Rachel Kiser
Blogger | Mom of Two

When a new sibling enters the world, it’s common assumption (at least, in today’s American culture) that older siblings would prefer to be as far away as possible from the delivery process, hoping only to catch their first glimpses of little brother or sister already cleaned up and wrapped in a soft blanket.

Jacee Dellapena from Brandon, Mississippi is the exception.

From the start, Jacee discussed with her parents that she would love to have a place in the delivery room preferably with a vantage point of her newest little brother being born. She desired the same for her 19-month-old brother, Zayden’s, birth, but her mom, Deedee Carraway, thought she was too young. They relented on their last son’s birth, though, knowing it was Jacee’s last chance to see a sibling of hers brought into the world.

When Jacee got into the delivery room and it was time, however, the bed that Deedee was on was far too high for Jacee to see.

“I started crying because I was too short to see anything,” she told TODAY. “The doctor was like, ‘Just go ahead and get some gear on and come help me deliver the baby.’”

“I was like, are you kidding me? Are you being real?”

He was.

Zach Carraway

Deedee remembers, “I couldn’t believe it. I was like, what? Uh, no. Never in a million years. But the doctor said, ‘I’m being serious. I’ll guide her hands and everything,’” Carraway recalled. “So she got up in there and was suddenly in the middle of everything.”

Jacee was able to put her hands on her seven-pound, six-ounce baby brother Cayson as he was brought into this world. “I was nervous I was going to mess up but it was the best moment of my life,” she said.

Zach Carraway

Birth is messy. It’s chaotic and intense. When I was Jacee’s age, I wouldn’t have known what to do with myself in the midst of such an emotional event. But she knew just what to do, and reveled in it. It changed her life, and certainly her family’s lives, too.

The images of Jacee’s act of midwifery and sisterhood have been shared hundreds of thousands of time across social media. We’re not sure what this amazing girl will decide to do with her future, but we definitely see some sort of medical profession down the road!

About Rachel Kiser

Rachel is a wife and mother living in Raleigh, North Carolina. She’s a fan of good coffee, wearer of gray t-shirts, and is constantly starting books she will never finish. Her family is her joy, and she loves to engage with other moms and dads on matters of parenting. Her blog posts have also been featured on the Today Show Parenting Blog and Scary Mommy.

View all posts by Rachel Kiser here.