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.
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