We finished up our 6 week childbirth class on Sunday.
Class #5 - This class included the hospital tour. I was surprised at how big the maternity rooms are! Labor, delivery, and recovery are all in the same room unless you end up with a c-section. I definitely like that. There are also 3 refrigerators on the maternity floor stocked with clear beverages you can have during labor and ice cream for afterward. Nice!
Class #6 - This class covered post-partum and breastfeeding. Apparently one dad in the class thought you were released from the hospital the same day the baby is born and it was quite a surprise for him to learn that was not the case. Personally I want to stay as long as possible before having to go home with a baby!
The class wasn't what we expected at first, but it got better and I'm glad we took it. I didn't really learn much I didn't already know from a medical standpoint, but I didn't know much about labor positions and hospital procedures. I'm interested to see if I use any of the relaxation techniques and labor positions before I can get the epidural.
I had my (almost) 37 week appointment today. I'm measuring at 38 weeks, so pretty much right on track. Last week I was told I was going to have a big baby, and I asked the OB (a different one from last week) about that this morning. His reply was "That's what it looks like, but you're also short stature." No one seems to be concerned and have not mentioned having a growth ultrasound, so I'm trying not to worry about it. What I don't want to happen is me to be in labor for hours and hours only to end up with a stuck baby and a c-section. If it's going to end up as a c-section, I'd rather just go for that from the start.
They'll finally start checking me for dilation and effacement next week. I was a little perturbed last week when I found out they don't start checking at 36 weeks like a lot of practices, but it's probably better in the end. I would have ended up obsessing over it and whatever they tell me isn't going to mean much anyway. I have most of the signs of pre-labor (NOT pre-term labor) that are listed in What to Expect When You're Expecting minus losing the mucus plus. We'll just see what happens, but I certainly hope it's sooner rather than later.
How far along: 36 weeks 6 days
Next appointment: Next Wednesday
Any new aches/pains: I've started having occasional bouts of lightening crotch which always catches me off guard. I'm having more and more Braxton Hicks, but there's no pattern to them and they don't hurt. His hard little head is still buried way down in my pelvis which makes for pretty constant pubic bone pain, but it's not too terrible.
Maternity clothes: I'm down to just a handful of outfits I can wear which includes 2 pairs of capri pants for bottoms. My feet have swollen and won't go down, so I can't wear anything but flip flops. Luckily no one seemed to notice (or they ignored it) last week when I wore flip flops with a maternity business suit. Classy.
Sleep: I wake up every 2ish hours all night long. Surprisingly, I'm not exhausted during the day but I don't have much energy when I get home from work.
Best moment this week: Ask me tomorrow when I'm full term.
Movement: He's still squirming around in there.
Food cravings: Anything sweet. All I want to do is bake yummy things.
Belly button: It's still in and almost completely flat. I told P last night that this is the only body part that hasn't failed me.
What I miss: Having more than 4-5 outfits to choose from. Being able to wear shoes. Being able to clean the bathtub without it feeling like I've run a marathon.
What I'm looking forward to this week: Full term tomorrow!!
Weekly wisdom: If you have a lot of things to accomplish on the weekends, just pick one and do it. Then re-evaluate how much energy you have.
Showing posts with label Childbirth Classes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Childbirth Classes. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Like a lone reed.....Childbirth Class #4
Childbirth class #4 was last night. We covered pushing, placenta delivery (everyone in the class laughed at the video portion of this part because family members of the mom were taking pictures of her placenta), c-sections, and practiced labor positions again.
Tonight's personal highlight was an exercise we did towards the beginning of the class. The women had to leave the room for a minute while the men were instructed to do something. We came back in, and this time the men left. When we walked back in the room, on the floor we saw a series of numbers in a line. The numbers were +5, +3, +1, 0, -1, -3, -5 in that order. Here's the basic description of what each number stood for:
+5 = I want an epidural as soon as I walk in the hospital door. I want to feel nothing during delivery.
+3 = I want to progress on my own for a little while (with narcotics if I want them) and then get an epidural.
+1 = I want to progress as far as I can, but am open to an epidural if I need one.
0 = No opinion
-1 =
-3 =
-5 =
To be honest, I can't remember exactly what the last 3 stood for, but they were varying ranges of "I want no meds" to "Under no circumstances should pain meds be offered to me during labor." Anyone who's been following understands why I didn't really pay close attention to these choices.
When we left the room, the men were instructed to stand on the line according to where they thought their wives would stand. Before that was revealed, we (the women) had to go stand on the line according to our pain med wishes. I stood at +3 (let's be honest here, I really wanted to stand at +5, but figured I'd put on a brave face) and everyone else crowded down towards the -5 end of the line. The first thing that popped into my head was that line "Like a lone reed" from You've Got Mail. Everyone looked down the line at me and I just looked back at them. No judgment from anyone, but it was just....interesting. Then the men joined us at the spots they'd chosen. P stood between +1 and +3. Hah, good one P!
The point of the exercise was to see if all the women were on the same page regarding pain medication options as their husbands. Perhaps P and I have some strange relationship, but it never occurred to me to consult him on whether or not I choose to have an epidural. Until he gets to feel the pain, he doesn't get a say in it. Maybe that is sexist, but I can't help the fact that evolution handed childbirth to the women.
Last night was also interesting because the couple whose baby was born at 34 weeks came back to tell us their birth story. Baby is currently at CHKD, but should be home in a couple weeks. I didn't know this, but Williamsburg's hospital doesn't have a NICU so any preemie babies are sent to St. Mary's in Richmond or CHKD in Norfolk. The most interesting part, to me, was the mom telling us about how she decided, at 10cm, to ask for an epidural because she was so tired and couldn't take it any longer. She said "I'd never done any research on epidurals...." <---Ladies and gentlemen, there we have it. My point from the very beginning of our adventure in "natural birth land." Here I am, pro-doctor, pro-modern medicine, pro-epidural, taking a natural childbirth class. Educating myself about no intervention, labor positions, breathing, etc. And all the crunchy moms are doing nothing to educate themselves about all the other possibilities, which of course they'll experience should any of them end up with a c-section or possibly in more stressful of a situation than they anticipated.
For all the "birth is natural" and "our bodies were made for this" business, I find it extremely interesting that the only person in the class doing research for herself (again, the whole "do your research" thing is really pushed by the natural birth folks) is me. I "hee hee hee'd" with the best of them last night while holding the ziploc bag of ice cubes in my hand during our labor position practice, but I'm still asking for the anesthesiologist.
(I supposed you could argue that taking the childbirth class, which briefly mentions epidurals, is "doing research." In my opinion, that's not really enough to consider yourself educated on the subject though."
Tonight's personal highlight was an exercise we did towards the beginning of the class. The women had to leave the room for a minute while the men were instructed to do something. We came back in, and this time the men left. When we walked back in the room, on the floor we saw a series of numbers in a line. The numbers were +5, +3, +1, 0, -1, -3, -5 in that order. Here's the basic description of what each number stood for:
+5 = I want an epidural as soon as I walk in the hospital door. I want to feel nothing during delivery.
+3 = I want to progress on my own for a little while (with narcotics if I want them) and then get an epidural.
+1 = I want to progress as far as I can, but am open to an epidural if I need one.
0 = No opinion
-1 =
-3 =
-5 =
To be honest, I can't remember exactly what the last 3 stood for, but they were varying ranges of "I want no meds" to "Under no circumstances should pain meds be offered to me during labor." Anyone who's been following understands why I didn't really pay close attention to these choices.
When we left the room, the men were instructed to stand on the line according to where they thought their wives would stand. Before that was revealed, we (the women) had to go stand on the line according to our pain med wishes. I stood at +3 (let's be honest here, I really wanted to stand at +5, but figured I'd put on a brave face) and everyone else crowded down towards the -5 end of the line. The first thing that popped into my head was that line "Like a lone reed" from You've Got Mail. Everyone looked down the line at me and I just looked back at them. No judgment from anyone, but it was just....interesting. Then the men joined us at the spots they'd chosen. P stood between +1 and +3. Hah, good one P!
The point of the exercise was to see if all the women were on the same page regarding pain medication options as their husbands. Perhaps P and I have some strange relationship, but it never occurred to me to consult him on whether or not I choose to have an epidural. Until he gets to feel the pain, he doesn't get a say in it. Maybe that is sexist, but I can't help the fact that evolution handed childbirth to the women.
Last night was also interesting because the couple whose baby was born at 34 weeks came back to tell us their birth story. Baby is currently at CHKD, but should be home in a couple weeks. I didn't know this, but Williamsburg's hospital doesn't have a NICU so any preemie babies are sent to St. Mary's in Richmond or CHKD in Norfolk. The most interesting part, to me, was the mom telling us about how she decided, at 10cm, to ask for an epidural because she was so tired and couldn't take it any longer. She said "I'd never done any research on epidurals...." <---Ladies and gentlemen, there we have it. My point from the very beginning of our adventure in "natural birth land." Here I am, pro-doctor, pro-modern medicine, pro-epidural, taking a natural childbirth class. Educating myself about no intervention, labor positions, breathing, etc. And all the crunchy moms are doing nothing to educate themselves about all the other possibilities, which of course they'll experience should any of them end up with a c-section or possibly in more stressful of a situation than they anticipated.
For all the "birth is natural" and "our bodies were made for this" business, I find it extremely interesting that the only person in the class doing research for herself (again, the whole "do your research" thing is really pushed by the natural birth folks) is me. I "hee hee hee'd" with the best of them last night while holding the ziploc bag of ice cubes in my hand during our labor position practice, but I'm still asking for the anesthesiologist.
(I supposed you could argue that taking the childbirth class, which briefly mentions epidurals, is "doing research." In my opinion, that's not really enough to consider yourself educated on the subject though."
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Childbirth Class #3
Childbirth class #3 was Sunday night. We focused on labor positions and talked a bit about pain medication options. The instructor set up different stations where we tried out various labor positions and I thought that was pretty interesting. The most comfortable one for me was sitting backwards in a chair leaning over a pillow. LOL, I kind of want to sit this way at my desk at work!
Everyone laughed when P and I got to the station that involved foot massages. I hate having my feet touched and can barely make it through a pedicure. I must have had a really pained look on my face while P was massaging my feet because people started laughing. I'm pretty sure this position will never be used during labor! Hopefully some of the others will be helpful while I'm waiting for the epidural.
________________________________________
Random things:
-I really wish someone had made me buy all my maternity clothes one size too big. Things would be so much more comfortable right now if I had done this!
-Before getting pregnant, I assumed I would spend the entire 3rd trimester being terrified of labor. I never understood what women meant when they said "I'm just ready to have this baby." Oooooh, I understand now. I often wonder how I'm going to make it 6 more weeks. Some days I feel like I've been kicked in the pelvis and anything other than sitting on the couch hurts.
-My butt has gotten large. It's totally my fault for eating too much and exercising too little. I'm a bit disappointed in myself, but that does not stop me from eating Caramel Apple Hershey Kisses.
-I've decided that my belly is an optical illusion. I'm feeling very self-conscious about it, so I decided to use a tape measure last night and measure it. At 34 weeks, it should be measuring around 34cm. Guess what? It's measuring right on track! I imagine that a taller person would not look huge with my belly, but since I'm so short it just looks huge.
How far along: 33 weeks 6 days
Next appointment: Next Tuesday
Any new aches/pains: Pubic bone pain. It's pretty bad some days.
Maternity clothes: Yes and I hate them all.
Sleep: It really varies.
Best moment this week: Hmm, not sure yet.
Movement: Yup, he's still very active. He has hiccups multiple times a day.
Food cravings: Anything sweet.
Belly button: It's still in and almost completely flat.
What I miss: Not being huge.
What I'm looking forward to this week: It's another week closer to the end.
Weekly wisdom: Don't be vain. Buy maternity clothes in a larger size so you'll be comfortable later.
Everyone laughed when P and I got to the station that involved foot massages. I hate having my feet touched and can barely make it through a pedicure. I must have had a really pained look on my face while P was massaging my feet because people started laughing. I'm pretty sure this position will never be used during labor! Hopefully some of the others will be helpful while I'm waiting for the epidural.
________________________________________
Random things:
-I really wish someone had made me buy all my maternity clothes one size too big. Things would be so much more comfortable right now if I had done this!
-Before getting pregnant, I assumed I would spend the entire 3rd trimester being terrified of labor. I never understood what women meant when they said "I'm just ready to have this baby." Oooooh, I understand now. I often wonder how I'm going to make it 6 more weeks. Some days I feel like I've been kicked in the pelvis and anything other than sitting on the couch hurts.
-My butt has gotten large. It's totally my fault for eating too much and exercising too little. I'm a bit disappointed in myself, but that does not stop me from eating Caramel Apple Hershey Kisses.
-I've decided that my belly is an optical illusion. I'm feeling very self-conscious about it, so I decided to use a tape measure last night and measure it. At 34 weeks, it should be measuring around 34cm. Guess what? It's measuring right on track! I imagine that a taller person would not look huge with my belly, but since I'm so short it just looks huge.
How far along: 33 weeks 6 days
Next appointment: Next Tuesday
Any new aches/pains: Pubic bone pain. It's pretty bad some days.
Maternity clothes: Yes and I hate them all.
Sleep: It really varies.
Best moment this week: Hmm, not sure yet.
Movement: Yup, he's still very active. He has hiccups multiple times a day.
Food cravings: Anything sweet.
Belly button: It's still in and almost completely flat.
What I miss: Not being huge.
What I'm looking forward to this week: It's another week closer to the end.
Weekly wisdom: Don't be vain. Buy maternity clothes in a larger size so you'll be comfortable later.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Childbirth Class #2
Class last night was a huge improvement over the first one. The whole tone of the class has changed and I feel like we got something out of it. I really think it made a difference with the types of questions people asked as well. If the instructor knew it was my blog, she never let on which I am thankful for. Hopefully we will continue to enjoy it like we did last night.
We covered early labor and active labor, as well as what to expect when we check into the hospital. I didn't really think about it, but the instructor mentioned the possibility of the delivery rooms being full since it happens sometimes. Apparently there are an abundance of people having babies in October/November due to all the snow we had earlier this year. Haha!
In sad news, the maternity jeans I bought from Ann Taylor Loft early in the pregnancy are no longer comfortable. I was going to wear them last night and they still fit, but they don't have the full belly panel. Sitting down with the half panel just isn't comfortable. Sigh. I really didn't want to spend any more money on maternity clothes. I think I'll try to hold out and see how the temperature changes this month and early next month before I buy anything.
We covered early labor and active labor, as well as what to expect when we check into the hospital. I didn't really think about it, but the instructor mentioned the possibility of the delivery rooms being full since it happens sometimes. Apparently there are an abundance of people having babies in October/November due to all the snow we had earlier this year. Haha!
In sad news, the maternity jeans I bought from Ann Taylor Loft early in the pregnancy are no longer comfortable. I was going to wear them last night and they still fit, but they don't have the full belly panel. Sitting down with the half panel just isn't comfortable. Sigh. I really didn't want to spend any more money on maternity clothes. I think I'll try to hold out and see how the temperature changes this month and early next month before I buy anything.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Childbirth Class #1
P and I went to our first childbirth class last night. Let's just say it's a little different than the way it's described on the hospital's website. Sentara has a list of all the pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, etc. classes on their site. In no way does anything indicate that the class at Sentara Williamsburg is contracted out through a private doula service.
Our class instructor is a certified doula and lamaze instructor. That would be the extent of her "medical" training. Her past career was an AT&T saleswoman and she made no bones about the fact that she's teaching these classes in addition to her regular doula services to provide extra income for her family. Her husband is days away from retiring as a Marine Corps Master Chief and hasn't found another job yet.
We started off watching a couple birth videos which she described as "normal births" as opposed to what you might see on TLC's "A Baby Story" and shows of that variety. The first thing Patrick and I notice is that the woman in the video is giving birth standing up in her living room. The room is dark, she's standing on her hardwood floors completely naked, and another woman (doula? midwife? it was unclear) is shining a flashlight at her hoo-hah. We see the baby's head emerge and fluid gush all over the floors. My thought is "Oh my, the clean up!" and P whispers to me "Where is the doctor? Why is that woman giving birth next to a box of copier paper?". Turns out we just watched a scene from "The Business of Being Born." Yup, I like my birthing advice from Ricki Lake just like I like my vaccine advice from Jenny McCarthy. Why show anti-doctor, anti-hospital propaganda during a class being held at a hospital??
The instructor proceeds to go on and on about how hospital births involve terrible things like IVs which require you to be strapped to the bed for the entire labor. Personally, I don't know a single person who has ever been strapped to a bed for any reason! She gives us a handout labeled "Normal Birth" which basically goes over how only births without medical intervention are normal, and there are some sources cited which I will be investigating for my own knowledge. On a side note, I was sure to let me my mom know that my sister and I were apparently born abnormally as C-section babies.
For the rest of the class, we talked about signs of pre-term labor and other things about late pregnancy. So far I haven't learned anything I didn't already know, aside from the whole being strapped to the bed part (ha!).
Perhaps my other favorite part of the evening was in the beginning of the class when we had to pair off with another couple who was due the same week as us to get to know them better. The wife looked at my belly and said something along the lines of "Wow, you're a lot bigger than me. I keep telling my doctor I'm concerned I'm too small. I thought you were supposed to be small with your first pregnancy." She asked a couple dumb questions during the class, so I've written her off as a moron.
I don't have a good vibe yet for the rest of the class. We have a couple "crunchy" couples who are very vocal about the whole natural birth thing. One woman is considering not having the Group B Strep test done because she doesn't want any IVs attached to her at all during labor (you know, because of the whole bed strapping thing). Right.....good luck with that should you be positive for it. (Link to CDC site regarding Group B Strep: http://www.cdc.gov/groupbstrep/general/gen_public_faq.htm. I don't like statements without facts to back them up, so I'm backing up my "good luck" statement.)
Perhaps I'll wear my birkenstocks next week to fit in a little better.
Our class instructor is a certified doula and lamaze instructor. That would be the extent of her "medical" training. Her past career was an AT&T saleswoman and she made no bones about the fact that she's teaching these classes in addition to her regular doula services to provide extra income for her family. Her husband is days away from retiring as a Marine Corps Master Chief and hasn't found another job yet.
We started off watching a couple birth videos which she described as "normal births" as opposed to what you might see on TLC's "A Baby Story" and shows of that variety. The first thing Patrick and I notice is that the woman in the video is giving birth standing up in her living room. The room is dark, she's standing on her hardwood floors completely naked, and another woman (doula? midwife? it was unclear) is shining a flashlight at her hoo-hah. We see the baby's head emerge and fluid gush all over the floors. My thought is "Oh my, the clean up!" and P whispers to me "Where is the doctor? Why is that woman giving birth next to a box of copier paper?". Turns out we just watched a scene from "The Business of Being Born." Yup, I like my birthing advice from Ricki Lake just like I like my vaccine advice from Jenny McCarthy. Why show anti-doctor, anti-hospital propaganda during a class being held at a hospital??
The instructor proceeds to go on and on about how hospital births involve terrible things like IVs which require you to be strapped to the bed for the entire labor. Personally, I don't know a single person who has ever been strapped to a bed for any reason! She gives us a handout labeled "Normal Birth" which basically goes over how only births without medical intervention are normal, and there are some sources cited which I will be investigating for my own knowledge. On a side note, I was sure to let me my mom know that my sister and I were apparently born abnormally as C-section babies.
For the rest of the class, we talked about signs of pre-term labor and other things about late pregnancy. So far I haven't learned anything I didn't already know, aside from the whole being strapped to the bed part (ha!).
Perhaps my other favorite part of the evening was in the beginning of the class when we had to pair off with another couple who was due the same week as us to get to know them better. The wife looked at my belly and said something along the lines of "Wow, you're a lot bigger than me. I keep telling my doctor I'm concerned I'm too small. I thought you were supposed to be small with your first pregnancy." She asked a couple dumb questions during the class, so I've written her off as a moron.
I don't have a good vibe yet for the rest of the class. We have a couple "crunchy" couples who are very vocal about the whole natural birth thing. One woman is considering not having the Group B Strep test done because she doesn't want any IVs attached to her at all during labor (you know, because of the whole bed strapping thing). Right.....good luck with that should you be positive for it. (Link to CDC site regarding Group B Strep: http://www.cdc.gov/groupbstrep/general/gen_public_faq.htm. I don't like statements without facts to back them up, so I'm backing up my "good luck" statement.)
Perhaps I'll wear my birkenstocks next week to fit in a little better.
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