Class Number .... ?

We went to our second last baby class on Wednesday.
Oh boy have the classes been eye opening.

This particular one was on baby care.

We learnt about how to wrap a baby, bath a baby, change a nappy. Things like that.
We were shown a picture of a newborn baby poo. It was great looking at all the faces round the room as the picture was passed on.

Our teacher Pam got us to get into groups and discuss why babies cry, what can help them to stop and how we feel when babies cry. While we were discussing this she played this awful recording of a baby crying. The little fella was really going at it. It was such a sad little (actually very loud) sound. It made me just want to find that baby and give it a good cuddle.

I guess she was trying to get us used to it. She told us that most babies cry for about 3-4 hours a day.

She also showed us a video of all the strange skin conditions babies get born with. Rashes, birth marks, swollen heads. None of the things are serious but the poor little babies looked like they had been through a few rounds of boxing.

At the end of the class we got our own little doll babies to practice wrapping up. Many of them got their heads knocked on the floor, lifted up by their toes and I accidentally leant on mine a little too hard while I was wrapping it. Surely we will be more careful when the baby is real.

Here is a picture of the little darling. Can you see the family resemblance?

Class Number Three/Two

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)

- An attractive moo moo. I need something to wear that will let the baby come out, the air come in and possibly some modesty intact. And I don't particularly fancy the backless hospital gown.

- 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.

Class Number One.

- Warning - This post may contain too much information. Especially for soon to be mamas.

We had our first childbirth class last night.

And how do I feel?

I'm feeling a bit anxious really.

We walked into a room filled with bean bags and ladies with big bellies. This was the right room. They all looked a friendly bunch. We all introduced ourselves. It was a class of about 10. 8 for the labour ward and 2 for the birth centre. All our first little ones.

The class was all about the different stages of labour and what happens in each. The midwife talked about different positions the baby could be in (breech, posterior, anterior, transverse) and had a special doll that sat in a pelvis. I couldn't help but think that the doll was a heckofalot bigger than the space inside the pelvis.

When talking about the stages of labour, the midwife wrote up all the categories of things that happen and the stage in which they take place. For instance your waters could break at any time. Days or weeks before birth or even after birth. That freaked me out a bit.

She talked about mucous plugs and dialation and effacement and then there was this little category called pain.

It was all making me feel pretty squeamish but this topped it off. First it's supposed to feel like cramps and then it's supposed to just get worse till you are "beyond pain." (her words)

I'm a huge fan of the natural birth for many reasons. I loved reading Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth. I have been thinking about breathing techniques, water births and rushes not contractions. I'm booked into the birth centre where there is not an epidural in sight.

So when people talk about being in a world of pain and then going beyond that. It makes me nervous.

I'm into the third trimester and starting to get bigger. It's trickier to walk around, bend over, get into the car. I'm feeling positively elderly. Then there is the discomfort of having a head right down in my pelvis and all the joy that brings. I'm experiencing a bit of hurt. So when people talk about pain I feel I can relate. And then I get really nervous.

What if I get there and find I can't do it. What if I wuss out. And my favourite worry, what if I explode there in the delivery room. (This is a very real concern in my mind. The midwife at the birth centre has assured me I will not explode. I'm not so sure.)

I guess it's all well and good. They are just trying to prepare me. I don't think I thought it would exactly be a walk in the park but it still makes me really really nervous.

I think the classes will be fine. I'm hoping they will give some good tips on how to deal with the anxiety I'm feeling and not just with gas or injections into my spine.

I think Myl quite enjoyed it. He has been reading his man with a pram book and so knew quite a bit about babies and the like. I think he will be really great when I'm in labour. As long as I have his hand to hold I think I will be ok. I just wish I wasn't so nervous.