Last Saturday was our first birthing class. We signed up for a two 4 hour Saturday class through NW Hospital with Parent Trust of Washington Children. The official class title is “Great Starts Labor & Birth Course.” Andrew and I both agree that it was an information-packed four hour class! Nice thing is there was a short break ever hour since half the class is pregnant women, and well we seem to always want to munch on something and take pee breaks.
We covered a lot of topics in the 4 hour period. We discussed the stages of labor (early labor, active labor, transition, pushing and placenta), the three Rs of coping (relaxation, rhythm and ritual), coping strategies, ways your husband (or support person) can help and support you, and even practiced breathing for coping through contractions and pushing.
We watched a birthing video too. Though I have to say I personal think the choice of the video downplayed what labor and delivery can be like. I’ve seen a lot of birthing videos in my Child Development classes in college (vaginal births, c-sections, water births, cord complications, and more), not to mention I have read many anecdotes and heard friends and family’s stories, and the video we watched on Saturday made everything look so easy and short. Now, sure, there are lots of different variations for labor and birth. Some are easy and short. Others take a lot more energy and time. Who knows how Tadpole is going to enter the world, except for God.
The class had a lot of nice visuals, and we even got a book that Andrew and I think is pretty gosh darn good. It’s Pregnancy Childbirth and the Newborn: The Complete Guide (4th edition) by Penny Simkin, Janet Whalley, Ann Keppler, Janelle Durham and April Bolding. It seems to cover a lot of information in an easy comprehensive way. I’ve actually already read about a fourth of it and it’s about 450 pages long. It has some nice illustrations to help explain a few things too. Andrew found it very informative as well.
Our second and last class is this Saturday. We’ll see how that one goes!
On a different note! Tadpole sure has been active this week! I knew babies could kick/punch/elbow/knee/etc. hard, but dang does our little girl pack-a-punch! Sometimes I feel like I’m a punching bag and she’s in the middle of some sort of aerobics class. Andrew had his hand on our baby bump this morning, having some “baby time” as we call it, and Tadpole started going at it. She usually does when I first get up in the morning. Anyway! She kicked pretty hard and at first Andrew thought it was me breathing or changing positions or something, and asked to make sure. I told him “Nope that was her. That was a medium strength kick.” He then understood why I’d been saying that I feel like a punching bag, and told our little girl not to hurt me.
We’re very happy she’s strong and kicking. It’s a good sign that she’s healthy. A funny new move she does every once in a while is what I have deemed “superhero flight.” You know how superheroes are depicted as flying with one arm stretched out, the other close to their body? And one leg stretched out, and the other knee bent?
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Well, that’s what her new move feels like. I have been getting hit at the top and lower part of my uterus simultaneously. She’s either practicing some sort of karate move, or is working on her superhero stance. Maybe we should buy her an infant superhero outfit... ^_~
kit pushed and kicked so hard, that I had this bulge along my ribs. It was all dark and bruised looking so we went to the er.. He has pushed my liver up and you could see where though the skin It freaked me out but they assured me it was all okay.. Just keep thinking about how all that moving is making your baby strong enough to be born.. It helps a little :P
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