This past weekend we had our birth class. The class went from 9am till 3:30pm with an hour lunch. (For lunch we went to the Cheesecake factory where I had an amazing macaroni and cheese burger.) The woman teaching the childbirth class was pretty charismatic and although my poor tailbone was in pain by the end of the class, I am glad we went. We had to watch 4 birth videos that were probably from the early 90s. We learned basics on labor, how long to labor at home (rule of 45: Call when contractions are 4-5 mins apart, lasting for 45 seconds, and have been like that consistently for 45 mins) and we learned about our pain management options. We were also told how to write up a birth plan. I was shocked how baby friendly the hospital was. Dads have unlimited access to the baby, the baby can stay with you in the room if you want, or go to the nursery if you need sleep. They are very pro-breastfeeding which is good, and they don't try to force you to get an episiotomy. Moms are allowed to labor in the shower or jacuzzi and they have a 1 to 1 patient/nurse ratio. Another nice thing is that the hospital has you stay for 2 days after the baby is born, 4 days if you have a c-section.
The instructor told us that she has had 6 children; 3 naturally and 3 with an epidural. She also told us that fear increases pain, makes your body tense and makes labor last longer (average labor lasts 14 hours). We went over coping skills, breathing skills (which I probably will NOT remember while in labor) and how important a support system is. I wish she had been our hospital tour guide. Her talking over the process really helped me relax about going to the hospital. Other hospital perks include free TV, free meals (for mom only), free parking (for 1 car) and free valet parking for when I am in labor.
This past weekend, Steve got the baby room looking more like a baby room. He did such a great job of refinishing the changing table/dresser. He
still has the bottom trim to do, and one cabinet door (or we may leave
it open.... still deciding).Steve also painted the closet.... then I had him repaint the closet. The first time it stunk, and was the wrong shade of white. The second time it looked awesome BUT the smell was so bad (worse than before). We had the window open so he didn't understand why it was so bad. Turns out that when we went to go for a walk, we looked up and noticed that the storm window was still down. Once we opened that up and put in a window fan, the place aired out nicely. Our plan now is to get handles for the dresser/changing table, shelving for the closet, a side table for next to the glider, a lamp, light for the closet, and some pictures on the walls (and possibly cover the glider with better fabric). His room is going to look better than ours :).
Symptoms: This past week has been a bit uncomfortable. I haven't had leg cramps (yey!) but I have had random bouts of heartburn, acid reflux and strong braxton hicks. I have been also wiped out and have been taking naps a lot. Sleeping has been on and off. I can't seem to get comfortable. I get too hot, then too cold. Baby will wake me up and then since I am awake, Steve's snoring or the cat keep me up.
I also had a random nosebleed yesterday (not sure if that's related). Baby is running out of space and so I feel out of breath more. Yesterday, driving was the most uncomfortable it has been. He was pushed up on my lungs and so I couldn't catch my breath. My belly and back was starting to feel so tight and swollen, I felt like I was in a straight jacket. It was a very very strange feeling. As soon as I laid down, I was better. I can also tell that my emotions are all out of whack. Yesterday I was feeling very needy, very sad and wanted to cry at the drop of a pin. But I have an awesome husband who washed all the dishes, started dinner (I finished it because after feeling helpless, I kicked him out of the kitchen) and rubbed my back.
Here is a belly shot for 33 weeks!
