A graduation of sorts

So last night we had the final "Lamaze" class. I put it in quotes, because at the end of it, I'm not sure why it was categorized as a "Lamaze" class. Really, it was a third-trimester class. We discussed Lamaze only on the first week, and only for part of the time. That was a disappointment for me because we were hoping to get more information on natural birthing options. As it was, all I could tell was that our instructor favored natural birthing, but didn't really care what we decided to do.

Here's the roundup.

Week 1: Overview of pregnancy; Nutrition throughout pregnancy; Trimesters; some breathing, massaging, and relaxation exercises.

Week 2: Stages of labor; "the video"

Week 3: Epidurals; spinal blocks; tour of the hospital maternity ward

Week 4: Newborn care; Postpartum care; 10-minute refresher on recommended breathing patterns during contractions.

It was an interesting class, but it wasn't a "Lamaze" class. That's too bad, since we paid almost double the price of the third-trimester class with little to no information about Lamaze. I expected some Lamaze-specific material, tips on breathing with follow-up on subsequent weeks, homework on breathing, stuff like that. For a third-trimester class, it was really good. For a Lamaze-specific class, it was, um, lacking.

Other than that, I'm glad we took the class. I learned a lot of information, and I feel a lot more confident about the concept of birth than I did four weeks ago. I think that I might be able to get through it without passing out, which would be a bonus. I think I'm even going to try to cut the cord myself. This is a major step up. So this class has, after all, been a good thing.

So I think we're ready; at least in terms of knowing more about what to expect. I feel ready, I guess; as ready as we're going to be, since you're probably never _ready_. BW (Beautiful Wife) still needs to finish her thesis, but that will happen this week. Which is coincidentally the week BW hits the 37 week mark, which is considered "full-term." We had a lady at our church on Sunday tell us that you can just tell when somebody is ready for labor, and BW apparently has that look. She thought that BW might have her baby even this week. You could just see it in BW's face, apparently.

I hope not. We still haven't picked a name.

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Breathe in -- breathe out

I survived our first prenatal class.

It wasn't that bad, actually, except for the part where the woman behind us kept talking about how she is on blood thinners, and she has to give herself shots, and she just jabs the needle straight into her belly, and she is worried that she might puncture the sac and start spewing forth amniotic fluid, which she thought might have happened earlier today because the fluid that came out was white (her DH thought it was kind of cloudy), and what color was amniotic fluid anyway? (Now picture me turning green in the face, my wife leaning over and asking, "are you going to be okay?")

I so don't have the stomach for childbirth. A full 12 hours after the event, and it still makes me sick to my stomach to listen to.

The more I think about it, the more I'm glad that my wife is planning on a natural birth (assuming all goes as planned). I don't think I can handle LOOKING at the epidural needle, never mind being in the same hospital as my wife when she were to get the shot.

I think the thing my wife learned last night that she liked the most was that birthing room 1 in our hospital has an in-room jacuzzi. She wanted to know if we could call ahead and reserve the room.

(Me on the phone: "Yes, hospital? Labor and Delivery please. Yes. I'll hold.... Yes, Labor and Delivery? Oh good. Hey, we're planning a birth in 6 weeks, well, we're due in six weeks, and we wondered if we couldn't just schedule birthing room 1 for sometime that week. In fact, just block off the whole week for us, okay?")

Joking aside, it was a good class, albeit long (2.5 hours). I should have thought to bring snacks, as we were both starving at the end.

The class covered a bunch of stuff we already knew (don't smoke, drink, do drugs, take over-the-counter drugs, and be sure to take a multi-vitamin). Truth be told, it was actually kind of late for that kind of advice. (Birth is "scheduled" in 6 weeks, 2 days, lest you forget.) Then she talked about eating healthy, and all the kinds of food you should and shouldn't be eating.

This part was amusing because I've been doing Weight Watchers now for about 8 months, and I've become very aware of the food I eat and the quantity I eat. The class leader was talking about how easy it is to get your grains, and she said, "do you realize that a serving of cold cereal is just a half a cup? That is like this much" and she made a small cup with her hand. "Nobody ever eats just one serving of cold cereal. I'm sure you all eat at least 3."

And I'm thinking to myself, "Well, the cold cereal I had this morning is 3/4 cup for one serving, which is 30 grams. I had about 35 grams plus milk, so I think I came pretty close to my one serving."

So while I think the nutrition part is important, it wasn't new information for either my wife or myself.

Then we did the massaging (my wife loved this part). We ended with some relaxation techniques, something along the lines of hypno-birthing. That was really interesting, and it is something we want to look more into. It's not voodoo-ish or anything. It's just a relaxation technique where you learn to relax yourself and be aware of what is happening in your body, and then when labor happens, you work with your body instead of against it. It was very interesting, and very relaxing.

All in all, it was a good class. Now our prenatal classes are 1/4 over. Which is a good thing, because by the time class is done, we will be within 2 weeks of our "scheduled" delivery.

I better go reserve birthing room 1. Jacuzzi here we come!

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Preparing for Pre Natal

You might think that it doesn't make sense to prepare for prenatal. I mean, isn't that what the prenatal phase is for? Preparation for the natality of your child? Is natility even a word? My dictionary says no, but I'm going to be descriptive here and use it anyway.

But that is the phase we are in, right now. We are preparing for prenatal classes. Third trimester prenatal classes to be specific. This is the class that we hear horror stories of.

Let's just say I get a bit queasy around blood. Ok, I get super queasy at the thought of blood. So I'm not really looking forward to that part of the birthing process. But I think that it is one thing to have to watch it for your own child. It is totally something different to watch a video of somebody else going through it.

The thought of it makes me shiver.

But lest you think I'm totally uneducated (which, in truth, I pretty much am), I do recognize that prenatal classes are more than just a video of child birth. In fact, there are a number of different types of classes you can attend. Apparently there are different philosophies about child birth. There is Bradley and there is Lamaze.

Do you realize that these are weekly classes you go to for like 6 weeks?

Hmmm. And how do you determine which class you are going to go to? I mean, if they were an hour a piece, you could go to multiple ones, but really, I can't go to all the different varieties of classes when they are 6 week courses.

We haven't signed up yet. We have to decide first which type of class to attend. Lamaze seems to be pretty popular. At least, it was the only method I'd ever hear about before I was like 22. Then I had a supervisor who was a former Bradley instructor and proponent. And today, my wife got a message from a friend that included the following Bradley advocation (you know, from the root "advocate"): "On the good side - it is the best thing that has happened to child-birth in the last 40 years...at its worst - you leave being VERY educated about everything involved. I can't suggest it more highly."

So now I turn to you, oh experienced web of friends: What methods do you propose? Why?

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