Bradley Birth - Class #8

Last night's class was not that fun because it focused on the variations and complications that we may experience during the labor and delivery. It was a good class for me because it made me realize that I need to be a little more open-minded about the way our birth experience could unfold. My mom had three easy, short deliveries and her mom had five kids, one of which I think was born in an elevator. I'm just assuming that I've inherited these genes. The bottom line, however, is that everyone wants for the baby to be healthy, so if we have to deviate from our birth "plan" it will be okay. I think it's kind of tricky to think positively about the birth experience and to work on being ready for something to go differently than what we imagine.

Another hard thing about last night was that a couple that is due a week before us may have to have a c-section soon because her amniotic fluid is low. The baby can easily be perfectly healthy if delivered at 34 weeks, but it's just different than they had planned...way different. I dreamed last night that we were going into labor. We were so excited, but then the contractions stopped and I realized that in my dream we still had a month to go, so it was good that they stopped. When I woke up this morning I realized that I shouldn't take for granted that our pregnancy has been easy so far, and pay a little more attention to getting good sleep and not going, going, going all the time.

Mother Nature screwed up the way a woman feels her last month of pregnancy....nesting that makes you want to clean and "get things ready" along with getting up twice to pee in the middle of the night.....doesn't leave much room for good rest. OR, maybe she is smarter that I think and is just preparing us for sleepless nights....