6 hours

Yesterday we were supposed to have 6 hours of birthing class (with another 6 next Sunday). We had mixed feelings about going to it. I was both eager to make sure I have all the information and practice techniques I need to make it a healthy & happy birth, but wasn't all that thrilled with spending an entire Sunday afternoon and into the evening with a teacher who might be annoying, cheesy or downright boring. Tim was thinking that perhaps we could just watch some videos at home and get all the information- since he's trying to get the shed done an entire afternoon with a room full of people (he is probably the most anti-organized-group events person I know) he was almost dreading it and we ended up having a light bantering about going or not- with me finally saying with a laugh that I am sure he didn't want me to tell his mom that he didn't go with me...so he went...and it was...fine...even great!
First thing in the class's favor- it's held at a local church instead of a hospital (no way I am getting Tim to a hospital until this baby is practically crowning!); second, the teacher- Megan- was old enough to have validity but young enough to be fun and easygoing...she was a labor and delivery nurse for years, now working in fertility, has two children of her own and has been teaching this class for 4 years. And lastly, we got out an hour and a half early.
Also, no videos of gory births or even non-gory births- so that was great. The other 8 couples were low-key with none dominating the time with vast number of picky questions or overly strong controversial opinions. What was amusing was that of the 9 of us couples 3 had some of tallest women you've ever seen congregated in that small of a gathering. They were all easily over 6 feet tall. I felt downright petite.

Things we learned:

• If my water breaks at home tell the midwife- Time, Amount, Color, Odor
  
• go to the hospital at 511- contractions every 5 minutes lasting one minute each that have been going at that rate for one hour
• How to tell the difference between false labor and real labor- false will go away if you empty your bladder, drink a huge glass of water to make sure you aren't dehydrated, and change positions
• The different stages of labor and what to expect- how to deal with them, including massage techniques for Tim to do to me to help me relax and distract me from the pain, breathing techniques and when to do them (Tim actually made sure I drew the diagram for him and then added his own notes to it so I am expecting lots of coaching from him regarding the breathing)
• The risks and benefits of pain relief with most time spent on epidurals. I thought before I didn't want one and now I KNOW I do not want one. The negatives I had associated with them were that first, you get a huge needle in your back and second, it can slow down your labor and lead to further interventions (like pitocin, etc). However, Megan let us know that for some people they don't even work or just work on half your body (her first worked great, her second the anesthesiologist tried 4 times and never got it to work), that 25% of women have lasting tenderness at the sight for a least a while and some have it for life (!), and that 50% of women who get epidurals end up getting c-sections. That along with the big piece of tape down your back they use to keep it in place sounds like a nightmare in waiting for me since I react to adhesive. So going natural it is for me!
• How to self-induce labor: sex, evening primrose oil, eggplant (mentioned but she was more joking than anything, apparently there is an Italian restaurant somewhere in Atlanta that will refund your money if you eat their eggplant Parmesan and go into labor within 48hours), ankle massage, Castor oil (much groaning at the mention of this), and there might be another that I am forgetting I'll need to look back over my notes.
• What to expect during delivery, right after delivery for both mom and baby and basic hospital rules (like that babies must be wheeled in their bassinets in the hallways, never carried...something to do with child-abductions).
• And a whole lot more

Next week is only supposed to last 3.5 hours- going over newborn care, breastfeeding, and something else I am forgetting. It was good enough this week that I don't think Tim or I will have any issue going.

Another 6 hours to be happy about is that last night I slept straight through from about 10:30 to 4:30! I really can't remember the last time I got a solid 6 hours- it was wonderful. I think it helped that I ate a half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at 9:30 since I think part of the reason I am sleeping poorly is because I am getting hungry at night. This morning after waking up at 4:30 to use the bathroom I couldn't get back to sleep b/c I was hungry and finally got up at 5 and drank a glass of milk...but that blissful 6 hours of sleep was apparently restful enough that I couldn't really get back to sleep so I thought about how I am going to sew some flannel baby wipes, pee pee teepees, changing pad liners and how I will organize the various sizes of clothing so that I can easily change them out as the baby grows...finally falling asleep around 6:30.
Tim is in Philly tonight as he has a presentation tomorrow- so I'll be getting out the sewing machine tonight.