Holy Smokes! Last night’s class got interesting! From the empathy belly to the videos everyone warns you about, we realized last week she was just easing us into all of this. This week, however, she laid all the cards on the table.
We managed to stroll in early b/c we didn’t forget anything this week. Nice! It was weird because the class size was considerably smaller than the week before. Boy it's a shame because this week was kicked off by Jer in an empathy belly. It was quite a sight! Cheryl our nurse and instructor, filled the belly with 2 five pound weights, a hot water bottle, and a sand bag to add weight. Total weight is around 35pounds. Jer was such a good sport. She wrapped a hospital gown around him and made him stand there and sweat as she explained to him what his partner is more than likely going through. Before he was relieved of the body suit, she had us stand belly to belly for a picture. It was a priceless! There he stood, the only guy in the room who would try on the empathy belly. See below for a picture. Bare with us, it's a polaroid the instructor had at the class! But it’s still a classic!
After the hilarity was over, we got a slideshow reviewing the stages of labor and other pertinent information. Some was new and some was from the week before. There was a lot of info, but I feel like a lot of it is slowly sinking in. We learned about what contractions feel like, what to expect as labor progresses, how far along they want you to be when they give you an epidural. She also informed each of us that we should have our hospital bag packed. OMG! Already? I about fell out of my chair. But I guess I need to realize it is closer than we think! After the slideshow we watched a 45 minute video of 3 different deliveries. The deliveries were all different with different women. These videos were much more graphic than the week before. I was so proud because Jer made it through all three without a problem. It’s not something either of us had a blast watching, but I think it gave us a better idea of what to expect!
After the video we did some more breathing techniques. Jer helped me with timing a few contractions. We messed up a few and I was getting kicked during a few…which she said is a great way to learn to concentrate on what we're doing. I don’t know if we have it down…and I don’t know if all of the techniques will help me through…but something to focus on is the most important part. After breathing, we got a full demonstration of push positions and all the variations of things that the nurses will do to try to help you while you’re pushing. It was hard not to laugh…luckily we weren’t the only ones. It didn’t help that one lady told a story about throwing up while she was pushing…and the doctor literally had to catch the baby. So the nurses tip was…If you’re gonna throw up during labor, do it during a contraction, while you’re pushing. Thanks for that. I’ll make sure to work on it!
My favorite part of the night was when we got home and Jer talked to me about the whole throwing up during labor thing. Knowing me, I might puke a time or two. He then proceeded to reenact the scene from Four Christmases where Reese Witherspoon gets puked on and Vince Vaughn runs around saying “You have to get away from me. I’m gonna do it too. I’m gonna do it too!” What a night…
2 comments:
Jer looks like a somo wrestler!
LOL! It was so funny! He was such a good sport. I can't believe not one other person in the room was willing to try that thing on...ok...well I can. But still!
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