"Love and Learn"-One class down, four to go!

We took our pillows, and walked into St. Mary's for our first "love and learn" class this evening. For those who aren't familiar with the purpose or premise of this class, it is a class designed for new parents to discuss the ins and outs of the physiology of childbirth, the emotional support required for new mommies, birthing plans, and breathing and relaxation techniques to hopefully get through childbirth without the use of drugs or epidural.  We opened up the class with a " introduce the people next to you" exercise which included "name one thing you have in common, and one difference between you as couples."  Ah the irony.  Jeff was sitting right next to our new friend, Jacob.  and his wife Amanda...Very nice people from Montpelier.    We were given the class outline after the introductions and discussed what a birth plan might look like; including music that we need to start preparing in the ipod, what we should bring to wear, and possible induction.  Seeing as how over 60% of pregnant women are induced in Richmond, there is a good chance that this holiday baby's parents might be given the option of picking his birthday; we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.   We then practiced relaxation techniques as we lied on the floor.  There is a fundamental flaw with this exercise. It is difficult to find comfort in a bed during pregnancy, let alone on a yoga mat on concrete slab.  I need to practice relaxation at home I guess as I have never been very good at it...my mind is in too many places. For a moment though,  I did enjoy the quiet music as she had us imagine "the nursery is all done, and the baby is 6 days old. We are sitting in a comfortable rocking chair looking at his tiny features including the amount of hair on his head, the tiny way his lips move, the adorable little nose and tiny fingers that aren't quite big enough to hold your finger."  For that moment, I was relaxed until a jab to the abdomen made me laugh and reminded me that we still have around 2 months to go.  Finally,  we were encouraged to give each other 12 hugs a day or perhaps to aim to get 12 hugs a day as humans just don't touch enough, and this helps with relaxation.  So, People, I'm looking for some hugs :-)  Next week, we get to watch a video and discuss more about the stages of labor...Another wild and crazy Friday night!!!