Even though Justin was in Seattle for his best friend's wedding this weekend, Caden and I still managed to have a GREAT weekend in San Antonio... more to come on that front, and hopefully we'll get Justin to do his first post to the blog world about his trip to the west coast. That will be a work in progress I'm afraid.
For now I thought I'd share just a few glimpses into our first two, of five childbirthing classes!
Class #1: Breastfeeding 101
First thing that comes to mind is BOOBS... lots of them, all shapes, sizes, colors, you name it we saw it. To be clear these boobs were all on video... I have heard of classes where they actually make you whip out your boob right there in the middle of the circle, but thankfully our hospital prefers good old fashioned technology to the REAL DEAL. Unfortunately for Justin, he was only one of three guys total...it seems that many of the hubbies and partners decided to skip out on this particular experience.
This class started off with all of us going around the room, answering the baby top five: due date, gender if you know, name if know, doctor, and number of this kiddo in your family line-up. Our nurse also wanted each of us to share one question about breastfeeding we hoped to have answered by the time we left and why we had made the commitment to breastfeed.
A few of my favorites...
"I hear breastfeeding is the fastest way to lose weight, so I'm gonna try it!"
"Is it true that breastfeeding feels like someone slicing off your nipples with a razor blade?"
Side note: Are you kidding? WHY would you say that? She won the Drama Queen award for the night... she had several classic statements... another one being, "One time my friend was walking around her living room when I was over there, and ALL OF THE SUDDEN her boob just started spraying EVERYWHERE, like a huge water hose, it took her a while to get it under control." Oh the mental picture is too much... I still laugh when I think about it! Needless to say, she made our class all the more exciting...
"I'm not exactly sure about the whole breastfeeding thing. I just don't think I'll like the feeling." Her husband interjects, "It is kind of like being a cow!"
When it got to me, dumbfounded and trying so hard to not to laugh hysterically at the cow comment I say, "I haven't really thought much about it, I'm just excited to be here!" Ha!
Welcome to breastfeeding class Elle Woods, you and Bruiser will be great parents! Geez... I am sure I could have come up with something better, but I really was clueless and really excited to learn! Luckily, I've never had these spectacular boobs, so I wasn't too worried about the permanent damage to my girls like so many others were. I have ALREADY started leaking colostrum (oh yah... I know you're jealous) so Justin is already adjusting to the "my wife is a cow-factor," so for me, it was a go... let's learn how to make this happen! Let's get ready to latch!!
Class #2: Childbirth (1 of 3)
Right on time, but not early because Justin HAD to have a milkshake (from Burger King of course), we walk into a very crowded room and sat ourselves in the few open seats left in the corner. Our pillows in tow we surveyed the room. 13 other couples were present for the first of three childbirth classes. Justin and I, both avid people-watchers were no doubt already beginning to make our first judgements on the others in our class.
"Check out the girl with the "No" face."
"I recognize that guy... can't put my finger on it though."
"Woah, they can't be more than 16 and them, well they are definitely pushing 40."
"That girl has a cute bump..."
Time to start... the same nurse from our breastfeeding class a few nights before is also our teacher for the childbirthing class. Nice to see a familiar face.
We started just the same as the last class, baby top five, but THANKFULLY there was no prompting for a question, so Elle Woods remained locked up for the time being. That is until it was video time...
We watched this video about three different women, all undergoing natural childbirth. We watched their labors from beginning to end. We were learning about the three stages of labor and what we could expect, so what better a way than to learn than to watch three women go through the REAL thing. I loved it!
At one point in the video lady #3, a petite, Asian lady who still had a very heavy accent finally gave birth to her baby boy. After her final push the baby came out and began to cry. She was overjoyed with emotion and praise. She was crying and laughing... it was amazing! I put myself in the delivery room and imagined that same feeling when it was my turn to give birth to my little boy and what it would be like to hear his first cry and to share that special moment with Justin, so I started to tear up. Then they did a post-birth interview of her describing that moment... the tears kept coming. I could have listened to her tell that story over and over again. What great joy!
In my moment of joy and celebration I hear a whisper in my ear, "Just so you know... out of thirteen other pregnant women in this room, you are the ONLY one crying right now."
The tears instantly dry up and I look around the room... he's right, not one other woman is crying!
"We are pregnant, we are SUPPOSED to cry, especially when we just watched the most AMAZING miracle on earth...come on ladies, give a girl some love!"
Now Justin has proof that I in fact could be THE crazy pregnant lady! Sigh!
At the end of the night we wrapped-up with our first breathing exercise and got our homework for next class...
"Your homework for next week is to come up with a "touch signal" with your partner. You will use this throughout labor. This will be your signal to relax and breathe. Find something that is comfortable for you."
One husband raises his hand, "I have a question about the homework... I am sure I am not speaking from just my own experience, but I'm afraid we're all probably a little gun-shy. All we've heard for 8 months now is... NOT NOW, DON'T TOUCH ME, OUCH!"
All the guys remembering these similar experiences suddenly back off of their wives and start shaking their heads in agreement.
"Oh yah, that's normal and it will probably happen during labor, all I can say is, be prepared for it, don't cry about it, BE THERE to support your wives. You'll be so thankful that it's not you, you won't care what she says to you!"
LONG LIVE THE LABOR AND DELIVERY NURSE!! She just told those boys to suck it up! :)
On that note, Caden and I better hit the showers!
1 comment:
Thanks for the blog background site. I have a new one now. It looks so much better. Yours is super cute, too. Good luck at the appt.
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