After a weekend full of all things birth and parenting I can officially say I have a positive attitude about the delivery of Carson! James and I completed our birth/parenting class this past weekend! We were actually looking forward to the class because we both felt like we had a lot to learn, and learn a lot we did! On Saturday we learned ALL about the process of delivery, which was very “interesting” to say the least. I was a little anxious about labor and delivery but I can honestly say that after learning all about it I’m really not too worried. I understand that it will hurt, and that it will take a while, but every other mom out there has made it through just fine and I know I can too. We learned a lot about breathing and relaxation that was pretty amazing. I never really understood the importance of the whole “breathing” emphasis people put on labor but after a really cool experiment not only do I get it, but I believe it in. Our instructor gave everyone a piece of ice to squeeze tight in our hand for 30 seconds, without anything to distract us from the coldness. It was FREEZING, almost to the point where it hurt…the 30 seconds felt like two minutes. Then, she had us use a new breathing technique (breathing in, 1-2-3-4; breathing out 1-2-3-4) while squeezing the same piece of ice in our hand for 30 seconds again. The results were amazing. The ice didn’t seem as cold, and the time seemed much shorter. When I was able to focus on the counting and rhythm of my breathing the length of amount of pain was reduced. Now, if I can just carry that over into labor I think I can make it! Haha I am just going to keep asking myself these four questions: Will it hurt? Yes. Will it last forever? No. Will I be tired? Yes. Will it bring us the most amazing little boy ever? Yes.
I am a little confused as to why I feel so prepared for the labor/delivery process. I am usually one to get really worked up and worried about things like this. Maybe it’s because I am just THAT excited to meet Carson! I think James also has a big part to do with how I feel about the whole thing. He has such a laid back, no stress personality that I feel confident he will help me stay calm and positive through the whole thing. This brings me SO much relief that I don’t have to worry about how he will handle the whole process. Will he be stressed and nervous? Yes of course, but will he dump it on me? No, he’ll somehow manage to deal with his stress and mine. Yes, the guy is amazing!
We of course also got to see the much anticipated video of childbirth. We were warned that most of the time you see a natural childbirth video at these classes so not to get too stressed by how much pain the woman is in….. Well, luckily our teacher showed us, not one, not two, but three videos of actual childbirth! Two were delivered naturally and one of the women used a narcotic and then had an epidural. The difference in the two deliveries was incredible. Needless to say I’m not one for unnecessary pain so I will be choosing the “give me whatever you can to make this hurt less” method of delivery. The videos were graphic of course but not as bad as I had anticipated… James wasn’t a big fan of course and the videos confirmed his decision to stay up close to my head during delivery. He wants to see what I can see, nothing more. I can’t say I blame him! Haha
My least favorite thing about the class was one of the couples in it... They were a little older than us, and looked a bit like a couple from somewhere in Kentucky the national news would choose to interview (you know the type right? Rough, crazy teeth, big rolled bangs, crazy make-up....). Well, every time our instructor gave us a break, which was quite often considering the room was full of pregnant ladies, they BOTH went outside for a smoke break. Surely you're thinking that Dad was smoking and Mom was just keeping him company. Oh no...Mom was smoking too. Every hour or so she was outside burning a cigarette. Makes me sick.
My favorite thing about the class was that the instructor referred to us as Mom and Dad all weekend!! James and I sometimes will call each other Mommy and Daddy when we are talking to Carson, or even Chloe but to hear someone else refer to me as “Mom” all weekend was just plain cool!So Carson, it's official we're ready when you are!
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