Childbirth classes and 1 month countdown
We are now within a month of our baby boy’s arrival! We are getting so excited! This past weekend, we finished our Lamaze Childbirth classes at Magee, and we purchased much of what was left from our registry. We are feeling mostly ready for him to get here now.
The childbirth classes were great. They really helped us to feel much more prepared for childbirth, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the class was so much more than the funny breathing you see in movies. Lamaze has evolved from just breathing techniques to include various positions that assist in comfort and childbirth, many using gravity to our advantage. Breathing is still a big part of childbirth, of course. Just like in any stress management course — or even exercise — you must breathe properly to get the most out of it. But it seems there’s really not a wrong way to do it, as long as I am actually breathing! There was also a ton of useful information on self-care for after delivery. That’s something most women don’t talk about, and I had no idea about any of it! I’ve been more involved with thinking about caring for a newborn than myself. I think my husband and I are both glad we took the class.
My doctor’s appointments now occur every week. Last week, I started retaining some fluid, causing my hands and legs/feet to swell. About half of all pregnant women experience some swelling, so it wasn’t totally unexpected. No symptoms of preeclampsia, though; my blood pressure and urinalyses are normal. It’s just becoming more difficult to fit into my shoes! It’s also harder to breathe with this little guy taking up so much room in my body and the extra fluid.
To be completely honest, I’m pretty over the whole pregnancy thing. Don’t get me wrong, the excitement is still there — but with all the discomfort, fatigue, difficulty doing the most basic of tasks, swelling, and trouble sleeping, I’m ready to be done. I know it will come soon enough, and I should relish the quiet evenings and uninterrupted nights while I can!
We are working on a birth plan now. My doctor encourages birth plans from parents, and we feel lucky to have a doctor who wants to work with us to achieve the outcome we want. Once we finalize what we want, we will review it with the doctor to make sure everything sounds reasonable and that we covered everything.
We’re coming down the home stretch now, and it’s just a matter of waiting until he’s ready to come into the world. He is developing sleep patterns this week, and his fingernails should have reached the ends of his little fingers. He still moves around a lot, but the movements seem more deliberate now, with less spastic kicking, and more moving around and rolling over. It’s uncomfortable sometimes, because he’s running out of space, but I enjoy feeling his movements.
What words of wisdom do you have for my last month? How did you handle all the discomfort and fatigue?
