"Childbirth Preparation Class" No. 2

Too many drives to Minneapolis this week (and next week too!). But at least this time we didn't have to pay for parking! After 6pm they stop monitoring the meters, and since class started at 6pm (and since we were a couple minutes late), we didn't have to pay when we parked on the street.

It seemed like there were fewer people at class this week, but we sat in the front this time, and I didn't turn around much to look behind me.

This week Katy talked about pushing, and how you're supposed to "push like your pooping." Since when you are pushing, you will have a nurse in with you the whole time encouraging you and guiding you, she wouldn't go into a whole lot of detail. But she showed us a couple more videos.

We also talked about back labor, and how it is most common when your baby is "sunny side up" or OP (basically facing your front instead of facing your back or spine). She mentioned a website, where they talk about how you can try to get your baby into that ideal position where baby is facing your back. She said a lot of it has to do with posture. Women used to be on their hands & knees scrubbing floors and doing chores and what-not, but today we sit slumped back in a computer desk chair (which I am currently not slumped back! :) ). That position encourages babies to be in that "sunny side up" position.

Then we learned about medications and pain relief. She gave us a chart to look at with our partners, and decide where each of us were on the pain med scale. Adam was more on the +3 of using drugs, whereas I was more on the - 3 side (I want to try without, but if I need it, I'll use it). But since I still haven't found any drug that does not have any chance of affecting baby's heart rate at all, I moved myself more to the -5 (I won't use it). Katy suggested I ask the doctor at one of my appointments if there were any options for me.

Class went about two or three minutes past 9pm, so when Katy said, "If you want to leave you can, or you can stay and ask me any questions," Adam booked it for the door, since he had to work early in the morning.