth. This will not only help him but I think it will help you not worry all night about how your son is doing,the night you are in the hospital.

We've always brought the little ones into the birthing suite with mommy and daddy until the very last moment. They all love the fact that they are there to welcome the new baby brother/sister into this world as we know it and they feel like such a very special part of the " Special Event " and they are not left at home with grandparents. We were all in there for each birth.

I have 13 grandchildren.I have four wonderful adult children and we always made the new birth a fun thing.Of course years ago we weren't allowed to have anyone in the room with us but now it's so wonderful.

PS at two years old....he probably will be excited to know that you had the baby and brought the little one home to BIG BROTHER now. you might want to get him his own little baby doll to see what it's going to be like with new baby. AND NO it won't make him effeminate to hold a doll for a little while.
My two sons are very strong men and they had one. Also my oldest son thought it was great running to get the diaper for me when I had to change the baby, etc. Just make sure you love on him just as much as the baby or he will feel slighted and rejected. ( touchy subject ).
God Bless you momma A....I'll be praying for peace in your little one in the transition and addition to your family.
In Jesus' Name Y. M Fields Austell, GA ###-###-####

Funny, on the way to the hospital to give birth to my second daughter, joking to my husband, "I thought our first night alone together would be someplace a little more romantic". Your boy should be fine with his grandparents. It'll just be a couple of nights while you are at the hospital. One thing we did, for each day our 1st born came to visit the new baby, we gave her a gift from her newborn sister. Alex not only looked forward to seeing her sister, but she was also getting a gift too. If someone was more focused on the baby (i.e. the nurse for check-ups), she'd would have something to keep her occupied and it avoided any opportunity for jealousy. Magna-doodle worked out great - it was a toy that kept her busy and it was a quiet toy. :)

I'd have your mom come over now and put him to bed a couple of nights to give her a practice run and to get them both used to each other.

I had never been away from my 16 month old daughter when I was at the hospital giving birth to her sister. Do this: if your husband can, have him put him down and then have him come stay with you. If not, have grandma come a few days early and do some or all of the routine. If not that, I would STRONGLY SUGGEST something fun for him that evening-- perhaps a new night toy- a new flashlight or glow in the dark stars to put up or new pjs and a new doll or game or car-- something to keep him distracted-- he will be fine. A new show (not shown while in bed-- I so discourage this)- a new book.
It's all about the build up. For example- if he gets new pjs or a new glow in the dark something -- your mom can talk about it all day or all afternoon so it is exciting.
It will be fine.
Do have a little gift from the new sibling for your son and vice versa. Maybe your son can have gummy worms at night-- something he doesn't get to usually do.
Good luck.

When my mom came for our forth child to be born, we had a 13, 3, and 2 year old at home. For the first time we had family around so my hubby could stay with me in the hospital (I had the 13 year old from a previous marriage.) What we did was, my hubby went home every evening and gave them dinner and put them to bed. This didn't disrupt things so much for the little ones. Grammy was there, but Daddy put them to bed, which made things work very well. My girlfriend did the same with her second and third child.

Your son will be fine. It will probably be more tramatic on you than him. My children are 13 months apart and when I had my daughter my son had just turned 1 year old. It was hard because I had never been away from him. He did fine. I would probably have grandma come for a couple of test runs before time came so she can kind of get familiar with his bedtime routine at your house. That will make it a little more familiar to your son when the time comes because grandma has been there before. I agree with the previous post that you really don't need to mention it to him until maybe a couple of days before time and then just tell him that grandma is coming for a spend the night party while mommy goes and gets his new baby bro/sis. Also, like the previous response I bought a baby doll that looked as close to a real baby as I could get to get my son used to having a baby sis around. I would sit with him and show him how to hold it and show him how to be easy with it. He absolutely loved it he would carry it around and say "sissy". When we brought his sis home when I was having to do something to the baby he would get his "sissy" and rock her or hold and talk to her. He did great with his sister because he had been practicing and there was no jealousy at all. This did NOT make him a sissy either. Believe me he is ALL boy. Good luck and congratulations on your coming new baby.