Ashley Cunningham was confident that her daughter would master the big moment
Sophia reacts to her little sister” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/2QBp9xtRUkOxKNcUo55rVw–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/11f2c29104df78a8bfa7220f2c262c32″ class=”caas-img”/>
ashley.cunningham87/TikTok
Sophia reacts to the birth of her little sister (left), Sophia holds her little sister
-
Ashley Cunningham had the chance to have her 7-year-old daughter in the delivery room when her little sister was born
-
Sophia was prepared for what was about to happen and with a little help from Grandma she was able to witness the birth
-
Ashley tells PEOPLE that the bond between the two sisters is even sweeter after this special moment
Ashley Cunningham experienced a rare moment as she welcomed her second little girl with her first by her side.
The mother of three, who goes by the name @ashley.cunningham87 on TikTok, decided to have her “super curious” 7-year-old daughter Sophia in the delivery room for the birth of her little sister.
“Sophia has been interested in the medical field since she was a child. She really wants to understand things and has seen a lot in the medical field,” Ashley tells PEOPLE.
“I grew up in a medical family. My mother and father were in the medical field. I’m in the medical field, so I guess it’s natural for them to be interested in these things.”
Sophia showed great interest in her mother’s pregnancy and was “super excited to understand everything.”
“She accompanied me to doctor’s appointments. From the beginning, she was extremely committed and fascinated by the entire process,” she says.
When the conversation turned to labor and delivery, the idea came up that Sophia could come into her mother’s room.
“I asked her if she would be interested and she said, ‘Yes, I’d love to.'”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Related topics: Mother is shocked when she learns in sweet video that her daughter has already given birth to a child: “I thought it was a doll”
The process of making this happen wasn’t quite so easy. “We talked a lot about what to expect, how the process would work and what could go wrong. I covered everything to make sure she was prepared,” the mother explains.
“She watched the birth videos and handled it well. She’s not scared, so I wasn’t worried that she wouldn’t be able to handle it. I just wanted to prepare her that it’s a serious situation. It’s not the time to go in there and be silly.”
Next, Ashley had to check in with her doctors. “Of course they had questions about it, just because of her age. The hospital I was in doesn’t allow anyone under 16. So I had to talk to the doctor quite a bit, about her maturity level and making sure she wasn’t a distraction.”
Although it “required some convincing,” Ashley’s doctor agreed to let Sophia into the room “as long as there was someone there to take care of her in case something went wrong and she needed to be escorted out.”
There was one final hurdle to overcome: the hospital and its board.
“They had their own rules, so we had to go through them. And then it just worked.”
As the birth approached, Ashley came to the hospital in labor on a Sunday evening.
“I went to the hospital around 8 p.m. My mother was supposed to be in charge of Sophia, so I let her stay home and went with my husband to make sure it was real and not just false contractions,” she recalls.
“My mother and Sophia arrived at the hospital around midnight and I finally gave birth to my baby around 4:00 a.m.”
Although her main concerns were giving birth to her second daughter, Ashley kept a close eye on her first daughter.
“I remember being very careful to make sure she was OK. It’s one thing to watch birth videos, but it’s another to see your own mother in pain and going through something so serious. I remember even in between contractions, I always thought about looking up at her and seeing how she was coping.”
The moment Sophia witnesses the birth of her little sister is captured in the family’s now viral TikTok video, which has been viewed over 3 million times to date.
“She did great. She handled it perfectly, so it worked out in the end. She was never overwhelmed or afraid,” her mother says.
And not only did she handle the big moment well, the big sister also says that this was the best part.
“She says her favorite part is just coming out and seeing her pop out for the first time. I think you can see in the video the nurse first saying the head popped out, that first look of excitement. I think it’s hard to process. Even for adults, there’s something awe-inspiring about birth when you just see, ‘Oh my God, she’s really here.'”
When she saw Sophia’s video, TikTok wasn’t on her radar at first, but Ashley discovered it later.
“I love the video because it’s such a pure, genuine and sweet reaction. There’s so much negativity out there. I thought if it could bring a smile or brighten someone’s day, that would be great,” she says.
“I never thought it would go viral,” admits the mother of three. “We were totally overwhelmed. I just thought it was a positive thing to share and I was proud of her.”
Ashley wants people to know that while she is touched by Sophia being there for baby Brylee’s birth, the experience isn’t necessarily for every child.
“I feel like a lot of people assume that every child could or should participate in something like this. I’m just trying to stress that probably not every child is meant for this kind of situation. My son, who is older than her, gets nervous about hospitals and he doesn’t like blood. It wouldn’t have been right for him and would have stressed me out. So it’s OK that he wasn’t ready. He would rather come after the baby was here.”
Ashley concludes: “I definitely want to stress that it’s not for every child. And if you have a child who is interested in it and you feel they are mature enough to handle it, it can be a beautiful and positive thing.”
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive more People news!
Read the original article on People.
