Stuff to keep a 5 year old occupied during the birth?

[smeep]

DS will be 5 when this baby comes. I'm birthing at a freestanding birth center, but obviously he'll be able to be as involved as he wants, so I felt it was appropriate to post here.

I was thinking that when my EDD nears we could go out and maybe buy one or two special toys and some colouring books, etc., that he can't play with until the actual birth so they'll be new and exciting and hopefully keep him occupied. My labour with him was only 5 1/2 hours, but to a little kid that's a pretty long time and I remember being rather bored while my sister was in labour with my niece (it didn't get interesting to me until my sister started pushing).

What did you give or plan on giving your LOs to keep them occupied?

[sarah1122]

We plan on having a grandparent available for our toddler...someone he adores who can give him their undivided attention for hours and hours on end.

[donutmolly]

Snacks! Lots of special snacks that she wouldn't normally get! And someone to occupy her, probaby grandma or auntie (or hopefully she'll sleep through most of it...). A portable dvd player to watch some shows (away from the room I'm in). Some small toys that are new, or haven't been seen in awhile (finger puppets, magnetic face thingy).

[lynsage]

Dh's mom is going to be our kid-spotter