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Children at the Birth of a Sibling
My Experience
 We planned on having our daughter Ellen (her third birthday was three days before his due date, also the day he was born) at our baby's birth. To prepare Ellen for being at the birth, and also simply because I wanted her to be a part of my pregnancy as much as possible, I talked with her about how the baby looked in the womb and some of the things that would happen at the birth and showed her some pictures from books. Ellen watched a couple videos about birth, and she was in our childbirth class for a little while (we went to a four-hour class, and our midwife and her daughters watched Ellen in the same building the class took place in). She went with us to every midwife appointment. During my labor and the birth, my mother was there to help her if she needed it (Ellen and my mother have always been close). Ellen ended up doing great at the birth! Just look at the smiles of joy in the pictures taken soon after Calvin's birth. :D
 Ellen had received a new gift in the mail the night before and that helped keep her occupied. It was a desk with a top made of white board, the kind you can write on with markers that wipe off. She drew on it some of the time I was in labor.
 I am certain that she enjoyed the newness and excitement of it all and having visitors at our house. She patted me sometimes and was very sweet. She didn't bother me at all, and I am so happy she was there. I had been a little nervous that she might want to come in the water, but it wasn't even an issue -- she realized it was the "baby's bath" (in her words).
 She saw it all--the waterbirth, the newborn exam, the placenta. For quite a while after Calvin's birth, she was fascinated with birth, and once she even sat in our bathtub and pretended she was in labor for so long that I started getting impatient. :-) Since Calvin's birth she has given birth to many babies. She told me recently (almost a year later) that she wanted to be a boy. I told her that boys can't have babies. Now she feels sorry for guys because they can't have babies.
Here's Calvin's Birthstory.
Read the Experiences of Others
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Siblings at Birth