Ron and I spent the entire day Saturday at Holland Hospital. Don't worry, not for more contractions:) We had planned this visit! We went for our Childbirth Education class and for a tour of the Boven Birth Center.
We were both nervous and excited. We had hoped to meet lots of other parents-to-be and get a lot out of the class.
Needless to say...there was no participation which was disappointing to us both. There was also very, very little time for question and answer. Basically, we spent the whole day watching a video. ***Blah*** Not at all what we expected. We were less than thrilled with the outcome, but on a more positive note, it did really encourage some great conversation between Ron and I the rest of the day Saturday.
We discussed a lot of what wasn't covered in the class that we wished she would have addressed, and our feelings about the "normal" procedures she covered and how we felt about them. So, overall, we did learn a lot---that what we wanted to know wasn't covered and that we needed to do some research! It also gave us the opportunity to discuss our feelings on different subjects.
Sunday we made out our Birth Plan. I hadn't originally planned on doing this, but after the class it was obvious our wishes were not always "the norm." A birth plan is really a sort of list of things we hope can happen and things we don't want to happen during labor and delivery. We plan to discuss it with the doctor next week. Hopefully this will clear some things up for us and put us at ease about some issues that either weren't covered at all in class or were just skimmed over.
We've all both decided that this class really made the birth of our soon-to-be Baby G all too real!We have even started getting together a list for our hospital bag, since I would hate to be scrounging around at the last minute. The nerves have kicked in, and I'm trying to limit myself to one "nesting" activity a day. Sunday I cleaned out every bathroom cupboard and drawer. Monday Mom V. helped me organize the nursery a bit with the gifts we received at the shower. The next on my list is the linen closet--need to make room for baby towels and washcloths:) and the kitchen--again to make room for Baby G. Funny how he/she isn't even here yet, but is already invading every corner of the house!
In other news....this week Tuesday marked 31 weeks! Baby G is active as ever, but seems (for now) to have resolved the night-time dance situation:) The kicks have gone from little jabs into full on pushes. I feel like apologizing that there isn't more room in there! So sorry, Baby G:) Just a while longer!
According to the Bump.com, Baby G is the size of a squash and now has all five completely functional senses. Also, wake and sleep cycles are beginning to develop--let's hope you keep it straight for a little while longer, I'm enjoying my peaceful nights!
Here is the 31 week photo:
Baby G has also taken a liking to the right side giving me a rather lopsided look :) It's quite humorous--we notice it most often when relaxing at night on the couch or in bed. My stomach has a large bump on the right side, and slopes down on the left. Too funny! Baby G's "parts" are becoming a little more obvious as well. Not that we can feel for sure, but you can often feel a big bump which we assume is a baby G's heiny and pushes from elbows, feet, knees and hands. Sometimes we wish we could see just what you are doing in there! Keep it moving though---we know from our books all this pushing means you are working out your muscles to be nice and strong when you arrive!
