Babies, breathing, and hospital rooms

Our first childbirth/prenatal class is over. It was better than expected though equally unnerving. We were one of twelve or thirteen other couples, all fairly close in pregnancy progression. The class lasted 2 1/2 hours. Luckily snacks were provided! :)

The first hour was fairly boring as the lady leading it just talked about pregnancy advice and concerns which would have been great were I not already 30 weeks preggo and already familiar with everything. :)

After a quick break, we were taken on a tour of the childbirth center. That was very cool! They have two family areas to have people sit and wait. They have two OR rooms for C-sections. The private rooms where you labor and stay are pretty nice by hospital standards. They're warmer in color, come equipped with a two person hot tub for labor help, and bed/window seat for the spouse/partner should they stay. The baby stays in the room with you the whole time as well, assuming there aren't any complications. Pretty swanky.

Hospitals in general make me feel slightly uneasy. No matter the veneer, it's always very clinical and odd underneath. Thank goodness Craig is comfortable in a hospital setting as his mom's a nurse and he's been injured and/or sick and admitted a not insignificant amount of times. He's also an incredibly supportive husband who deals well with my unease. He'll be an awesome support person!

After the tour we watched a portion of a video showing two different women giving birth. Actually giving birth. One was completely natural and the other had painkillers but not an epidural. It was alternatingly horrifying and fascinating. Had I been in my own home, I would have cried (like a baby, in fact) each time the child was born. It was an amazing sight, tempered only by the fact that a tiny voice in the back of my head was crying out, "Pain! Lots of pain and that's going to be you in just a short time!" hehe

We ended the first class with some breathing exercises. I don't expect to remember all of it and be so calm during the actual labor and delivery but it was nice to have done something to draw upon when the time comes. I'm the kind of person who needs those reference points, if only to decide they don't work for me.

I'm looking forward to our next class and to learning a bit more. I'm REALLY looking forward to actually giving birth to our little girl and finally meeting her. Given her insistent kicking and rolling over, especially when my posture's not so hot, gives me reason to think she's a bit of a firebrand! :)