doula meeting #1...

We met with our doula, Kelley, last night, for the first official meeting.  And had a lot of fun.  It helps when your doula is also a good friend of yours.  :)

She basically went over some of the stuff that we'd learned in our childbirth class, expounding on certain things and revising others based on her experience.  I felt more comfortable revisiting things I had a question about with her, rather than in a class setting.  She talked about the stages of labor  generally, but also as it pertains to her and what she's here to do for/with us.

She told me to be sure that both Jeff and I were wearing comfy clothes that we "could move in"...yes, we did some laboring techniques last night so that Jeff could see the role that she would assume for me, as well as the role that she expected him to play during labor and delivery.  It was GREAT for me!  :)  Kelley told Jeff that the main thing was to keep me just as relaxed as I could possibly be in that situation (that is, the situation of giving birth to our first child).

She went through some exercises on the ball and with a scarf type thing that serves to relieve pressure if used in the right way.  It was pretty interesting some of things she showed us and though I'm not having a lot of trouble with back pain, etc. at this point, I can see how a lot of these things she showed us will really help if/when I do have trouble with that.

We laughed a lot and learned a lot so it was a great experience for all of us, I think.  We have some paperwork to fill out and some exercises, etc. to practice for the next month and then we'll have another meeting at the end of the month to review.  We may possibly have one more meeting, if we just feel like we need one more before the little one decides to make his entrance.

childbirth education class #3...

Our 3rd childbirth education class was last night and it was just as informative as the other 2 have been.  We talked about a lot of different things last night revolving around a vaginal birth (I can hear the sound of some of you closing out of your web browser right...about...now.).

For those who are still with me, we talked about a couple of different breathing techniques: the slow, deep breaths -- in through the nose, out through the mouth -- that we use to "breathe through a contraction", and the short, shallow breaths -- like "panting" -- that we use to keep from pushing when we feel the urge before it's time.

As an exercise, Jackie gave us each a clothespin, daddies included, to put on our ear to assimilate the pain of a contraction, though, she warned us it's NOTHING like contraction pain.  10-4.  We only wish that's as bad as it was gonna get...

Anyway, Jackie would tell us that a contraction was starting and we'd clip the clothespin to our ear and then breathe those slow, deep breaths while she timed it for a minute.  Then we we'd take the clothespin off our ear because the contraction was over.  We did that a couple of times.  Piece of cake.  :)

We also talked about different exercises/positions that would be helpful once we got into labor contractions.  She mentioned that the ab ball was a wonderful tool to take the pressure off the lower back.  Also, to apply counter-pressure during a contraction around the hips was always helpful.  She said our husbands/coaches/whoever could do that by pressing in with hands on either side of our hips or by tying a sheet or piece of fabric around our hips and "cinching" it during a contraction.  Interesting.

But not as interesting as this little nugget of wisdom: she calls it the "labor dance" -- I called it the "middle school dance" in my notes.  :)  You know how you used to dance with a boy in middle school?  You basically had your hands resting on his shoulders and he had his hands resting on your waist (unless he was a good dancer and then he would pull you in close -- never dropping his hands inappropriately, mind you -- and you'd be able to just snuggle in...uh, but I never did that kind of dancing in middle school, nosirree.  I promise, Momma. :)

Aaaaanyways, this, in essence, is the "labor dance".  Jackie says the swaying motion, coupled with the gentle pressure that your husband/coach/whoever applies to your hips during a contraction is very helpful.  

And massages.  Yes, please. 

Jackie had us give our husbands a short massage last night to give them an idea of how WE would want to be massaged, etc. and then they turned around and did the same to us.  Kinda.  Gonna have to coach Jeff on that one a little bit.  :)  He gets in a hurry and goes too fast and the faster he goes, the more pressure he applies.  Okay, babe, not...so...don't be...so...OKAY, JUST STOP.  STOP.  Thanks for trying.  :)

After this fun, Jackie went into more detail about what happens postpartum after the delivery, including cleaning & stimulating the baby while having skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding within the first hour, giving the baby a bath after about an hour and a half, if we choose, etc.  It was all very informative.

Next week will be our last class in this Prepared Childbirth series.  We'll talk about c-section deliveries, some other miscellaneous things and then we'll take a tour of the hospital facility.  We're both looking forward to that.  Incidentally, we have to walk by the newborn nursery every week to get to our classroom so we know where that is.  And we always stop to admire the brand new babies -- so sweet.  :)