For those who have shown interest in further details regarding having my first son in the delivery room for my second, I'd like to share a bit more.

To begin, I knew this was something I wanted before even having children. It is how I was raised and what I felt was appropriate for my kids as well. Birth was never something taboo in my family and I understood utero development and birth from a young age. As soon as we found out I was pregnant with my second son I began teaching my first son (2 years) about the baby growing in my stomach. I used a fabulous book "A Child is Born" to show him his brother's fetal development because it has some of the most amazing in-utero photos. I explained to him that I would have to push his brother out and while I didn't go into extreme detail, he was more than willing to accept this. He had a real understanding of the fact that his brother was in my stomach and he talked to him often in my stomach and rubbed my stomach where he felt his head or feet bumping around. He often told people how I was going to push out his little brother and then he'd meet him. I was glad because it was very clear that he had as much prep as possible for someone his age.

I had a troubled pregnancy with both my boys, but one of the good things that came out of it was that my first son was able to go to my frequent ultrasounds and see his brother. I think this, in addition to us sharing with him constantly, really prepped him and made it real. I told my son the basics of what would happen when I went into labor--how I'd be in some pain but be ok, that I would push his brother out and then we'd meet our new little guy. Despite a bad pregnancy and emergency situation during the birth of my first, I knew I handled labor well. I'm not a screamer and even with normal pain I tend to be silent, so I knew I wouldn't upset my son in that way if he was in the room. However, because of the situation we had with my first we had a backup plan to have my mother in-law take my son out of the delivery room if things began to deteriorate at any point. This was our "escape plan" so to speak just in case. I suggest every mother who wants to have their kid or kids in the delivery room has this. Whether or not you've had good labors, you just don't know and there are certain things you probably don't want your children to witness that would upset them.

Delivery night came, we went in and I labored through the night. I had packed not only a bag for myself, but a bag for my son full of pjs, a change of clothes, activities, treats (m&m minis for example, something he doesn't usually get but which were such a treat), crayons, slippers,etc. When packing stuff like this for your child just make sure that whatever you pack and plan to bring back home can be washed in the washing machine. If your son or daughter has a favorite stuffed animal (my son has 2 bears) make sure you can wash them right after. As you know hospitals are breeding grounds for all sorts of nasty things and you don't want to bring that back into your home.

I was hooked up to IVs (as shown in the book) for antibiotics (I have a heart condition). The morning after I went into labor very fast and basically went from 6 cm to 10cm in 10 minutes! Very fast. My son saw everything during labor. Things went so quickly my OB barely skidded into the room to catch my son because my unwilling (and truthfully awful) nurse did not want to actually deliver my son and be liable if what happened with my first happened with my second. I didn't scream or cry during labor, but my son definitely knew I was in pain. When they finally let me push my second son was almost crowning and my first son saw this. He wasn't phased and seemed  a bit anxious about me but definitely interested. He asked while I was pushing if he could hold my hand (also in my story) and I told him it was fine. He held my hand the hole time and I pushed a few times and my second son was born. My first son saw him