Birthing Class

I'll be 30 weeks on Monday, so with only ten weeks to go it's a good thing we attended our first birthing class last night. Due to J's travel schedule, we had to sign up for a class at a different hospital than the one where I'll actually deliver, but from what I can tell it was a good choice.

The class is taught by a midwife who practices here in Portland, so even though we'll go over all the possible scenarios (medications, interventions, etc.) that could occur, her focus is on the natural birthing process and being prepared. Since I've already done a good bit of reading, most of the things we covered in class were a review. However, I think J was really happy to learn about the mechanics and stages of the whole process. At one point during class he turned to me and said "this is pretty amazing." I'd never really thought about it before, but it is pretty amazing that my body and the baby know exactly what to do when the time comes.

We both also learned a little something about each other last night. Each of us had not given the other nearly enough credit when thinking about how we'd deal with pregnancy and birth. J was nervous that pregnancy for me would be a horrendous experience; that I would be grumpy for nine straight months. We both agree that the opposite is the case. My pregnancy has been pretty relaxed and actually kind of fun (after the whole morning sickness bit).

I on the other hand have been nervous from day one about how J will handle the birthing process, which made me really really anxious when the midwife turned on the birthing videos last night. Once again, we were proven wrong. Instead of inducing anxiety and fear, the videos actually made him feel a lot more empowered after seeing dads that were very much a part of the labor and childbirth process. Finally, something he can relate to in a world of womanly unknowns -- being a good support person, literally a pillar.

This morning he asked me to highlight a few chapters in the books I've been reading and we're both looking forward to going to the next classes. By the time Baby G decides to make an appearance, I think we're going to be as prepared as one can be for all of the unknown possibilities!