I am pregnant and due in February. My daughter is 4 (will be 5 in March) and tells me she really wants to watch me give birth. We have watched births on Discovery channel, so she knows pretty much what will happen. I told her I may be screaming in pain, but she promises that she will not let it upset her. So, do I let her be with me and risk having her be traumatized; or do I insist she stays with her Aunt and risk having her be resentful? I was thinking she would be fine with me and that it would help increase the bond with her new baby brother, but my husband is not sure that is a good idea.
It`s a very difficult desicion to make,but I`m really going both ways here...
You know your child better then anyone.Every four year old is different;some still little more naive then other`s and then some are pretty sharp and mature in a way.
You can let her come w/you and see as things progress how she`s reacting.If she`s doing good,let her stay and welome her baby brother.If she understands even a little bit about giving birth,it`ll be a wonderful experience for her.
But,then again,in reality anything can go wrong during delivery(emergency C~section,etc.).Would you want her present even then...?Would your daughter be able to handle that type of situation at her age?
I would give it a try and have her in the delivery room.Why not?Don`t forget,back in a day when our grandmother`s and great-grandmother`s were having kids at home,almost every member in the family was around while woman was giving birth.I don`t belive that kids were messed up for life because of it.
I agree you know your child better but mine really wanted to be there too. We didn't have her there for the birth but after and she had a difficult time w/ me in the hospital. I had talked to my dr. before and we took her to that floor in the hospital before to prepare her but when the time actually came she was upset. My dr. said one of her patients had their 5 yr old in the room and the child started crying and was upset and the parents told her this is just like we watched on TV. But it is different when it is your own mom and she could be worried about you and it may make it tough on you when you need your strengh and concentration on giving birth. It is completely up to you but I would have a back up plan to have her out of the room if she gets upset too.
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Hey mom! I'm a mom of 5 kids! It's your choice, but just to let you know some hospitals won't even allow kids to stay n watch the birthing process. I'm a surgical tech in labor in delivery... and a lot of things can happen in delivery room, I don't know if you want your child to see all the yucky stuff but its totally different from the telivision. Maybe you can try it n see if your child can handle it n the long hours your going to be in there. Children can act differently before the actuall process. She might not get scared at first but once your child see's mommy screaming they might get scared. Good Luck!
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I have had 2 of my children watch me give birth. They were B 11,G 13. They did real well but my 11 yr.old got bored waiting and it was 6 hrs. It was very special my 11 yr. old got to cut the cord. I was going to let my 10 yr. old come in with my next child but I had twins and I did end up with a c-section. I think 9 and up is a good age. You wouldn't want to entertain a child while your in labor or whoever comes with. It ends up being stressful. I have 9 children and 1 on the way. Good luck to whatever you decide.
I stay very busy. I do everything around the house and handle the finances. I even take a 1 1/2 hr. nap each day. It gives me energy for the evening. I pick up a couple times a day and it only takes 10 min. or so. I like to wake up and the house is clean. I stay on top of things so I don't get behind. I am always on the go, my 5 oldest are into alot of sports so it keeps me busy in the evening. I have a schedule that I stick to during the day. I make lunchs for dh and 5 children every morning the day before. That way they just grab and go in the morning. I guess I am used to having alot on my plate so it doesn't seem like alot to me. It is hard when I am pregnant. I get lazy!!!
