Things I Learned at Childbirth Class #1....

1. The definitions of many words, like effacement and dilation.
2. That there's a fundus among us.
3. That our instructor likes to be very dramatic in her description of labor (there was lots of heavy breathing, funny faces and squatting coming from the front of the room).
4. That my husband winces quite visibly every time the word circumcision is used.
5. That we all deserve a nice new pair of pajamas and slippers to wear at the hospital after we give birth.
6. That finding parking at the hospital is pretty much impossible which is why they offer valet service (which we will be taking advantage of on labor day as I refuse to circle the parking lot for an hour OR be dropped off alone at the hospital door as my husband suggested).

All in all the class was pretty good. The instructor is very enthusiastic which is nice since all of the students seem to be a bit on the freaked out side at this point. She explained the different stages of labor in ways that make it much less scary which was good. In a few weeks she'll take us on a tour of the maternity ward so that we'll know what to expect.

The only thing I didn't like was the end of the class. After dimming the lights and doing some relaxed breathing techniques (I'm totally into that, except that I have a pretty nasty head cold right now and can't really breathe normally) she asked the moms-to-be to stand behind their partners. She then made us give our husband/boyfriend/other a neck massage as a thank you for supporting us and coming to class!

Ok. Now while I definitely appreciate that Paul came with me to the class I don't really see it as being an optional thing for him- after all, it takes two to tango! And has he ever thanked ME for donating my body to this whole experience??? Also, whenever my back is sore and I say something to him about it he just says "oh that's too bad..." I've gone as far as asking the DOGS to give me a back massage and Paul just sits like a lump on the couch and pretends that he doesn't hear me... So throughout this pregnancy I've had no massages or back rubs, and now I have to give HIM one?????

Let's just say that he got a pretty half-assed neck massage out of me last night and quite a talking to once we got in the car! This weekend as payback he's taking me to an antique show and there'd better be a nice backrub in the works as well!