Parenting Classes!

Of course, nothing can really prepare you for a baby, other than having your baby and experiencing everything first hand. However, with the hope of better preparing ourselves, Carey and I attended the first of four parenting classes at our hospital last night.

We plan to give birth at Huntington Hospital. This hospital is 18 minutes from our house, according to Yahoo Maps, but I think that we could make it there in under 15. (If I'm in the front passenger seat having contractions, we might even be able to trim it down to 10!!) The hospital offers free "Planning for Parenthood" classes to all prospective parents who are registered to give birth at the hospital. Last night was "Newborn Infant Care." It started off with a PowerPoint presentation by one of the Labor & Delivery nurses. It was an overview of check-in procedures and what happens after the baby is born. After the nurse finished, one of the pediatricians who works at the hospital came and reviewed some of the most common questions that he/his office receives from new parents and then he took questions from the audience. (There were about 12 expectant mothers present, along with their spouses/coaches.)

The class was pretty helpful. If nothing else, it reviewed some information and procedures that I didn't know before, and anything that takes some of the mystery away from this experience is appreciated by Carey and myself! Next Wednesday, we'll be attending Labor & Delivery (yikes!), and then in August, we'll have classes in breastfeeding education/preparation and child safety (baby-proofing our house, etc.).

These classes, along with the informational emails that I've been receiving from all sorts of baby websites, are really bringing home the fact that Abigail is on her way. My weekly emails from WebMD have begun to focus on labor and delivery (i.e. how to determine if what I may be feeling is "false labor" or "true labor"; pain medication pros and cons; etc.), instead of discussing the baby's development. (At this point, it seems that Abby is gaining weight, but that most of her systems and organs are developed or nearing the end of their development. Right now, she's just working on getting some meat on her bones!) I won't lie and say that I'm not scared; I think this is probably the most scared I have been in my life. But it is also so exciting, and I can't wait to hold in my arms the little miracle that has been growing inside of me for the past 8 months. That is all the reason I need to swallow my fear and prepare myself for the most challenging, and most rewarding, day(s) of my life so far!!