Well...maybe not - but we did take Baby Care Basics last night! While I may have waited a bit too long to register for the child birth classes, apparently I was on the ball with this one...as everyone else in the class seemed to be due within the month. And for sure I was checking these other moms out...mostly just to compare my belly size with theirs. I don't know why I'm obsessed with this. Maybe I'm just paranoid I'm getting huge? Which I know is supposed to happen, but everytime someone looks at me I just think "do they think I'm about to give birth tomorrow"? Anyway -- back to class...
In typical Carrie fashion, I picked a little fight with Rob over his clothing choice before even leaving for class. He may have been wearing the same flanel shirt I seem to wash weekly...with the same work boots that he knows I hate. And I may have said he was dressed like a "lumberjack". I don't know...maybe these things happened :) Rob retorted with - "do you think the baby cares how I'm dressed". Well, no probably not - but I do! Geez, just writing this I want to tell myself to relax. Fast forward to arriving at class. There are 8 couples in class - only 2 (one of them being us) have husbands with them. So then, I feel like a real jerk - I mean at least Rob wants to come with me and is supportive and get me hummus every week (it's the little things really). I literally start to tear up as the lights dim for the powerpoint, because honestly, I would not want to ever do this alone. I'm so grateful Rob is with me (and I give his hand a little squeeze).
So, I already know that this baby business is not for the faint hearted - but the first video we watch on the importance of "kangaroo care" immediately after the baby is born, is REALLY graphic. Like, I'm gripping the sides of my chair and uncomfortable at the thought that what is happening in the video is about to happen to me in oh, about 11 weeks. We are all up in lady town on these women and the baby is crowning and they pull it out and put it on mom's chest. There are boobs everywhere (again, to be expected) but I feel like my eyes are going to pop out of my head!!! Thankfully the video didn't last that long and the nurse quickly moved on to other topics.
We moved on to "first impressions of your newborn" - which I'm glad they covered because there are so many weird things that can happen to affect the appearance of the baby which are totally normal (but had no one told me...I might freak out). Things such as, your baby might have a fine hair all over their body, to they might look cross eyed and even have super dry scaly feet and hands from being in a water environment for the last 40 weeks. Also - apparently I will be releasing a burst of hormones right before birth that can make our baby's genitals swell.
Another hand's on portion of the evening was practice diapering! First of all, we had to look in our "practice baby's" diaper (and no mom, they weren't real) and make sure we had the right one according to what we would be having. So, we peeled the diaper back and were greeted with the smallest penis I've ever seen! ha! Rob stepped up and went first - we wiped down with a wet wash cloth (which you are supposed to use instead of wipes for the first two weeks) - front to back - and carefully mind you, around a circumcised penis :) Make sure you have a clean diaper ready (as well as everything else you would need to complete this lovely task) - and quickly lift the baby's legs, pull out the old diaper, and replace with new. It's important to get it snug - but not too snug-- and you have to fold it down while the umbilical cord is still healing. So many things to remember!! And, if I'm being honest, taking care of a tiny penis, is a little intimidating! I'm definitely going to be putting Rob in charge of monitoring that. :) We also got to look at some lovely pictures of the consistency of baby poo for the first few weeks -- good reference I suppose.
Other topics we covered in that short 2.5 hours were
-the importance of tummy time (even when they are a newborn)
-back is best (never put your baby on their stomach when sleeping) - and apparently Halo sleep sacks are the way to go
-the possibility of a colic baby scares the crap out of me! They will cry for longer stretches of time - to the point where this is the leading cause of shaken baby syndrome. Note - if this happens, put the baby in the crib and call someone to talk me off the ledge
-babies will actually give clues about everything - when they're tired, when they're hungry, when they want your attention etc. -- again - must relax and look for clues!
-breastfeeding may be hard/uncomfortable//i will likely want to give up - but it's so worth it for the baby! The benefits are endless...so I may as well give it my
Mostly, the nurse stressed the fact that the first few weeks will be overwhelming. Rob and I must work together as a team and communicate. I must be respectful of everything he is feeling and vice versa. I have a very type A personality - I like to be in control of EVERYTHING! I need to recognize that I won't be able to be supermom (right away) -- so the laundry may pile up, the bathrooms may need to be cleaned, and I might not get dinner ready for awhile. But, none of that is really important. Sooner or later, things will return to a sort of normalcy. I want to be able to really saok in our newborn boy and love on him (and my husband) and our new family of 3.
I guess all it takes is two and half hours for them to completely certify us as qualified parents! One thing is for sure - I'm reminded everyday that we are so lucky to have this new little man joining our life in 11 weeks. And, I'm really lucky that Rob will be there (regardless of whether he is wearing flannel, plaid, or paisley). Now, here's hoping he remembers that Shamrock Shake on the way home from bowling!!
No comments:
Post a Comment