Lamaze Class – Second Night

Two down, two to go. We started off the night by racing to the hospital and to the conference rooms only to find out we were not the couple to arrive latest. We got there in time to watch half the class walk in late. Oh well. The class started with a run down of everybody’s current status.

Then we jumped right into starting the first relaxation technique. Everybody got their blankets and pillows onto the floor. Women on the soft stuff. Men at their feet with a small dosage cup of cream. The instructor turns the lights off, turns on some soft music and tells the men to give a foot massage.

The instructor then proceeds to say calming, soothing things making the women (and some men) relax. The purpose was to relax the woman completely and allow her to come up with a picture of a very relaxing place. I almost lost it when I heard the start of a snore coming from Sue. She stopped immediately and opened her eyes. It seemed to be a little too relaxing for some.

Then not a minute later she was asleep. I had to shake her a few times to wake her up when it was all done. She got a nice 5 minute power nap and a long foot rub out of the deal. Luckily she came up with a place before napping.

The rest of the night was spent on breathing techniques and different positions. Sue’s favorite seems to be the birthing ball. So, I’ll pick one up for her. A birthing ball is essentially a very large (75cm) exercise ball. It’s only filled up enough to allow the woman to sit with her legs at a 90 degree angle. The ball provides a comfortable seat that she can roll around and bounce on. The bouncing, while sitting upright causes the baby to move down and the cervix may dilate faster. Anything to be comfortable and speed the process is welcome.

We finished off with a short video explaining all the phases of labor and delivery. There were a couple pictures and short videos of a birth. Pretty quick, but everybody got to see what the baby looks like coming out. Pretty funky.

Next week we get a tour of the birthing rooms, nursery and post-partum rooms and will probably practice breathing techniques again. We’ll also get to see a video of a more realistic labor and birth. If anything does it, taking a birthing class makes it all real. No question this is going to happen and only a few weeks away.


3 Responses to “Lamaze Class – Second Night”

  1. jessie Says:
    January 19th, 2007 at 6:29 pm

    dude, I laughed so hard at that story about Sue falling asleep in class!

  2. Shaun Says:
    January 22nd, 2007 at 7:47 am

    You laugh, but I get into trouble. This blog brings me nothing but pain.

    In all fairness to Sue she really had no chance at all. The lights were off, the music was playing softly and her husband was giving her a foot rub while she laid in “the most comfortable position you can get into” (as spoken by the instructor) on a blanket and pillows. Perfect conditions coupled with a very tired wife who worked all day long and by 7pm was exhausted. If I was her I wouldn’t have been able to stay up either.

  3. jessie Says:
    January 22nd, 2007 at 12:07 pm

    dude, I’m not even pregnant, and I would have been out in about 30 seconds flat. no joke!