Childbirth Class

Picture: Medal from my brother, Kyle. St. Gerard- patron saint of expectant mothers.

Today we spent the whole day (8:30am to 4:00pm) at childbirth class at the hospital. It wasn't as boring as I thought it was going to be, but it wasn't exciting either. At least we didn't do any breathing type things. There were 3 other couples there who seemed around our age and one mother/ daughter couple. I was excited to meet one couple who shared our due date and were also expecting a boy. Maybe we'll see them in 6 weeks. We learned about the stages of labor, what would cause a C section, car seat safety, a little bit of newborn care, feeding, and anesthesia methods. I really enjoyed listening to the anesthesiologist talk about what he would do when giving an epidural. The hospital uses a drug that works very well, so I don't have to worry about when to get the epidural and if it might wear off before labor is over and all that. Most everything else talked about in class I already read or heard about somewhere else. I also enjoyed taking a tour of the labor and delivery department. The hospital is small enough that all the rooms are private and the baby stays in your room with you for the most part (unless, of course, there are problems or they need to check the baby for something). If they have to do a C section, they just wheel you across the hall to a surgery room and not clear down to a different area of the hospital. They also seem very open to breastfeeding moms and even encourage it.

I'm excited for when we get to head there to great our baby, I'll probably end up being one of those people that are in labor for 36 hours and are pushing for 2 hours. I don't care how long we have to wait for him, I just want him to be here. Though not too soon, wait until your due date baby. :)