I have been receiving a lot of flak lately from people regarding my decision to not take a childbirth class. I’ve been told it’s “naïve” or “immature” to not attend. Yesterday when I was experiencing my first real round of contractions (time able but not “true” labor) I picked up the phone to call a certain someone to ask if that’s really what I was feeling. Her immediate response was “well you’d know if you took the classes” … I tried once again to explain my reasoning behind not taking them to which she said “well that’s just immature. Now you have no idea what to expect” … what she doesn’t get is that I don’t WANT to know! I am much more comfortable with being blindly ignorant of what exactly is going to happen once I do go into labor.
I am not opposed to learning about the labor process itself or what a contraction feels like or the breathing techniques etc. that may help with the pain, what I AM opposed to is sitting through multiple birthing videos and scenarios. I do not want or need to see another woman giving birth either vaginally or via c-section to understand what’s coming. I have done my own research so am fully aware that the latter is not all the class is comprised of, however for me it would be horribly embarrassing to attend a course and have to leave during one section because I can’t stomach it physically or emotionally. There are definitely aspects of childbirth that I do feel I could benefit from knowing more about and perhaps that’s where I am naïve but this is MY baby, MY body and MY choice. So I will learn about it in my own way, I will read articles and books, I will ask questions of my friends and my doctor and I will experience it myself. Childbirth classes haven’t always been around, women have been having babies for thousands of years without “knowing” anything so I refuse to let anyone make me feel less than for opting out of the course.
That being said, it was definitely a bit frustrating for me last night to not be able to say “yup these are definitely contractions” … I literally spoke with two of my closest friends, my sister and sister-in-law to get their take on what contractions felt like so I could gauge if that’s what was happening. In the end I determined that yup, whether they were consistent Braxton Hicks or not, they were definitely contractions. And now that I’ve been able to identify it once, I will be able to again in the future. I’ll also be able to answer my doctor honestly when she asks “have you been having contractions?” at my next appointment! Knowing that I was experiencing them every 10-15 minutes for about two hours last night is frightening yet exciting all at the same time. It means that we are definitely getting ready for the big day! It means that there is no more time to get things done.
I’ve continuously put off packing my hospital bag but now it’s definitely time. It’s vital that I have everything I need (or close to it) in case he does decide to come early – otherwise I’ll be panicking the entire way to the hospital. So #1 to-do item for the weekend – PACK HOSPITAL BAG! #2 item REST … the latter is definitely not something I’m very good at, I have continued to push myself to do things that aren’t entirely necessary but that’s because I don’t like to sit still. I like feeling productive, both at work and at home, and since the gym has been out of the question for the last couple months I have all sorts of pent up energy that needs an outlet. But I guess I need to (in the words of Jami) ‘suck it up cupcake’ and accept that now isn’t the time to be Superwoman!
All kidding aside, I have every intention of putting my feet up this weekend and taking it easy. I am pretty sure letting Brian take care of me won’t be too hard! J
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