Lamaze Class #5

Last night we got a tour of the hospital rooms where we are going to give birth in. It was pretty surreal to see, knowing that I will be there in a few short weeks. The weeks are going by so fast. Our teacher was showing us how to move the bed to get the help of gravity during labor for a faster delivery. I hope it works! I kept telling Brandon this will be us in few weeks, and we will be here for many hours and hours so he better pack his bag too. We checked out the electronic stuff so we know what to bring with us to keep us entertained.

We watched a movie about babies. It's amazing how smart and alert that babies are when they are just born. Just 20 min after being a born once placed on the mom's belly they can actually inch there way up to get breastfed. They can smell there food-aka mom. They recognized the voices of mom and dad. They like high pitched sounds. They can imitate some facial expressions (opening the month wide, sticking your tongue out, and frowning). They can even reach for your face for the first 2 weeks and then they stop and won't do that until 2-3 months old.

The "mom's" got in a circle while the "dad's" listened and our teacher asked each"mom" what we needed our husbands to do while in labor. Here are some of those response:

• Help with the breathing patterns/techniques
• Be there, never leave her side (he can't even leave to go to the bathroom-poor guy)
• Doesn't want to be under minded by her husband
• Doesn't want the husband to take things personally when she is in labor (she might say mean things)
• To be with the baby if mom is busy
• Make sure everyone knows the birth plan
• Communication! Communication!

Some of the things the "dad's" wanted were:

• Communication! Communication!
• Make sure they know what specifically is needed (ice, massage, etc)
• Know that it's just as a big day for him as it is for her
• Willing to help, just needs to be told what to do

It sounded like a lot of the "dad's" were getting pushed by the way side, bye their wife. Sounds like the wife said it's all about me, me, me! It has made me open my eyes to make sure that I'm not doing that to Brandon. It's just as big of a day for him as it is for me. 8 weeks to go!

*Still no name for our little girl, the crib is still wrapped up in plastic, and we need to go register. So many things to do and so little time.