Labor & Delivery Prep Class #2

Eric and I attended our 2nd L&D Prep class last night. It was a little longer than usual but I thought it went well. The first 30 minutes was a video about the stages of labor and then they showed an actual child birth. Eric did really well during the childbirth -- even during the delivery of the placenta. I've heard from several people that the delivery of the placenta is usually not a favorite of the fathers! He didn't even wince -- I was impressed since even I though that was pretty gross.

Next up! Breathing patterns during labor! Basically, we all sat around practicing the different breathing patterns that go with certain stages of labor while the men massaged us. This part of the class was really great! Slow breathing puts you in to a Zombie state (probably not so during ACTUAL labor though) while quick breathing is a little more intense. The massaging portion is ALWAYS good. We did have to give back to the boys though and massage them through a "contraction", after which Eric yelled, "Wait! I think I feel another one coming on!" and the whole class burst out laughing. Gotta love him!

Finally we toured Labor and Delivery!! This was by far my the part of this course I was looking forward to the most. Being a planner I like to get a good look at where I need to go, what I need to expect, and how to get there when it comes to new expiriences. Since I haven't had to stay a night in the hospital since I was born - I was a little nervous about what to expect. But when I saw the lovely facility we'd be cared for in -- I was totally at ease. The labor and delivery room (where I will actually give birth to the wee babe) is very fancy (hard wood floors, granite counter tops, fancy lighting, a bassinet with a jumbo heating lamp for the baby!) It's great -- not surgical at all which is what I thought it might be. Just upstairs is the recovery area where our family will be spending the the post-labor portion of the hospital stay. That is also where the nursery is. As the class was walking through last night the labor and delivery nurses were bringing a "fresh one" to the nursery! Just born! So cute and so angry was this little one.

I think Eric and I did really well in Class #2. Next week they will talk to us about drugs during labor. A very good topic if ya ask me!