Last Thursday night we attended our 2nd labor preparation class. I've really begun to look forward to going to these, if not only to have certain fears eased and to become more comfortable with the hospital and the idea that, yes, this really IS going to happen.
The worst pat of class #2 was that we sat in front of Mr. Obnoxious himself. I'm not sure if I mentioned this guy in my last post, but he's just that guy. He's got a one-liner to throw out in response to very nearly everything the nurses who run the classes say. Now, I married Brian Cool-- so clearly I appreciate a sense of humor. Even an obnoxious, over-the-top one. But this guy... he's a whole other story. After the first 5 or 6 outbursts, I was ready to turn around and punch him. It's just overkill... and really, if you have to try that hard to be funny, you should just accept that you aren't funny and deal with it.
So, anyway. The video this week wasn't awful. So far, they've focused more on positioning and the ways women deal with contractions in early labor than on the actual birth-- and this is okay with me. We also talked about true vs. false labor, the different stages of labor, reasons to induce labor and that process, and different positioning techniques for managing pain. To end, we practiced more breathing.
Here's what I left the hospital pondering this week: Pain management. We watch all these videos on positioning--birthing balls, hot tubs, stools, squatting... all these tactics to reduce pain and help labor progress. They all look super awkward, but they're all things I'd love to try when I am at that point. It suddenly hit me though, like a smack in the face, that if I choose to have an epidural I won't get to have this experience... at least not for long. I'm stuck on the idea of this now. Do I want an all natural birth? Not necessarily, but I don't want to rule out the idea of an epidural or pain meds either. All these options are just swirling in my mind. I have no intention of being a superhero, but I guess I don't want to commit to pain management of any kind yet either. My original "plan" was to go as long as I could with no epidural or medication, but we'll see. Hopefully this will be a main topic next week. So much to think about!
These are the stories of our journey as a family -- specifically those of our son, Carter Frederick, who joined us on November 1, 2009 and has provided a non-stop roller coaster ride of emotions and entertainment ever since. We hope his stories entertain you as much as us!
Carter Frederick Cool
4 comments:
It is good to remain flexible, life can throw a curve ball. Maybe you'll have a 4 hour labor and not need pain meds, or you could be induced and be in labor for 22hrs. Best to have all the information so you came make the best choices once you figure out how things will go.
I agree with Becky, I think that it makes sense to be flexible in what you want out of/expect from the birth of your child. If you are able to manage the pain without an epidural, I say go for it, it will allow you to do so many of the "natural" birthing methods -- and you can still use medication (Stadol? Is that what they give to women?) to help alleviate some of the discomfort.
That guy sounds so obnoxious -- he will for sure be the guy who gets punched in teh face by his wife when she's in labor!
great idea to remain flexible. i was not flexible at all. i wanted the epidural like it was nobody's business.....then when the epidural got dislodged, i was freaking out because i thought that my body was not responding to the pain medication. (some people feel pain with the epidural, i think it's rare, but stilla possibility). as soon as i got the 2nd epidural, everything was pain free again....thank god! i don't know what i would have done if that were the case. i def did not prepare myself at all for that option.
i also skipped over the cesarean chapters in the "what to expect when expecting" book. thankfully, that did not happen either. i am pretty good about staying in denial:)
That "guy" Kristeen will be the first one to pass out during the whole birthing process! He was too busy being "smart' and was not paying attention and will end up passing out onto the floor! Brian will be there with you all the way to cut the cord for his son! mom
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