BD and I just got back from our marathon childbirth education class. It had it all--breathing exercises on the floor, play by plays of the various stages of labor, the pros and cons of the various drugs and pain management techniques, and, of course, the movie.
The teacher was a former Lamaze trainer and lactation consultant, so she definitely focused on the natural techniques. But she also did a nice job of outlining all of the options and discussed some scenarios when you'd want to go the epidural or narcotic routes. I appreciated her "get all the info you can, but then just see how it goes" approach.
The hospital seems really nice. All of the labor, delivery, and recover rooms are private, as are most of the post-partum rooms. The cafeteria was pretty decent, and there's a kitchen on the same floor as the labor, delivery, and recover rooms (hubbies are encouraged to fetch their own ice chips and snacks and stuff).
I wish I had more to say, but after nine hours of class, I'm pretty zonked.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Getting Edumacated
Monday, January 29, 2007
Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner
I had been ignoring Cletus the Fetus for a while (see previous posts), and so, by popular demand, this post is all about baby.
Kidlet, by all counts, is doing just fine. It's flipping and kicking a bunch. The doctor (who we visited on Friday) seems to be happy with the progress--size, heart rate, movement, etc. Since we're at 29 weeks now, we'll start doing doctor visits every two weeks instead of four. The baby demands a steady stream of baked goods and chocolate, but the scale and iron test suggest I replace some of the cookies and brownies with spinach and high-fiber muffins or something. We'll see who wins.
Other than the new-to-us car, I haven't personally bought anything yet for the baby. But, as I've mentioned, the supplies are flooding in! And we're all really looking forward to two upcoming baby showers (in Florida on February 10 and in DC on March 3). After the showers, I'll have a much better idea of what, if anything, kidlet still needs.
We have our childbirth education class lined up for March 11. I'll keep practicing "breath for birth" from yoga classes until then.
Unkey Matt spotted some interesting articles on breast-feeding: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16773635/ and http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16773617/. Enjoy!
Oh, and one more thing...you know how I know that I'll be having a baby sooner rather than later? Because people are starting to show up at my doctor's office and yoga class talking about their July and August due dates. Weird.
Monday, January 1, 2007
2007
Here it is: the year of the baby! Game on!
Okay, it's for real. I'm pregnant. Unbelievably, I'm already in my sixth month. I'm getting bigger daily, and the kid sure does love to kick me. So, it's time to get serious and start doing some real planning and preparation. Here's the list so far.
1. Sign up for childbirth class (Check. We're on for a full day one Sunday in March.)
2. Talk to work about my maternity leave plans (I'm hoping to do this the week after next.)
3. Start getting the house ready (Check. We made big progress this weekend with my brother-in-law moving into the basement apartment. His old room will be the nursery.)
4. Start getting gear (Setting up the registries was a good start. BD is also checking out video cameras and cars.)
I'm feeling good...kind of excited actually. Here's to a happy, healthy, a peaceful 2007 for all!
