Preparing a Toddler for Birth?

[Juise]

DD just turned 2 and we are expecting around early July. She says, "baby in there" when she points to my tummy, and she pretends she has a baby in her tummy, puffing it out. I think she understands something but not really that there is a baby growing in me and that it will come out. I don't expect her to fully understand this, but I do want her to have the option of being at the birth and would like to help her understand as well as I can what is going on and what to expect.

We are planning a homebirth and my mum to be here for DD, so they can stay or leave or do other things or whatever comes up. I would love for DD to experience the birth if she is interested, though.

I couldn't find a thread about this in this forum, or the birth forum, but I feel like it probably comes up often and I'm just not searching for the right things.

Does anyone have a good reference, advice, or any resources for this? She loves books, but most the ones I have found are.. well.. either so vague they are useless, lie, or don't include the birth at all. We do have, "Hello, Baby" which is awesome.

We don't normally do TV like things, but I do think some film media might be pretty great for understanding here. Preferably something I can play on my computer

Thanks guys

[kms7z]

My son is 2 1/2 and the best thing so far for us is the Dr. Sears book "baby on the way." We're going through this the first time ourselves so I don't have much other advice. And, until the baby is actually here, I am not sure how much my son will "get it"

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by Juise

We don't normally do TV like things, but I do think some film media might be pretty great for understanding here. Preferably something I can play on my computer

http://pregnancyvideos.googlepages.com/homebirths

I suggest, of course, watching each video first to make sure that it is similar to what you expect to be going through. Several even have the older siblings there too.