As promised: "Baby Boot Camp Debrief"

In short, I can honestly say that as of today, Jan 26th, 2009, Chuck and I are much more prepared for baby birthing and baby care than we were on Friday, Jan 23rd. Mission Accomplished.

For those first time expectant parents out there, I highly recommend attending these classes. I'll be honest-I've had this strategy all along that I would become as knowledgeable as possible about caring for a baby, etc versus becoming very knowledgeable about the labor and delivery part.

Reasons?

#1-I tend to obsess, so lacking the knowledge of all of the "what if" scenarios related to the delivery process is probably healthier for me. I figured that this could be Chuck's territory. And, yes, one of his prized Christmas presents of '08 was the book: The Birth Partner. (And, yes, I know the rule of underlining book titles--for some reason, my blog layout won't let me accomplish this. So, calm down, Mrs Roe, I remember everything you taught me.) Anyway-Chuck is reading about the labor and delivery process. I've asked him to be prepared for various scenarios so if/when they occur, he can be knowledgeable enough for us to make any necessary decisions and just as importantly, be able to calm me down. So, that's that.

#2-I feel that taking care of the baby is much more important than worrying about how I'll handle myself during labor. I can handle that more than not knowing what in the world to do with a newborn. (Although, I'm sure those feelings will also surface sometimes as well.)

#3-It's all natural, right? Women have been doing this forever. I know it won't be easy; however, if they can do it-I can do it. Any pain that's caused is part of nature's process. So, why read about how much it's going to hurt and how uncomfortable it's going to be. It is going to be both. Why think or talk about it?

All of that said, I have to say that I feel much more prepared about the entire process (including labor) and I'm happy that I am. (Ok, so as prepared as I can be, I guess.) It focused primarily on the high points rather than getting to granular about every little thing.

The classes were a good combination of information around changes to continue to expect related to the female anatomy with the pregnancy, how to know when you're going into labor, what to do when you know, relaxation and breathing techniques, pros and cons of receiving an epidural and not receiving an epidural, the process of labor, the aftermaths of labor, and caring for the baby afterwards.

I'd like, at this time, to award Chuck with the Rookie Swaddling Award for the whole class. His abilities continue to impress me. :) He is going to be such a great daddy!

Finally, I've been asked to share pics of the baby bump progress. This is an area where I'm definitely exceeding everyone's expectations. 30 week appt was today. It went well. Dr Wingo answered all of the outstanding questions we had from our weekend classes. And, of course, we heard sweet Raegan's heart beat. 150 bpm. I think it's been at that rate for several weeks now.

32 week appointment on Feb 9th.

Note to self: Not a good idea to take mth 4 picture towards the beginning of 4th mth and then take mth 5 towards the end of 5th mth. Wow. What a difference.