Flowerchild, thank you so so much for sharing the photos. They are amazing. It looks like a wonderful experience and your children are just gorgeous. Your photos make me want to have DD involved even more.

Thanks to everyone else for your comments and thoughts. It really makes a difference to get people's support on an issue that is surprisingly controversial.

I do agree that it is important to have a support person for the child, especially one as young as 2. I do think my mum would make a good support person as she really is supportive of natural and water births. Birth doesn't make her anxious at all, she sees it as a wonderful natural experience. She has had 2 uncomplicated natural births herself and she and her brothers were all born at home. So I don't think she would make DD anxious or fearful. She was really calm during DD's birth. And although I didn't need her help (or anybody else's for that matter), it was good to have her there, cheering me on.

Saša