Tyler and I started our birth classes on Sunday afternoon before hanging out with good friends for the Super Bowl game - GO SAINTS!
We chose the Bradley Method. It's sort of an "al natural" method that focuses on getting through labor and delivery naturally with the help of coaches (e.g., hubby, doula). You can read more here if you're interested: http://www.bradleybirth.com/.
Our teacher is the perfect mix of funny and serious and she tells lots of good stories. The other 7 couples in the class seem really great, too. We're excited to get to know them better. The classes last 10 weeks. We take two weeks off throughout, so we'll finish them on May 2nd. Hopefully our little lady stays put until then!
At yesterday's class Tyler had to go through a list and check off every way that he's seen me deal with pain in the past. I must say, he nailed me. He guessed right nearly every way that I deal with pain. He also added a category to the list and shared it with the class - "cursing." Lovely, right? Well, I couldn't really disagree!
We also learned some different exercises I can do to put the baby in a better position when I'm uncomfortable and to get ready for/speed labor - the tailor sit, squats, the butterfly, the washing machine, the dryer, and kegels. Tyler and I were the totally uncoordinated couple who spent a good portion of the time laughing about the fact that we couldn't figure out the exercises by looking at the pictures, especially the ones where he had to help out in some way. We're going to do some serious practicing this week so we look like pros next time. A wee bit competitive? Yes.
Some interesting stuff we learned:
1. A woman should eat and drink as much as possible during labor
2. The worst position for a woman in labor is laying down
3. Walking speeds labor as well as pitocin does
Stay tuned!
