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But we're keeping our fingers (and legs) crossed for a March debut! But, if you come in February, we won't think you're any less cool!
We celebrated the beginning of your Ninth month in a classroom in the basement of the hospital in which you'll be born.
It sounds boring, I know. But it was anything but boring!
Your mother and I learned so many cool things about labor and pain management and delivery and what happens next!
There's a lot to learn here, dude!
Your mom and I learned some breathing techniques to promote calm (but none of the hee-hee-hee-hooooooo lamaze stuff you see in the movies), I was taught a couple very simple massage techniques (one using a pool noodle) to help your Mom's back, your Mom learned a couple stretches and exercises to help lull you into the right position and loosen her hips. We learned about the magical uterus!
We learned all about different ways to cope with the pain, fear and anxiety about labor. There are tons of things the partner (me) can do to help your Mom work through early labor before we get to the hospital.
Apparently joke-telling isn't one of them.
The teacher had all the women in the class put a clothes pin on the most-sensitive part of their ear and keep it there for one minute. The partners weren't allowed to interact with them at all. The clothes pins stayed on for one minute.
Then we tried the experiment again, but this time, the partners could interact. So we held hands, I played with her hair, did some shoulder massage and told some really awesome jokes.
Your Mom initially thought that she preferred the version Without me! Because, apparently, I was annoying. But, then she learned that the second clothes-pin-on-ear segment lasted for TWO minutes! And she thought it had gone by as fast- if not faster- as the first one.
Turns out I'm not completely useless (much to our collective dismay!).
But, I learned a lot of obvious things too: don't argue with Holly during labor; don't tell her to do things she's already doing (breathe!); don't ask her stupid questions (apparently there are such things!), and don't tell jokes just because I'm nervous. But, I can still be funny if the moment calls for it. I think it was foolish to leave it up to me to determine when that moment may be!
We learned alot about Drugs. Most of our lives they teach us to "Just Say No" to Drugs. But for pregnant women, there are several options to help manage the pain of labor. One is a Narcotic (called an Analgesic) one is an Epidural (which sends pain medicine directly into an area in the spinal column). Before this class your Mom was thinking of being completely drugged up the entire time. She was operating under the axiom that, with today's technology, a woman doesn't need to feel any pain in the labor and delivery.
And that's true! The epidural can be administered so well that the Mother can't even feel contractions. She has to put her hands on her belly to physically feel for them to know when to push!
After seeing these videos and learning more about the options, your Mom has changed her mind. She wants to try to go as long as possible without the drugs. In effect, she wants to feel some of the pain! But, when she's no longer satisfied with her ability to cope, she'll get the druggy druggy drugs.
But her philosophy on the pain management has changed. Your Mom's idea is that a woman shouldn't have to feel any pain that she doesn't want to feel!
At the end of the class, we got on a tour of the facility to see where you will actually be born! We saw the Labor and Delivery rooms (we're definitely requesting one with a jacuzzi in it!) and our Private Room where you, me and your Mom will stay for about 48 hours after your birth.
We also got to peek into the nursery and see two newborn baby girls. They were under an hour or so old, and way bigger than I thought they'd be. Or way bigger than I thought you will be! It's still amazing that a creature that size is inside your Mom's womb right now!
It's even more amazing to think in about 4 weeks we will all be back at that hospital, in those rooms and finally, you will be here!
I watched a little animation at the end of this blog that shows how much you've grown (from a poppyseed or smaller to a watermelon). I must admit, though I didn't cry or get teary eyed, I knew at that moment that when you arrive, I'm most likely going to cry. This was re-confirmed for me while we were sitting in the Private Post-Birth Recovery room where the new family of three will be reunited for the first time. I daydreamed about you, me and your Mom sitting there together. And I knew, again, that I'm going to be so happy to see you, to finally meet you, that -yup-there will be some old fashioned waterworks going on.
But, hopefully I don't cry like a baby. Because, at that point, you'll officially be a baby- instead of a fetus- and crying like one will officially be your job!
Oh, and for the record, I didn't last for 15 seconds with the clothes pin on my ear.
