Connor, who was 19 months at the time, woke up while I was in labour. He wasn't phased by the noise I was making, but wanted to be held by Adam. I have some gorgeous photos of him looking at me mid-contraction.

The only thing was, I wanted Adam's support, and wanted to hold HIS hands through each contraction, hehe the reason being (sorry Adam) I wasn't phased about squeasing his hands really hard, and felt that I had to hold back a bit with Lisa and my midwife!

So, my mum came up to be Connor's support person. He was there, but missed seeing his brother born. But he did have a fabulous time out the back watering the garden, and came in to see Olly moments after the birth.

While I would have loved to have Connor there, I found him a little distracting, as I was worried that he might be worried. So it was great that mum was able to come up. Had she not been able to - it wouldn't have been a big deal.

Maybe next birth, he'll be old enough to be excited to see his baby sister or brother born. And able to be reassured that everything is ok with his mama.

My oldest daughter was at the birth of my 2nd daughter although she was too young to really take it all in. She had alot of support to help keep her entertained.

All of my kids were present for when Cooper was born. Luckily my labour wasnt too long(they got home from my parents house about 45mins before he was born). They did an awesome job in making sure I was ok...I have pics of my kids rubbing my legs & shoulders and standing by me comforting me during contractions. They got me drinks and wet faceclothes for my face!!
At the time my friend thought they were being a bit distracting for me as they were talking to me and my son was asking questions about birth while I was having contractions. I didnt find them distracting though...Im used to the noise so it was fine. I zoned them out while contracting though.
It was fantastic to see their faces and to hear their reactions when Cooper was born. They were able to do little tasks like announcing his birthdate,time of birth, weight, length, getting him dressed and ringing family/friends etc.

DS was in and out of the birth pool during my short labour and had PJ's on by the time of the birth, so was able to spectate from the edge of the pool with everyone else. He went to sleep soon after, as his sister was born just after 11 and he'd been awake with the quiet commotion. It was what I'd hoped and worked for.