Baby classes

We have been very busy attending various childbirth education classes - we've taken Prepared Childbirth/Lamaze, Baby Care Basics (we've got proof, at left, that we "graduated"!), Infant CPR/Child Safety, and in early July, we'll take a Breastfeeding Basics class.

These classes have been rather interesting. We both really like the instructors we've had, and the one we've had for our five-week Prepared Childbirth/Lamaze class has pretty much relaxed the entire class. Patty has a ton of experience in childbirth education, a nursing background and is a doula and certified lactation consultant.

There really hasn't been a question or concern that we've had that she hasn't been able to answer or calm, and she's always invited us to e-mail, call or text her with any questions. She even told us to let her know when we go in to labor, and if she's free, she'll attend the birth as an extra support person, which is awesome. I'm seriously debating taking her up on that. She's very pro-mommy (during our hospital tours, she explained to the guys that the one having contractions is in charge of the thermostat AND the remote control) and insists that anyone visiting us in the hospital needs to come armed with food and gifts. Even some of the smallest, most common-sense things she has mentioned (like knowing how to use the speakerphone function on your cell phone in case you ever have to be on the phone with a 911 operator as you administer CPR to an infant) has made me that much more grateful that she's been our instructor. She has shown us tricks for dealing with early labor, tips on what to expect during transition and filled us in on what to expect immediately after delivery. I went from being terrified about labor and delivery to fascinated and excited (I mean, as excited as one can get about delivery).

And every week, she goes over relaxation techniques and massages, which means Tim has to rub my back for about 20-30 minutes each class while I lie down on a padded mat and breathe deeply :)

During our Baby Care Basics class, we learned all sorts of things about swaddling, bathing, diapering and feeding babies. This is the class where we "learned" how to handle pets in households with new babies, too. But it was a good class, and I'm glad we took it.

Our Infant CPR/Child Safety class scared the bejeezus out of me. (I actually put on my evaluation that my least favorite part of the class was that it scared the crap out of me.) One of the cooler things happened in that class, though - each infant CPR mannequin had a name or code written on the foot. Our "baby" had "Beth" written on her foot, so we felt an extra connection to her :)

We learned a lot of valuable information on CPR, and then we went over a lot of common safety risks - fire, drownings, choking hazards, etc. For a worrier like me, the last thing I needed was a Power Point presentation full of MORE things to worry about. I left the class with my head swimming - things to childproof, calls to make, plans to put in place, etc.

Luckily, by the next day, I had a little more perspective and had calmed down, knowing that the baby will not come out of my womb and stick her finger in to the light socket next to the hospital bed. And then we had our Prepared Childbirth/Lamaze class with Patty that night, and I had the opportunity to freak out a bit more about delivery :) But then we had relaxation and massage, and all was right with the world :)

We had eight classes scheduled, and now we're down to two. I feel much more prepared for this birth and this baby, although (CLEARLY) I'm not completely comfortable with any of it yet. But I know that we've educated ourselves and are going in to this whole push-a-baby-out-take-her-home-and-take-care-of-her thing with more information and resources than we had a month and a half ago.