The moment she learned she was going to be a big sister, three-year-old Brooke Davis couldn't contain her excitement. That joy quickly turned to sadness when the toddler learned the crushing news that her mom, Kelsey, had suffered a miscarriage.
"It was heartbreaking. It really hit me hard ... and Brooke especially," the 29-year-old mom said. "She was so young and we had been telling her she was going to be a big sister. So she took it really hard. She was completely heartbroken."
After breaking their daughter's heart once, Kelsey and her husband Stefan did not share the news of their next two pregnancies over the next four years, both of which also ended in miscarriage.
That was, until 2016 when the family welcomed another girl, Ellie, into their family.
Brooke was so excited about finally being a big sister that she asked her parents to be in the delivery room when the baby arrived.
A year later, Kelsey and Stefan had some news for Brooke that would change their family forever.
A year after the birth of her first little sister, Kelsey became pregnant again, but this time, she was eager to share the big news with Brooke.
"She cried really hard. She broke down with excitement," Kelsey said. "I asked, "˜Are you scared? Are you nervous?' She said, "˜No!' She was just so overwhelmed with emotion."
This time, instead of asking to be in the delivery room, the eight-year-old girl had a bigger request of her parents.
Brooke not only wanted to be there for when her new little sister, Summer, was born, she was wanted to help deliver her.
"It was all her idea. For Summer, she wanted to be a little bit more involved. Brooke just got so excited," Kelsey tells PEOPLE. "She was my little helper along the way. She massaged my feet. She walked with me around the halls ... she got me water. She was so sweet the entire time. She was right there with me."
Over the next 36 hours of labor, Brooke was there for her mother and the delivery went better than the Arizona-based family could have ever hoped for.
"It was perfect. It was the most calm, serene birth I could have ever imagined it being," the mom of three says. "It was exactly what we wanted. Seeing Brooke there, seeing Brooke's emotion and helping her deliver Summer, it completely just melted my heart."
Now that the family is back at home, the now stay-at-home mother says Kelsey has continued her involvement with helping with her little sisters.
"She is such an amazing big sister. It just blows me away how great she is," Kelsey shares. "She's just so helpful with holding the babies, getting clothes for them. She's so sweet. She plays with them and talks with them. Ellie's first word was "˜Brooke!' "
The young girl now has aspirations to become a midwife when she grows up, and we can imagine why!
Source: People / Independent