homebirthing question - what about the other children??

[nanomey]

hi ladies,
im due baby number 4 on 9th nov and just booked in for my 2nd homebirth (36+2)
my first homebirth was fab and i knew if i ever got the chance id def do it again..
my question is about - what to do with the other children in labour -
first time round, i had a friend come and take my other 2 daughters (then 4 and 2) out for the day as i was in labour 6am-2pm which was great but im worrying a little more this time as not only are there 3 of them to be cared for (now 6,4,2) but i have recently moved house and live in the middle of know where!!
i have a mum and sis near by but they kind of hoped to be here with me and dp during the birth - its also a little far from my friends where we lived before and so not really any good planning on having someone travel over....
if it happens in the night i guess its easy lol, and even if in school hrs (2 go to school) .... i just wondered if other people had any advice on what they did or did you let them come in !??

thanks

 

[freckleonear]

My mum took my 2 year old son for most of the day while I was in labour. But because I was anxious and just wanted him home with me, my contractions slowed down and pretty much stopped. They picked up again as soon as he was home and he was fast asleep upstairs when my daughter was born, which was just what I wanted. It was magical in the morning when he came into our bedroom and found his new baby sister. Next time round the children will be staying at home, whether they are asleep or not.

 

[nanomey]

thanks,
im thinking to just ''go with the flow'' if it is in the day (and sods law half term - just a week before due date lol) then i guess i got my dp/mum/sis all there to take it in turns and care for them if needs be. id love it to be in the night though - (and def would leave them upstairs sleeping) and to come and see a baby brother ''appeared'' in the morning!
thanks again for your reply
and i guess wont be long before im telling my story and what did happen lol!

 

[kiwimama]

I'm going with the flow with my daughter as well. She will be 2 and a bit when baba is born. My mum will probably be here, so if my daughter wants to leave, she can take her out.

 

[KandyKinz]

My children are aged 5 and 9 and both want to be present at the birth which I am perfectly fine with (as I'd love for them to have exposure to a natural normal homebirth than just the typical hospital births with +++ interventions which are usually portrayed on tv as being the norm)

BUT I definitly want someone else present to be the one to primarily look after them (prepare them meals, play with them, etc, etc) when I'm in labour which will either be my mother or my mother in law as I want to be able to fully concentrate on the labour and I want hubby to fully concentrate on me and labour as well! I don't mind the kids coming in once in awhile to "check in" on things but I primarily just want to labour alone in silence. Then I'll invite them in to stay once the pushing starts cause that's the fun bit!