Yesterday was more abstract for Chuck, and a little more overwhelming for me: the stages and phases of of labor, breathing and birthing positions, watching several childbirth videos, and learning about medical interventions. Our instructor gave very realistic demonstrations of each breathing technique (as though she were in labor), which was... interesting. Chuck learned the 5-1-1 rule, meaning he has to time me and we shouldn't go to the hospital until my contractions are 5 mins apart, lasting 1 minute each, for at least 1 hour. We also learned how the baby corkscrews through the pelvis so that the largest part of her head and shoulders are always going through the largest part of the hip bones. It's crazy how the body knows how to labor and the baby knows how to get out. It's as if we were made to do this.
Today's session was more about baby care, including breastfeeding, diapering, bathing, etc. These topics are all familiar to me - I used to babysit and taught babysitter training - but they were new to Chuck. I think he liked doing the hands on demonstration activities with the baby doll, learning tangible skills that will be within our control.
Afterwards I asked Chuck if he had any questions about the class, and he said "Well, do you feel like you're ready for childbirth now?". I told him that while it was important to learn the facts, the prenatal yoga does a better job of getting me ready mentally. As far as the medical stuff, the philosophy of my doctor and the hospital we're delivering at is in line with how I envision things should go, so I trust they'll know what's best for me if anything unexpected happens.
For now, the weekly countdown to b-day is officially in the single digits, and this certificate proves that we are, in fact, prepared:
No comments:
Post a Comment