Labor and Delivery Class

Yesterday we had our Labor and Delivery class. Mr. Man and I went together. It was in the evening from 6pm and 8pm, which meant that Mr. Man had to take some time away from work to get it done. I went back and forth on whether or not we should take the class, but then I found out that they actually tour you around the hospital so the Dads know where to send the Moms when they go in to labor and where all the facilities are. In the end, we decided to go because Mr. Man informed me (by accident) that he did not know where Labor and Delivery was in the hospital.

I thought instead of explaining it to him or showing him one day while we were up there that he should see for himself. The lady that "taught" the class is an amazing doctor up at hospital. I have been very unfortunate that I have not been able to see her, but this class made me want her to delivery our baby. It won't be my choice, unless I have to be induced, but it was still a thought in my mind.

We began the class by watching a labor video. I seriously had no desire to see it, but I guess people should see one. This whole pregnancy I have had no desire to watch a birth. The closest I have come is to what the movies portray, and I am OK with that. Now, I have educated myself to the best of my ability, and I know that not everyone has the same experiences so I am ready in my own way.

At the beginning of the class, the Dads had to massage our hands. The goal was to find out how soft or rough we like to be massaged. Mr. Man is horrible at this. He is such a rough massager. We were giggling the whole time because he was tickling more than anything. Then she was explaining how to do certain types of massages and my husband would be like, "Like this?!" and squeeze or pinch the living daylights out of me. Good thing I have a great sense of humor, too.

Then we had to pull out our "to-go" bags and find one thing in it that we felt was extremely important or something we thought no one else would have. I did not bring my bag because I was the one that decided I was not going to make multiple trips to the car in order to bring in what I needed. Mr. Man and I were driving from 2 different directions, and he was going to be "right on time." I already had to carry up the food that I made, our pillows, drinks, and my purse. I couldn't imagine trying to carry in another 2 bags. Needless to say, I had my notebook that had my list in it, and I used that. There was a lot of interesting things that people decided to bring and showed. There were some that wanted to show off certain items that they had. Others were simple (like me). I did give Mr. Man the right away to tell them about my Wonder Woman undies, but he shyed away from it really fast. *Thank goodness!*

After that, we toured the Labor and Delivery section of the hospital. We discovered that the baby stays in the room even in a situation of an emergency, which I thought was interesting. We were able to view the rooms and see what was available to us. I was pointing things out to Mr. Man and he was surprised to see some of the things in there.

While we were in there, the lady wanted 3 Dad volunteers to demonstrate a labor. Of course, she turns to look for Mr. Man because he had been being such a jokster the whole time. She found me in the crowd of people, but couldn't find my partner. That was funny. But I pointed in his direction and she quickly said, "You! I want you to lie on this bed." Mr. Man was like, "Ummm. Ok!" She pulled another guy and told him to strap him up with the monitors and things. It was the funniest thing ever. I really wish I had my video camera. She left the room, then came back in and asked Mr. Man if he was comfortable. Of course, Mr. Man just stated that he guessed because he had no idea what he was about to do. She stood as his bottom and told him to open for the baby to come out. Mr. Man just gently opened his legs a little, and she said, "I'm not sure how big you think your baby is going to be but she will not fit through there." So Mr. Man threw his legs in the air wide open. *I am giggling as I type this!!* She made the other two guys hold Mr. Man's legs and he had to pretend to have contractions and push. I am telling you, this was beyond hilarious! She made him rotate into different birthing positions, too. She even pulled out the stirrups and sat up the bed. Like I said, I really wish I had a camera. Greatest memory thus far of our pregnancy!

That was basically the end of our tour. She showed the guys were to find things that we needed in the room and what chairs did what in the rooms because there was about 3 different kinds. She explained that they had a DVD/VCR in every room and on and on.

At the beginning of the class the woman asked how many of us where passed 36 weeks. It was only me and another woman, which happens to be Mr. Man and I's mutual friends. She said that almost always one person has to go be seen in Labor and Delivery or goes in to labor during the tour. I knew it wasn't going to be, but I do have to say I can see why. We walked everywhere we went and we had to go to multiple stories, and we climbed the stairs. Did not take the elevator! Many of the Moms were huffing and puffing and wanting to sit all the time. I was excited to get some exercise in because I am trying to stay as active as possible to help progress things along. By the end of the class, Mr. Man went back to work and I came home.

This morning when we woke up, Guess what news we received?! Our friends that were there with us had went into labor last night after they had gotten home and been home for a couple of hours and had their baby girl bright and early this morning! It was amazing to think about, but at the same time guess who's next?! Yikes!  Anyway, they never could find out what they were having because the baby always had its legs crossed or closed during the ultrasounds. They had decided just to wait it out and let it be a mystery baby. They already had a boy and really wanted a girl as this was their last baby. They did have a little girl this morning. Her name is Ava Claire! Pretty amazing to think about.

The Labor and Delivery Class was fun and very educational. But now it's on to the real thing for us. When I had my appointment on Monday, the midwife told us that she thought I would go by 38 weeks. She said the baby was "very low and ready to go." She said I was all baby and could see me getting tired all the time and having lots of pain due to it. I guess the ticker has beyond on when I will actually deliver. People are placing bets on dates at Mr. Man's job. For me, I don't feel like it will be very soon. Although I do know I have been having contractions, but none that intensify or become closer together. We sha'll see what happens in the next few weeks.