Childbirth class

We had our childbirth class today, and it was awesome. First she talked about anatomy, explaining a lot of third trimester symptoms by simply pointing at the differences in a cross-section of a pre-pregnant body compared to a third trimester body... it made a whole lot of sense. DH was enthralled at this section. He asked a bunch of questions, and passed his "pop quiz" in front of the class with flying colors by pointing to the lungs on both charts. :)

Then she talked about the stages of labor, and different types of pain management. That was enlightening - I hadn't really thought a whole lot about it other than assuming I'd get an epidural. I still think I will, but I might actually try the narcotic route first. We'll see - I am going to try to just take it as it comes.

Then we had lunch at this great burger place right next to where the class was. MMMM... cheddar bacon ranch burger...

Anyway, after lunch (not sure why she ordered it this way) we watched videos of three different births - one medication-free, one on IV medication, and one with a C-section after 30 hours of labor in the hospital. These were a little bit scary, but enlightening. I almost cried every single time the babies were born. Then DH would crack a joke. I love that man.

We wrapped up the day with a few relaxation techniques. I LOVED this part. I wish we'd spent more time on it. I would have stayed another couple of hours. We tried the birthing ball, which I thought was awesome, but we also used these "back jack" chairs (floor chairs): DH sat in the chair, legs open, and I sat in between his legs leaning into him with a pillow on my lower back. AHHH... it was the perfect angle, and sooo nice to have him right there to massage my arms, neck, head, etc. We almost bought one of those chairs right there, but the only color they had was purple, and DH wasn't so into that. :)

Anyway, overall it was awesome. My husband was amazing. He asked so many questions and learned so much. He wasn't there just to sit by me and support me - though he was doing that too - he was actively taking part. And I think he left with a great appreciation for what I will be doing in a few short weeks. He immediately wanted to come up with a birth plan, to figure out the things that help me relax and make them happen. I think it did freak him out a little bit, but he was also excited.

The downside was they had us sitting in chairs all day. It was 7 hours! My back was killing me by the end. Luckily I got to hang on to a birthing ball for awhile - that helped a bit - and at the end, in those floor chairs, it was much better. But I still had to come home and hit the couch for a bit. It probably didn't help that I didn't sleep well last night. All of a sudden in the last couple of days my body has realized it's in the third trimester of pregnancy - the swelling, the back pain, and most noticeably when I sleep, the leg cramps. I woke up this morning yelling in pain. My calf muscle was so tight I couldn't even move my foot at all. DH had to push it up for me to get it to stretch out. I have been getting leg cramps for awhile, but I've mostly been sleeping through them (I only know because I vaguely remember them, or I've dreamed about them). This one was a big daddy of leg cramps. Oh the joys. I can see that after several more weeks of this I'm really going to be ready to be those women in the videos.