Child Birth 101 - Part 1

Last night was the first of four child birth classes I signed up for through our hospital. As I had anticipated, Ryan was slammed at work and wasn't able to make it. Mandy is scheduled to join me next week if Ryan can't make it, and I would have had her come this week, but I decided to go as the single mom-to-be for the first night. So, after racing from work and picking up a quick dinner and McDonalds (layoff of I'm preggo, it's allowed and it was the only easy option on the way), I strolled in to class with my McFlurry in hand and a smile on my face (the smile was not because I was going to class, but because I had a McFlurry - duh).

Of course I was the only one there without a partner (not trying to make you feel bad, babe, just stating the facts). So I walked up to the teacher to get my name tag, and in front of the whole group she asked, "where's Ryan?" At first I felt a little embarrassed as I said, "Oh, just me tonight," but then I actually felt a little better knowing that the class was now aware that I do have a baby's daddy... he's just an absentee :)

After getting settled in, I continued to enjoy my McFlurry as our teacher, Penny - a silver haired, overly upbeat, mother of nine and grandmother of 20+ - introduced herself and had the entire class share child birth stories they had heard or experienced. I didn't have much to share, except for what my mom went through with us four kids, but there were plenty of other stories that scared the crap out of me and made me want to run for the door. However, I stayed put and hoped that the entire class wasn't going to be like that. Fortunately, it wasn't... but it was about an hour too long.

The first hour was a bit of a waste in my opinion, and though I didn't learn a ton of new things in the second hour, it was definitely more informative and helpful. So here's what we learned on night 1 (and yes, this took two hours and yes, I'm serious about all of this):

1.) Childbirth is painful (yup, aware of that)
2.) Contractions start out about 20 minutes apart and when they get closer to 5 minutes apart for at least an hour, it's about time to go to the hospital (yup, aware of this too)
3.) There are several stages of labor and a typical first labor usually lasts 12+ hours total (I'm preparing for longer based on my mom's experience - and yup, aware of this fact)
4.) An epidural is our friend (This isn't actually how she phrased it - in fact, she just talked about epidurals for a minute or two, but anytime I heard that word I perked up)
5.) Childbirth is messy (yup, aware of that nice little fact too)

That's about all the major points she covered - no joke. She also used a doll to demonstrate a few things - that was lots of fun. Oh, and we did get a bunch of handouts and a new folder - highlight of the night. Next week we get to look forward to the birthing video. And don't worry, I'll be prepared to share insights from Child Birth 101 - Night 2.