3 Jan 2004 - 10:39pm - First Childbirth Class!

Today is exactly 50 days until our little JAM is due to arrive. And 865 days since we've been married. How time flies!

Time is ever slipping away from me. I've been both so busy and too tired, it feels, to keep up with it all. Had a bit of a bad day yesterday, in that I hit my pain tolerance, but my adorable husband helped me through it. I slept wonderfully, if not enough at all, due to his rubbing of all my aches and pains.

He's the perfect "Labor Partner," too (a reference to our chidlbirth class), already... constantly telling me how well I'm doing through the pregnancy. He noted that as much as I may comment on my aches and pains, I never really complain about it, and that I'm always so cheerful about the baby. So he told me it was perfectly reasonable to feel cranky and tired and rather "done!" yesterday... but I just wanted a good block of time where my back or ribs or lower abdomen didn't hurt at all. So he put me to bed with a good back rubbing, and I woke up this morning not feeling achy at all. That changed, of course, once I got up, but at least for a little bit I didn't feel like my muscles were all screaming in protest. Even the baby was kind to me last night, and let me sleep through most of the night without waking me every few hours! ;)

This morning was our first Childbirth Class. Woohoo!! Makes it all seem so much more real, so much more imminent. I mean, the hugely active child in my womb tells me that all the time, but practicing breathing techniques and pretending to have contractions brings a certain sense of imminent reality to the entire process.

We had a good first class, and our instructor, Ann, was great. She was very open and honest about everything, and didn't try to "kid" you about what was going to happen.

"I'm going to tell you right off the bat that all of these breathing exercises and other techniques I'm going to teach you are not actually going to do anything for the pain. They're just a distraction to help you cope with it."

She went over what happens in labor in detail, and we watched a short video that went over the development of the baby in utero. We talked about the Labor Partner's role in helping the mother through the labor process, and went over in brief the various breathing techniques. Then we practiced the slow breathing exercise you should do during the first stage of labor (the 'famous' fast lamaze breathing is really only intended for active labor) before the class was over. In future classes, we'll tour the maternity ward, discuss in more depth other ways of dealing with labor pain (such as hydrotherapy... mmmm, jacuzzis!), different breathing techniques, and more.

I love my husband dearly. When we practiced breathing, we were told to pick a focus - a focal point. Most people opted for posters or something far away. But I knew that when I was actually in labor, John would be the one I used for my focal point - he is, after all, the focus of so much in my life. And focusing on him always helps me feel better. So I caught his eyes with my own and held on as we went through the roleplay of having a contraction... and I saw my husband's eyes swell with tears. And instantly my own responded, and I suddenly had difficulty following through with the practice. I couldn't keep the happy grin off my face.