Last night we had our 4th out of our 6 childbirthing classes. This was another good one, discussing the second and third stages of labor, pushing and delivery. I always thought they were one thing, you pushed until you delivered, but I learned last night that it not the case. The pushing is the get the baby down in the pelvis enough that she's crowning. It was very interesting. Not sure how many of the different positions I'll be able to do, as I'm planning on getting the epidural, but we will see. ;)
Glad that I can still get the epidural in the birthcare center. I would happily go over to the hospital if I had to in order to get the epidural, but am very excited to be able to deliver at the birthcare center if possible. :) Someone at my shower asked if I was going to get the drugs. I have adopted the saying that Sis told me someone in her childbirth class had... You don't get a medal for doing it all natural. I don't want to put myself through so much pain that I can't enjoy the first few minutes of my daughter's life. I have every intention of feeling good (or as good as I can) in those first few moments so I can enjoy meeting and bonding with my daughter. I also don't want to look like I just got hit by a train after I deliver. ;) This may be silly and vain, I understand that delivering a baby is hard work and that I shouldn't be ashamed that I worked hard to bring her into the world, but I want to be happy, joyful, and as pain free as I can be in that moment, so that nothing distracts me from my little girl. Getting off my soap box now. ;)
I am so please with Wesley and the Birthcare Center already! So many of their standard procedures are exactly what I want to do anyway! (Caution, I'm going to explain some specifics, I will try not to be graphic, but for those of you who are squeamish in the audience, you might want to skip the rest of this paragraph and move on to the next one.) They do massage to limit or prevent tearing. They will ask you not to push or to lay on your side if your labor is progressing too fast, they want you at a slower pace so that your body has time to adjust to the baby's changing locations and the baby gets a good squeeze through the birth canal to get all of the amniotic fluid out of the lungs, preparing for real breathing. They let you and your body decide when to push, if you don't feel like you need to, you don't have to, they will wait until your body kicks into gear and you feel like that's what you need to do. They do at least an hour of skin to skin contact immediately after birth. I love this because it helps regulate the baby's body temperature, the baby hears my voice and heartbeat and knows she's safe and home, and it provides bonding experiences in those first few moments of life. :) I'm looking forward to that. The last thing that is standard policy at Wesley and the Birthcare Center is that if you are planning to breastfeed, they want/encourage you to do so right away, which was my plan in the first place. :) They just seem really great there! I am very happy that we'll be having our baby with such great staff in such a great place! What a blessing! Can't wait!
We did some more relaxation techniques in class last night. We thought of calming and relaxing images, words, colors, sounds, smells. It was very interesting. Michael and I discussed what calmed us on the way home. I was surprised at the differences in the ways that each of us were able to relax. Michael was more at home, local, familiar. I was more exotic, pampered, clean. It was interesting and fun. Not sure that information is going to help much during labor and delivery, but we will see. ;)
Finally, we did some patterned breathing last night as well. The idea behind the patterned breathing is that you focus on the patterns and taking even, consistant breaths to guide you and focus you through the contractions. This makes it so that you are productive in moving the baby along through contractions as opposed to just bearing them until they are over. Making them work for you and your laboring process. :)
I feel like I've learned so much from this class! I know a lot of people don't take these classes. I know a lot of people think they are a waste of time and money, and that your body will know what to do and your doctor will be helping to coach you. But I'm glad we're going. I learn better from an actual person than from reading it out of a book. And I feel like both Michael and I have a better understanding of what to expect, what we are allowed and encouraged to do, what the hospital and birthcare center's policies are, etc. It has been very informative! Now again, I'm planning on getting the epidural, so I'm not sure exactly how much I'm going to use from this class, but the knowledge alone of what to expect and what I can do to help myelf and my baby is worth all of the money and all of the time that we've invested into this class. I would highly recommend it to any new parents!
Wow! This got long today! Sorry about that, just excited! :) Hope you all have a great Tuesday! Only 2 more work days until Tugfest! Wooohooo! And I close today, so I'll be doing lots of packing and housecleaning to prepare for the trip. Love you all! Thanks for those of you who read all the way to the end. ;) I'm definitely impressed! :D
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