Is it ok to be excited about Lamaze???

Ok, so....Brian and I had our first lamaze class last night. We walked in, were the only ones there for a few minutes and Brian slouched in his chair looking embarrassed. I kind of chuckled because of course I want him there, but I do feel bad for making him go. So I ask him, "This is funny huh? We even had to pay for this class." He gives me this look as if it was the worst $75.00 ever spent in his lifetime and resumes his slouchy position. As people filter in we realize that there are some strange people that have children. I'm grateful to think I'm not one of them even though you may disagree with that statement. Out of about 8 couples in our class, we are the only ones having a girl and I am the only one due in July and not August. Go figure! It seems like EVERYONE in my ward is having a girl and here I am....the only one. It feels good in a weird way. :)

Ok, tangent for a second. So our teacher, Dani, is a labor and delivery nurse at Utah Valley Hospital. So.....do you think they could have gotten an even skinnier, more beautiful person in the world to teach this class. I already feel like a balloon and her super skinny thighs are making me want to go up and belly flop right on top of them.

Anyway, our teacher, Dani, is great! She thinks just like Brian and me so we both thoroughly enjoyed listening to her talk for 2 and a half hours. We kind of thought it was going to be a lot of weird breathing, but it was a lot of useful information that I love to hear and talk about since I'm pregnant, of course. She wants the purpose of the class to help us be less fearful of childbirth because, of course, "education is knowledge". After telling us stories of what can go wrong, such as: having the umbilical cord drop out of your body and having to shove the baby back up to not pinch of the oxygen while rushing to the hospital, OR getting gestational hypertension aka preeclampsia aka toxemia and having problems, OR if the baby has a bowel movement inside of you....among many other things, all of this has not lead to Brian feeling better. He now is more scared. To get an idea of him, please take the most overly-cautious parent you know and times it by 10. At this point you will have pre-lamaze class Brian. It's worse now. I'm sure it will get better through our remaining 3 weeks of class...right?

Now, I have to share some things I learned (and please don't be offended by my soapbox). So, if your water breaks or you lose your mucous plug, you are not supposed to have a bath at home for any reason because the barrier that keeps bacteria out is now gone. WHY DO PEOPLE HAVE WATER BIRTHS???? Please tell me that. I asked the nurse and she said it was the dumbest thing ever and she can't talk about it because she gets all worked up about it. Yes, that is how I think too. You're asking for infection! Plus, it's not an easier transition for the baby like everyone says. If they are born in water, they will still be sucking air within the next two seconds like they are supposed to. Plus, I think it's disgusting to be soaking in your, shall we call it "birth water". Gross. Second, I asked her why people claim that natural births yield a faster recovery time. All she said was that there is nothing to prove that, and in her experience it is the opposite since you tend to be more relaxed during birth with an epidural and you're usually less likely to tear when you are relaxed. Of course with the proper coaching by your doctor, you will be able to know when and how hard to push to hopefully reduce tearing. Now, I'm not against natural at all. In fact, that is what I'm shooting for, but I am also not against an epidural. I just want all these birthing "myths" dispelled for my own peace of mind because non-researched statements bother me. Plus, I don't know how I'm going to react to labor, so I'll just keep my options open and take it as it comes. Maybe people do recover naturally faster (and that would be great), but I need some research to convince me of that "fact". I think both options are just fine. :)

Well, now it's the day after class and I was all excited about it so I read the entire book that they give you. They tell you to try and read it before the baby is born, so sure.....I did it and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, it's only like 120 pages, but I NEVER......never in my life wanted to read a 120 pages of a textbook...especially in one day! It was a lovely read and now I'm so so so so so excited for July! Recently I had been feeling super scared about having a little person around (super weird feeling for me) and I'm glad that's gone even if it's just for today. Can July please be closer?? 43 days to go...

Anyway, I love class! Even Brian enjoyed it. :)