Childbirth – My Body Is Going To Do WHAT?!
Posted by Darcy •
August 18, 2010 •
Medical & Educational ,Preparation For New Baby ,Third Trimester •
2 Comments
Last weekend we had our childbirth class. It was a couple hours long on Friday night and then about 3ish more hours on Saturday morning. I kinda liked it that way rather than going for an hour or two once a week for 6 weeks… that’s just too much.
The class was held at the hospital I’m going to be delivering at and run by a pediatric nurse who has 2 children that she delivered there. As a sidenote, I thought it was great that one of her labors ended up needing to use an epidural while the other was all natural. It felt like she had a great handle on the information she was sharing.
There were a few things I noticed while in class… every woman really carries differently and it is difficult to tell how far along they are. We did introductions which included how far along we were. I was one of the “earliest.” I was a little surprised by a couple people with how far they were… I wouldn’t want to wait until after 32 weeks to take a childbirth class!
I also must just be having a very hot pregnancy. I was the only one that didn’t bring along a hoodie or long sleeve shirt. All of them ended up wearing them at one point or another (or wrapped up in their throw blanket). I was never cold in either of the rooms we were in for class!
I also felt like the most emotional one in the class. Sure, I couldn’t see everyone’s face at all times or exam their eyes… but just the very fact that we were in class got me a little misty as it started. Babygirl’s arrival is getting closer and there was something so real and final about childbirth class. Also, I wasn’t sickened by the birth videos. Instead, I was fighting back tears – I was very touched by the moment of birth and baby being placed on Mom’s chest. Goodness, I’m getting a little watery just thinking about getting to experience that first introduction to our baby!
I’ve also decided that childbirth is the most disgustingly beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
I’m very amazed at the entire process and what my body is capable of doing. However, the actual birth is a bit messy looking… with a beautiful result. So, I think the process is beautiful and a miracle, but I don’t literally think it LOOKS beautiful as it occurs. While I did not get queasy at the videos, I won’t be asking for a mirror to witness her exit myself. Just give her to me right away!
Another thing I’ve discovered and am putting a lot of thought into…. medication options. Originally, I was planning on an epidural as long as it could be administered. I’ve stayed open minded about such things and wasn’t going to COUNT on it… just in case. But now… now I’m thinking I just want to go all natural. I mean, I have a pretty low threshold for pain, but I didn’t realize how restricted my movements would be with the epidural. I want to be able to walk, get in the shower, sit on the birthing ball, etc. With an epidural, I have to have monitors on constantly, be hooked up to an IV, and restricted to the bed…. needing help to move side to side, maybe semi-sitting up. Oh and a catheter…
Yep, I’m leaning towards all natural now unless I’m laboring hard and long and it’s recommended to try something different. I know I do NOT want analgesics since that does enter baby’s bloodstream. One of the biggest sells of natural childbirth for me though? Having the best results for establishing breastfeeding and starting within an hour of birth. Sure, it can still be attempted with use of medications and women have been successful… but I want the BEST possible conditions for doing it and it seems natural is the way to go. Let’s hope I can handle it… those clothespins were quite painful on my pinky fingers during our practice contractions…..
Oh! The cool thing on Friday night was hearing the baby lullaby chime that is played throughout the hospital every time a baby is born. We heard it 5 times that first night! (Yes, I got misty eyed by that too…) So 5 babies were born on Friday the 13th. None were born while we were in class the next morning.
The tour was awesome – I’m really liking the options and so forth at this hospital. The rooms are really nice and quite homey.
Tags: class, Delivery, Emotions, Epidural, First Time Mom FTM, Labor, Natural childbirth, Thoughts
Hunny I have what I consider a low threshold for pain. I need to go to the Dentist and I’m going to a specialist so they can knock me out!! I can’t allow a Dentist ANYWHERE near me if I am awake.
I’m ok with needles now a days, but I used to burst into tears at the mere thought of a needle. I’m a wuss.
I’ve had two completely natural childbirths and any future will be the same. I’m not gonna lie, it hurts like hell. The first time round I didn’t know how bad it was going to get. Each time it got more painful, I thought “this is as bad as it will get” so just kept pushing through. By the time I even remembered I could have the happy gas, they were stitching me up.
2nd time round I was a little more aware, but you’ve read my birth story with that one. I did consider pain relief, but didn’t need it.
Only advice I can give you is to sit on the toilet!! LOL. I found sitting on the toilet HALVED the pain of contractions and made them completely bearable. Some hospitals also have a seat that is shaped like a toilet that you can birth on. If you have the option to get in a bath, I’ve heard that really helps… same with shower.
If you can manage it, squatting and all fours also really helps. Basically you want to get any counter-pressure off your whoo-haa. Sitting on the ball was really painful for me as it was that counter pressure. Anything that lets your girlie bits have loose is really good.
I’ve never wanted any pain killers. I’ve heard nasty stories about side effects (especially the peth needle), and it does affect bubs. I’ve had two extremely alert little babies because of no pain relief, have been able to hold them instantly and they’ve both taken to breastfeeding right off the bat.
P.S. No idea what the clothespins things are (I never attented a child birth class lol), but you really can’t prepare for contractions. Closest thing would be eating copious amounts of laxatives (which you can’t being pregnant so don’t even think about it!) and seeing how you do with that lol…Velcro_Monkey
I didn’t get a chance to peek at the seat they have in the shower, but I think it might have a hole in it. “The Commode” is one of the positions on my sheet from class! haha
I think I’ll try the shower, not sure about the tub but both have been ok’ed by my OB. I’ll be draggin’ around a damn IV pole though due to the diabetes, but at least I’ll be able to still move around.
Hopefully everything will go as close as possible to my ideal plan. *fingers crossed*
As for the clothespins… that was for when she’d count out a contraction while we practiced even deep breathing and various positions… put the clothespins on your pinkies at the start to give an example of how the breathing can divert your attention to the pain. Certainly not equal to how a contraction feels. You could also put them on your ears.
I used the clothespins once. The longer they stay on, the more painful they are. I was uncomfortable but could handle it during the breathing exercise. It was at the end when they could come off that I couldn’t get hubby to take them off fast enough. I also didn’t like the major indentations they left in my little fingers so I skipped them for the rest of the exercises and just focused on breathing and positions.Syrana