We wagged class last week.
It's ok our excuse was legit. We were one and a half hours drive away and to drive three hours for a two hour class didn't seem like the best idea.
Last weeks session was on breastfeeding which is something I have about five thousand books on but seems to be something that no matter how many books you read or classes you attend is one of the trickiest things a woman will ever do. This fills me with confidence.
Anyway, The third class was all about the first stage of labour. Pre labour, active labour and transition. The word transition has been etched into my mind as this fearsome and wild time of life I am both looking forward to with curiosity and fearing with every inch of my being. Yes, I'm being melodramatic.
We learnt some coping mechanisms and positions to try out during the first stage to try and encourage the little fella down to the right spot and to help relieve the tension. We watched this amazing video where a rather rotund (in more than just her belly) pregnant lady did some swaying exercises that looked a bit like a slowed down version of a Beyonce film clip. It got better when her husband joined in on the act with his hands, back and knees helping that booty to rock. The class was in stitches.
We talked about what to do in prelabour and one of the things to do was to prepare. Someone suggested we pack our bag. The midwife stopped... she asked who in the room had packed their bag yet.
Nobody raised their hand.
She breathed out a long sigh. "Promise me," she said "That you will all go home and pack your bags this week."
There was a collective gasp around the room. This week? We thought. But surely our babies wont be born for aaaages.... oh nine weeks or less. The could come at any time from now?
The full impact of the impending little one hit me in an instant. She could come tomorrow. Or next week! Only 5% of babies are born on their due dates.
But what to pack? We were given a list. Here is what I'll be packing. (May be slightly tongue in cheek)
- My entire underwear drawer. Apparently childbirth can get messy. (May need to pack this later on.)
- wet weather moo moo. Something to wear in case I decide to go with a water birth.
- toiletries. toothbrush, toothpaste, deoderant, shampoo, massage oil, lady things.
- music. ipod and speaker or guitar and violin? A suggested coping mechanism was to sing. Sound of Music the whole way through anyone? I can do it.
- Something that smells nice. Fragrance diffuser, moisturiser, freshly baked muffins?
- They suggest drawing or reading material. I think I might be a tad too distracted for that. Although, labour can last a loooooong time.
Are there other things to pack. I think I am officially the worlds worst packer. I don't know how but I always seem to pack completely useless stuff. I'll probably end up in the birth centre with a sun hat and jeans.
I think a big part of me just doesn't want to pack. Pregnancy has been such a fun journey. Packing means that it is ending soon.
Ill get around to it eventually.
7 comments:
Oh! This week babycenter.com told me to make a list of what to put in my bag. Your list is actually more helpful than there's. My midwife said to bring chapstick - everyone asks/needs it. Let me know when you pack yours... I'll follow suit :)
I am soooo nervous that we won't make it to our class. They only offered two sessions and one was conflicting with a vacation we were taking so we had to take the latter one. It's not until I'm at 35 weeks! She better stay in there until the classes are over that's all I have to say. eek!
as far as the underwear....you will want to get big, granny panies. After birth you will have to read really big pads and about the only thing comfortable is big grannies. Our hosiptal gave us some that I actually really liked...but I also wore grannies for about 2 weeks afterwards. Cheap one that you don't care about messing up
I don't think I used anything I packed except for clothes and not while in labour (sorry if this is TMI). I was in the bath, had to get out and there was no time or inclination to get dressed again.
No I'm wrong, I ate almost a whole packet of peanut m&ms after Aston was born while waiting to be transferred. Maybe that's why he is allergic to nuts...
We even hired movies from iTunes to watch on Stu's laptop, I think we watched one a day or so later while still in hospital but I just couldn't concentrate on anything while in labour.
Everyone is different though and better to have too much stuff in your bag than not have something you might need!
I think it is lovely that you are enjoying your pregnancy. I complained the entire time and I had the EASIEST pregnancy ever.
A lot of hospitals give you those mesh panty things to wear, but I brought some along anyway. I had to wear the dang mesh ones in the beginning though.
Can't wait to read about your journey towards parenthood, i'm a new follower!
http://penelopeblue.blogspot.com/
Don't bother with the birthing clothes. Seriously, there is nothing dignified about childbirth, and by the time you get to hospital you will be in far too much pain to care what you are wearing. Wear the hospital gown or nothing at all. You do NOT want to be washing the clothes you give birth in.
I didn't even touch my bag til hours and hours after E was born, and even then, didn't use any of the 'stuff' i bought for entertainment, I either slept or gazed at my baby
Buy some cheap knickers. The big maternity pads are not as huge as you might think, even the hospital ones, so they don't need to be granny pants. Take way more tops/bras than you think you'll need, and get some breastpads (go with more expensive ones to start with, from the baby shop rather than the supermarket, you want softeness on sore nipples)
Packing at 31 weeks seems overdoing it a tad! I think I waited until 35 or so. My handy tip is this: separate your stuff into two separate lots, one for things you want during your labour and one for things you want afterwards and during your hospital stay. Pack the labour kit in a clear plastic box so everything is easy to find (and have Myles pack it - he needs to know where everything is much more than you do) and waterproof too; the other stuff can just go in an overnight bag. When you pack, there will inevitable be a couple of things you will still be using right up to the day, so just blu-tak your packing list onto the wall above your box/bags ,with anything still to be packed highlighted. That way when time comes to hospital it will be easy for Myles to double check you have everything you wanted.
I can send you my packing checklists if you like? Like Bec and Lib I definitely didn't use a lot of the labour stuff I packed, but that doesn't mean it's not a comfort to know it's there. I think it's also really important to be able to let go of the things you thought you wanted in order to be able to just live in the labour moment. A big one for me was that I was NOT going to be naked thank you very much - but on the day I found that I just couldn't stand the sensation of fabric on my skin! Just let go and let your instincts take over and you will do so so great Rinny :) I'm so excited for you.
A camera, a few early baby snaps might become cherished possessions.
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