the pre-birth class - a lengthy rambling

Phew, I think I need a holiday! :-) We had our pretty compact pre-birth classes during the weekend, and actually it was great, but also tiring. My main concern was that I’d just fall asleep, because we only had last Friday to recover a little from our trip, while Hank was running and we bought groceries and stuff for the weekend. Even though we went to bed rather early and had enough sleep, hubby and I felt tired throughout Saturday. Uhm, well, I felt tired throughout Saturday, hubby just took a shower … and was all new and shiny. 

They were two long afternoons, but the organizer had told us that we were meant to appear in our most comfy clothes. Haha, no difference to my current everyday outfits which I would only wear for doing sports, if it were not for my bump. So, when we went there and entered, I had one picture coming to my mind immediately. It was an oil painting which showed fishermen in a storm, hauling the nets out of the wild ocean. I swear, the scene in the room was like a group of wales, especially since some of the bumpies were sitting/spread on blue yoga mats. I guess the corresponding partners were the fishermen. All in all we were only ten, but half of the participants really looked like much more. :)

Once it started, time flew by, and there was only one moment, during our relaxation exercises, that I was in danger of falling asleep. I would have loved to, because although I sleep better at the moment, sleep has been the major topic for months by now. And maybe I can add back pain, because I get a lot more of it, from the sides of my bump and along the lower back. That was probably another reason why I would not sleep in the course, because I did not always know how to sit and even with me shifting around a lot, I found no way out of the back pain on Saturday. Sunday was easier, maybe because we had had a little more time to readjust to Hamburg again? 

In my return post I had somehow disrespectfully mentioned that we’d learn some ‘serious breathing’ in that course. Weeell, of course we did. The panting-exercises were hilarious, it was pretty much looking like a Maori ritual in some moments, and I am sure the midwife enjoys that every time, when the women start panting. But the breathing exercises were actually one of the shortest units in the course, and if I really reduced the course to panting only, I would be pretty unfair, because we learned so much more, and for us, it was definitely worth the time we spent there. 

Hubby learnt to give me some support when we’ll be in the labor ward. But, apart from doing this course with hubby. I think what I liked best about it was actually that the midwife had plenty of time for our questions, which were pretty different from one woman to the next. I did not ask about the sex-drive, but some questions went into that direction, both ways, higher and lower/non-existent sex-drive. Ha! I am not alone. :) I think some of the questions would have been even more intimate without men present, but some women had less reservations than I had to ask into that direction. LoL, I have no problems to describe all the details of our sex-life here, in my blog, and talking about sex among friends is fine too, but suddenly, in the class which is meant to help us and where it should be most normal to find out about such things, I don’t have the courage.  …  But I got my question answered afterwards, without everybody else listening.

It turned out that hubby and I have done a lot of things just right; basic moderate exercises, relaxing, and my cravings for certain kinds of food are ok, too. Well, I knew that, because I had discussed that so often in the past, but it is always nice to hear it again, isn’t it?

Of course, we also went through everything around giving birth, anesthesia included. I would like to go without, but this is something that might change quickly, if the pain is too much. We’ll see. Oh, and I am glad that there is no dogma about ‘no pain killers’ in our house, because obviously other couples discuss that differently. One woman corrected herself, after saying ‘we don’t want pda’, she changed the wording into ‘I don’t want that’. Well, hubby and I have talked about that, but he made it clear from the start that he would not possibly interfere with my decisions on any form of pain killers while giving birth. I must admit that I am glad that we had no reason to argue about this. Imagine the situation, legs spread wide, doc or midwife between my legs, hubby next to me and we discuss that ‘we’ don’t want the pda, while ‘I’ cannot stand it?! Hmm, no thanks. 

No surprise, pain is a topic that probably most, if not all preggos ponder and this topic came up more than once. Add to this the stories of every mother and you'll have the ideas of giving birth as a wonderful experience and giving birth as the most horrible experience ever. You can add any number of variations. I will find out soon enough, and will get through it when it happens and it does not scare me much. I mean, I am almost week 33 by now and honestly, even though I have enjoyed this pregnancy so much up to now, I have also passed this point by now where I am glad when baby is there and the 'little inconveniences' stop. But this pregnancy is the most positive thing that ever happened to us, too, of course. So, I am most grateful for it and the pain does not bother me much at the moment. Aaaand, mothers, docs and midwives keep saying one thing: if the pain of giving birth was so unbearable, most girls would not do it again. This thought doesn't have to appeal to anybody else, but it sounds great for me. :) Actually, it is not the question of pain, no, I am more afraid of being cut open due to some unexpected complications.

Anyway, we talked about different positions for giving birth, baby care, changing diapers, baby skin care, holding babies, etc., … because once she is there, this might be useful to know about, right? :) And, I was (secretely) cheering myself, because we got taught about kegels, too. I congratulated myself on doing them every single day. Even at the airport, I did them. Too bad I won’t get a medal for that. :) 

Unless there are good reasons not to do it, I want to breastfeed baby. I did not need the class to know that, but the advantages of breastfeeding for baby and for our bonding outweigh any inconvenience that might be part of breastfeeding. -> Leaking is the most visible one that springs to my mind first, because one of my friends had that; even with pads, she was leaking from her breasts and soaked her tops faster than she could change into new ones. 

Hey, this is Monday morning, everybody should have a fresh start :)

I am not the biggest How I met your mother-fan, but I simply love Barney ... and him being awesome

 

Uh oh!

  

I think I am going to start looking for my lost texts again now. I mean the ones which were scheduled to appear during our holiday, but got lost. One of the texts was only about why it never worked out with men before hubby, maybe not really exciting, but in one of the other ‘I quit’-parts I decribed an incident where my former professor had an appearance and that night was really noteworthy and creepy. …. It was a cold winter night … :)

I am still trying to catch up on Smacking Bottom news, and it might still take a while, ... 

 

And I hope you all have a lovely and pleasant start into your weeks!