My two oldest were there when jordan was born.....by pure luck!!!! My sister just happened to bring them as they were moving me into delivery room......doctor came in and said "oh, they boys made it!!! They gonna stick around?"....... so they watch THE WHOLE DIRTY PROCESS like goober science geek balls.......and the doc ATE.IT.UP!!!! "Guys!!! Watch this!!!" " look over here"..... the whole 9!!!!
Nick came at the butt crack of dawn, so they missed him and kianna turned into a emergency cection.... :(

OMG, hell to the no!!!

We planned on it with DS20 (he was six)... had a nice big private room, this L shaped thing with a loveseat, etc.  DS (second born) had other plans though, and decided to take a full 32 hours to arrive at 4 something in the morning.  So firstborn was fast asleep.

Funny side story:  my Grandma was an unwilling audience member in attendance.  She and my mom had arrived in seperate vehicles.  My Grandma intending to stay for a bit and see how I was doing then go home, and my mom intending to stay for the entire birth and videotape it.  Well, DS was there, coloring on the floor, in the earlier part of my labor.  My Grandma tried to step over him and tripped and fell and broke her leg!!  My mom took her downstairs to the ER and they gave her pain meds and put a cast on and she came back up in a wheelchair.  My mom parked her and didn't want to leave to take her home  (2 hour round trip) so she pretty much was forced into staying for the whole thing.

Now, my Grandma was unconscious (or close)  with whatever they did in the 40s for the birth of both of her children AND had super short labors.  She was a squeamish sort not at all okay with blood or body fluids or messy things like childbirth (plus she was there for the scary round one with firstborn including me nearly bleeding to death) and she could not wrap her mind around my desire for a natural birth and kept saying things like "Good grief, when are they going to give her some DRUGS for crying out loud!"  and after he was born she loudly proclaimed "Okay, 2 kids is enough, no more babies alright?"

It's all pretty damned funny in retrospect.  I miss her.  I take after her with my bitchiness. :)

When I was 10 and my aunt was expecting a baby, I asked if I could be there and she said I could. I've always been fascinated by pregnancy and childbirth and would have loved to be there. Unfortunately my aunt developed pre-eclampsia and my cousin was born three months early, weighing less than two pounds, so I didn't get to be there, obviously.
Then when I got older and went into nursing, I did two rounds of training on the maternity ward and got to see a bunch of births and it was incredible. Those babies would be about @irishlass's age now. Fuck, I'm old.

@irishlass, yes, I am. If you're 20, I would have been 22 when you were born. That's right about the time I finished nursing school. Pass me my walker, would ya?

@irishlass, sure. You're potty trained, right?

I get it, in theory, but I barely want my husband in the room. I don't let any mothers, mils, aunts, or crazy sils in while I'm giving birth. If my husband can't get to the hospital from work in time, I might let my sister in, but even that's pushing my comfort zone. I don't use pain meds, I have really short, intense labors and I can only tolerate a few people around me.
It's a very private experience for me, and I think it would scare the shit out of my 7 year old. The other will only be 2 when this baby comes, and I'd have no patience for that. I don't want anyone talking to me unless spoken to first, hah, and with my anxiety, if anyone says anything "stupid", I freak out. Yeah, awesome if that works for others, but sure not what I could handle.

@irishlass, I know my son, and he, personally, would be terrified. That's just how he is with stuff like that. I even asked him if he'd like to watch a baby being born, and he turned white, hah. He told me that women lay down, squish their faces up, and feel a lot if pain. That's all he wants to know, ha ha.

My SIL whom I am not that close with but friendly enough asked to be there and take photos - my facial reaction must have been one of complete horror... that'll be a no. It was hard enough having everyone there a few hours after the c with tubes sticking out of everywhere. Everyone was just excited as she was the first baby on my SO's side (and none of us are spring chickens)....

I never thought about having dd there if I had a 2nd... I don't even know if it is allowed here but why not, sounds like an enriching experience - if she is prepared AND if she wants to be there.

When I was 13 I watched my youngest brother be born who is now 16. Gave me a new appreciation of my mom not to mention great birth control through high school. You mean THAT is what happens???? Ewwww!!!! If bug ever gets a sibling, she will definitely be there if she's old enough. I think some hospitals have an age requirement but not 100%.

BellaBefana said:

Yeah, i think it just depends on the kids, their ages, etc.  AND more importantly does MOM want them there?

THIS, exactly.

DS was only 2.5 when younger DS was born and he was a scheduled c-section, so not even an option. Also, when youngest was born, it was in the middle of the H1N1 break out & the hospital wouldn't let children visit. Of course the rule went into effect 2 days before I was due to give birth. DS didn't get to meet his little brother until he was a week and a half old.

When I labored and delivered my second dd, my oldest dd who was 2 years and 3 months, was with me the whole time. She wanted to be there and was very excited to meet her little sister. 

Thanks ladies! My mom will definately be there so she can take the kids out for a bit if needed. @charlotte_sometimes But then that could potentially mean she misses the birth. My labor with my twins was long and rough but I'm hoping this time will be a bit easier.

I know dd would love to be there and would do great. Ds on the other hand is a little firecracker so he would be the one probably needing to be taken out every once in a while.

I still have a while to think it all through but thank you all for sharing. Makes me realize that this is not such an oddball thing to do.

I refused to watch ds 13 being born... ds 6 was an emergency c-section... i was knocked out... And im fixed... though if i was going to have more id vbac... in a bigger hosptial...

My now almost 20 year old son was there when my now 10 year old was born. It was the Doctor's first time allowing such a thing to take place. Afterwards, she told me that she started to recommend having siblings at the births and to this day she still does. It was great having him there, he made me laugh when I was ready to cry. He was such a great kid.

I was on the other end of things in my situation. I was 15 when my mom had my half sister. I was in the room for the entire thing. It was truly a great experience. Being right there when my sister was born really helped me feel like I was welcoming her into our family.

We had DD13 in the room for the births of both DD3.5 and DS2... it was awesome.  With our middle daughter, the nurses put DD13 at the top of the bed with me, so she didn't see anything... same thing with my son, but I was in so much pain, she could have had her face in my vag and I wouldn't have known the difference.  Both times, she was right there to see them and the whole process, and she enjoyed being able to see her sister and brother right away, and not have to sit in the waiting room, worrying.  She was a little skeeved out at first, thinking she'd have to see all my "business", and the blood and gore... but once the nurses had her strategically placed, she was fine.  If it were me, I'd ask THEM what they want to do.  Really, it's about what they are comfortable with.