The only experience I have with having babies is when my niece was born. My SIL wanted both brothers to be there when she was born. Unfortunately only the older one was able to stay awake, and amazingly he has a stronger bond with her than the younger/older brother (younger of the two boys, but still older than the girl). Anyway, this is a round about way of saying I think it's a fantastic idea to take the entire herd to the hospital with you! I think it would really create that stong bond and they would probably all be awed by the miracle of birth.....as long as mom was able to keep their food dishes full in the process.

It used to be that hospitals didn't even let dad in the birthing room, and now look, dad can be there, sisters and brothers can be there, etc. I think you, Johanna Cataholic, needs to start a new trend in having pets in the delivery room so they create a bond with baby and therefore parents don't need to get rid of pets just because they're having a baby! What do you think, Jo, are you up for being a trend setter?