Birthing Class

Saturday Mike & I had our "marathon" birthing class from 9am-5pm. It was a very informative class, and Mike & I got a lot out of it. The first half of the day was all about the technical stuff- signs of labor, signs of false labor, things that are normal/not normal, vaginal births (video included), epidurals, inductions, and things like that. After lunch we talked about c-sections, childcare, we had a virtual tour of the hospital, and a Doula came in to teach us about what a Doula is and does, and techniques for relaxation. We really learned a lot about the labor process, and different stages of labor. After talking about inductions, we have decided that we are not going to be induced UNLESS it is MEDICALLY necessary. There really isn't any other good reason to have one. You are basically forcing your body and baby to do something that they are not ready for, which usually results in a longer, stronger labor, and usually ends in a c-section. Now- this isn't always the case, but your chances of it being that way are higher than it not being that way. I am not just going to have an induction because it is convenient for me or my doctor! They also talked a lot about epidurals, and actually after seeing the video, I am not that scared anymore about getting one. With that said- the doctor will not give you an epidural until you are at least 3cm dilated, some doctors wait until you are 4cm dilated, and you can't have one after 8cm dilated, because you need to be able to feel the pressure in order to push effectively. With that being said- unless the pain is unbearable, I would like to wait as long as I can to get an epidural, because I don't want to be confined to my bed. They say that you feel 10 times worse when you are just lying on your back. Granted, the epidural will alleviate the pain, but it can also slow down the labor process. If you wait on getting the epidural, you can walk around or sit on the birthing ball- you can work the baby down and have a shorter labor process. This is the only time you will like gravity! If I just get the epidural as soon as my doctor allows, and then just lay on my back and wait, I may be there a long time! Again, this isn't always the case, but they were just giving us the statistics, and what they have seen in their experiences as L&D nurses. Now again, there are NO guarantees with how my labor will go, and like they said in the class, my baby hasn't read my "birthing plan", he is going to do what he wants, but we can now go in with more knowledge than we had before, and be able to make the decisions that work best for us. (Well, me, since I am the one birthing the child!)

Family & Friends:
When I am around 38-40 weeks and very miserable, please remind me I DON'T want to be induced unless MEDICALLY necessary, and when I arrive at the hospital begging for the epidural, and throwing the birthing ball at my nurse- please remind me that I want to wait as long as possible to get the epidural! HA

I can't wait to see all my friends & family at my shower on Saturday! If anyone needs directions to my Mom's, let me or Whitney know!