Preparation

Joe and I had our prepared childbirth class this weekend. I have to be honest, we really weren't looking forward to it. I mean, why would we? It was 8 hours on a beautiful Saturday that we were scheduled to be inside learning about all the gory details of labor and delivery. But, it wasn't that bad. Actually, it was really good and we're both glad that we did it.

There were only 5 couples in the class and of the 5 there was only one other married couple. The other couples seemed much younger and one was in the "16 and Pregnant" range. But, everyone seemed nice.

Our teacher was a labor and delivery nurse who has four kids of her own so she shared personal and professional stories and experiences. She started the class talking about the length of labor, the different phases and when you should come to the hospital. That led up to the dreaded video. You know what video I'm talking about. The video that everyone who has ever taken a childbirth class tells you horror stories about. It was the video that shows real births. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty scary. It was definitely not like watching "A Baby Story" on TLC. And even though I know that technically they were made for that purpose, I kept thinking that a vagina should not be used for that. I mean, wow.

Once we got past that trauma we talked about pain management options, relaxation techniques, inductions, the things that could go wrong, and just overall coping. I think it was helpful for both Joe and me to learn different ways he can be helpful and to really just have some kind of idea about what to expect. Obviously I realize that once I'm actually in labor and feeling the pain all these wonderful techniques and lessons could go out the window but just having the knowledge makes me feel more at ease now. We did kind of have an "aha" moment during class. We've been preparing the house and buying things to make baby comfortable when we bring him home but I don't think either of us really gave much thought to the fact that the baby has to come out of me and how that would happen. Seems like such a "duh" moment but we just hadn't really thought that much about it.

After our all day class yesterday we had to squeeze all of our chores and relaxing into today. We got up super early and hit the grocery store and got home in time to do laundry and clean up and mow the grass (well, Joe did) before the family showed up for pool time. It was a beautiful but very hot day so it felt super awesome to hang out in the pool for a couple hours. Its so fun watching the kids jump and swim and laugh and have fun. Even baby Nate got in the pool and lounged for a while. After we wrapped up pool time, Joe and I ran out to Target to put a dent in some of the gift cards we received at the shower my co-workers threw for me last week. We ended up with just a hamper and a basket for his bookshelf for little toys and miscellaneous stuff. I also did a little online shopping at Babies R Us and will soon be receiving Evan's crib sheets. I'm still on the hunt for the best mattress deal but think I'm closing in on "the one".

I finally remembered to take a belly picture!! Its been 5 weeks since the last picture at my baby shower and you can really see how much I've grown over the last month. With only approximately 7 weeks to go it'll be interesting to see how much bigger I'll get. I'm officially up 25 pounds and at the rate I've been gaining I think I'll be looking at a total weight gain of about 35 pounds. Much better than the 60 I was afraid of gaining! I am anxious to get back to my diet and exercise after the baby comes. I definitely won't rush it but I am really looking forward to taking ownership of my body again.