kids attending a birth - Page 2

[wendy1221]

My kids and my sister's kids were here for Liam's birth. Ds1 was 6, dn1 was 4, ds2 and dn2 were both almost 2. Wait, dn2 was 2 years 1 month and ds2 was 6 days short of turning 2. Liam was born in the afternoon, so they were all up and around.

They all thought it was great. The younger kids didn't really seem to pay much attention. Neither was scared, though. My ds1 didn't seem to care what was appening, he just wanted to see the baby when it was all over. My 4 year old nephew watched the whole thing, though. He was really fascinated.

[honeybee]

My 28-month-old was at his brother's birth. We had Grandma there just to take care of him. He also came to all my prenatal appointments with us, and was very familiar with our mw. We also read books about birth ahead of time. We just played it by ear as to whether ds would witness the birth, or just be in the house and come in to see his brother afterwards. Well, ds2 ended up coming really fast, and ds1 woke up and watched from Grandma's arms... although the way I was positioned, he couldn't really "see" everything. But it was really wonderful to include him in the bonding right after the birth... we have beautiful brother pictures. Ds1 was right on the bed while our mw did the newborn exam, and he held the measuring tape to help, and he was fascinated by the whole experience. He still likes to tell people about how ds2 was born in our bathroom.

[wendy1221]

Yeah, my nephew who was 24 mos old talked about my baby born in the swimming pool for a long time. He seemed to be more amazed than freaked out.

[bellymama]

i think about it like this. back in the day, before we had childcare and all that jazz, a kid was at a birth, period. where else was he going to be? not with auntie or grandma because they are probably there, as are any other female family member...so all their kids are probably there too. of course, if the kid seems really scared, then someone can take him outside for that period of the labor that is intense, but i think it is pretty normal for kids and women to be at births...i think grown men are the one to worry about !
a midwife i know says the kids do awesome at births as long as they are not being forced to be there.
i have watched films of births where a woman has had all of her children, ranging from 10-2 IN the birth tub with her (it was a big tub) when her new baby came out. how amazing. as long as there is a trusted relative who is sort of "in charge" of that child, i see no reason why not. that relative can gage that childs feelings and take them in and out of the situation as it seems good for the kid.

[Rylins mama]

When I had Rylin my brothers asked me if they could be in there when I had her. At first I didnt want them to but then I thought about it and told them yet. Theyre 11 and 17 and they didnt want to be in there to watch but more of be the first to meet their neice. We had a big room and they sat a few feet back from my head so they didnt see anything at all besides the placenta (that was their choice). But it didnt bother me at all.... Although if they were watching I dont think I would have liked that