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Bee went into labor at 35 weeks! I would definitely not have wanted to be 2-3 hours away...

@winniebee:
Yea, for him it's really a experience he probably would never have had the opportunity to do again. Seeing as how tickets are on a lottery system so I can't even BUY them for him if I wanted to. And Phil is his all time favorite golfer and chances are high he'll probably retire in the next couple years.
He won the tickets right around when we found out we were expecting so I was able to schedule the appointment accordingly.

He's been working SO hard at our new house and prepping for baby etc. He really deserved a few days off to go enjoy. I'm really glad I got him to go because his experience at Augusta was like a 5 year old at Disney World! hahha

Bee went into labor at 5, and her contractions were so bad by the time we got to the hospital at 6:45 that she needed a wheelchair to get out of the car!

http://www.hellobee.com/2011/10/21/olives-birth-story/

I am probably being overly cautious here, based on Bee delivering at 35 weeks and having her labor progress fairly quickly (the epidural slowed it down nicely though).

I dunno, I guess I wouldn't want to have your SO racing back from the lakehouse in his car. It would just be a whole extra level of stress to an experience that's already pretty stressful. Sounds like I'm in the minority here though!

I think that if you have people available who you would be comfortable with if something did happen, he should be ok being 2-3 hours away. Would he enjoy himself if he went, or do you think he would be too worried about you at home?

@winniebee: Odds are, there will be no labor and everything works out fine! Or labor will start and he will make it back in plenty of time!

I guess I am just really cautious about this stuff... like you said, it's just scary to think that he would miss the birth. Or that he wouldn't be there to support you when you started labor!

I think that as long as you have someone that can take you to the hospital if needed, he should go. But I'd also be worried that he won't have phone service.....

@winniebee: In that case, I'd feel good about letting him go. Especially since it will probably be the last time for a while that he will get that kind of relaxing in.

Logically I know that labor does last longer than 3 hours for most people, and I know its likely you wont go into labor while he is away BUT I like to err on the side of caution, if I were in your shoes I wouldnt want my husband to go, he can always go fishing after the baby comes.

I had two hospitals to choose from for birth. One in the middle of the city, the other regional, on the outskirts of a large town. I was talking to SIL about the pros and cons of both, and I mentioned the travel time- to get to the regional one would be 40 minutes at pretty much any time of the day, because we wouldn't have to account for traffic. The other is 40 minutes plus extra if rush hour travelling. She laughed at me and said for my first, I'd probably have time to walk to the hospital if need be, first labours usually taking so long.
I say tell him Go, provided that you have help at home, that he is contactable where he is, and that you agree to contact him the moment things begin to happen, if they do. You seem to have all that covered, so why not! The only variable I can see is, will he relax and actually enjoy the break or will he be worrying about you the whole time? Because that would be kind of a waste.

Tell him to go -- and have someone over at your house to tend to your every need so you can be on EXTRA STRICT bedrest without dying of boredom. 35 weeks is better than 36!

Today someone JUST told me a story about their friend who went into labour at 34 weeks when her husband was 4 hours away on a canoe trip. He didn't even get the text message until he got back to shore. He missed the birth of his first child. BUT this story is more extreme than the 2 hours away fishing that your DH would be doing.

For a first time mom, it would definitely be unusual if from start to finish you had the baby in 3 hours... So on that alone, I'd feel okay if my mom were nearby and DH went 2-3 hours away at 35 weeks. Just be sure you continue to really, really take it easy!

I would feel so bad and tell him to go. I'd have a taxi as a backup and we can meet each other at the hospital. It wouldn't be the ideal birthing situation in my mind, but I'd probably be too stubborn to admit it to him. But you should both talk about worst-case scenarios (just in case).

That way you're both on the same page about him being away.