Class #6

Class #6 was interesting and bittersweet as it was the final class. We started by discussing diapers. Most of the ladies intended to use cloth diapers and our instructor demonstrated how to use the cloth diapers that she uses with her daughter. It comes in 2 parts - the cloth diaper and the pants that it slides into. She has 20 diapers and 3 sets of pants and they actually were used with her son first. We all received a few cloth diapers as Christmas gifts.

We then discussed what should go into the birth plan. This led to a lot of discussion as the detail that was encouraged was definitely in depth. The initial section included the couples names, doctor, whether it is the 1st, 2nd child, etc, the Strep B result and a short intro. The next section covered the initial stages of labour. It included whether you want food and drink, how you wish to labour, movement, when you wish to go to the hospital, etc. This area lasts through to about 6cm. The second section was critical as it was the time at the hospital when you are at the 7-10cm phase. It included how you wish to labour, how you wish to be examined, drugs (if and when), use of shower (or bath), use of clear fluids (water, tea, miso soup), etc. The final section was after bith and it included requesting skin to skin contact with your child, whether you wish to store the cord blood or to allow it to remain connected to the clild until it ceases pulsing, whether you wish the baby fully bathed or wiped down, etc. Needless to say, there were many questions and lots of discussion.

We next discussed what should go into the birth bag. The bag we had as an example was the Doula's bag. It had a sarong, a birthing skirt, a nursing bra, a headband, 6 1.5l bottles of water, rasberry leaf tea that was sweetened with honey in ice cube form, packets of miso soup, a cup, bendy straws, disposable cups, mouthwash, breath mints, a kneeling cushion, pillows, multiple pillowcases, a sweatshirt, multiple pairs of socks, a homeopathic kit (has to be on the birth plan if intended for use), rescue remedy, and a few other things I don't seem to have recorded.

We then got into the exercise component. We started on our hands and knees with cat/cow, into circles and then side bends and rocking forward and back. Then we sat with our feet together and did circles, rocked back and forth and then added singles arm stretches behind us as we rocked forward. Then we stood up and did pelvic tucks, hip circles amd with our hands on the floor we swayed side to side and then did stretches from one leg to the other. Then came the calf raises for 3 minutes, lunges and then squats.

We ended the evening with 2 videos. The first was the home birth of twins (the second was breech but was delivered safely with no intervention) and the second was a circumcision (I couldn't watch the whole thing - it was so upsetting). We ended the evening with a picture and info on the next course which consists of 12 weeks of the excercise component of this course for the moms-to-be.I truly enjoyed the course and am so glad that we did it. I feel better informed for what we're getting ourselves into!

Class #5

Class #5 was pretty cool. First we watched 'It's my body, my baby, my birth'. It was an educational film about natural childbirth - whether it takes place at home, at a hospital or a birthing center. It was good to see examples of natural childbirth in each location and the support of husbands/partners, midwives and/or doctors. And it wasn't a feel good, OMG natural childbirth is the most wonderful feeling in the world type of movie. The women actually talked about how they felt - ranging from pain to pleasure. It was honest and enjoyable.

Then came the really interesting part. We applied our exerises to the labour and birthing processes. We started with labour. The first scenario had us doing hip circles while standing, our husbands/partners behind us and moving with us. They had to press firmly on each side of our glutes while we moved. It felt pretty good as my pelvic area relaxed. We then faced the wall and swayed our hips side to side. The husbands/partners did the same thing with their hands but this time pressed firmly for 30 seconds (for a contraction) while we belly breathed. It really felt nice. After the 'contraction' they had to move each hand to our neck/shoulder area and massage it. Yes, it was a good one!The next scenario had us on all fours on the floor doing hip circles. In this position we coud be examined without any pressure on the baby. We then sat with our backs propped up with cushions a la the way birthing takes place in hospitals, etc. We felt the difference in that it felt like we were contracting our abdominal area due to the positioning. We then got into pushing. First, the ladies layed on their sides and the husbands/partners propped our heads with pillows and put a pillow between our legs. They then lifted our top leg, one hand on the knee and one on the ankle towards the ceiling. We then belly breathed in this position. The next position had us put the foot against our husband/partner's hip while we pulled our thigh toward us and they held the knee. We then belly breathed in this position, pulling the belly to the spine and then one floor back, our foot using our husbands/partners for resistance.The next exercise had a dual purpose. The first was trust and the second was a good transverse exercise. The ladies lay on their backs with their feet on the floor and our husbands/partners had their hands under our necks. We had to belly braethe into a pelvic tuck. With our head and neck relaxed our husbands/spouses raised our heads off of the floor while we were in the tuck position and we had to count 1-2-3. etc. without letting our stomach poke out. It was a great abdominal exercise. Then we got back on the ground and the husbands/partners had to practice motivating us to get up to go to the bathroom - in the midst of it we we given advice on havng water and a straw during labour, bringing your own mouthwash just in case your nausea resuts in you throwing up and bringing extra pillows and pillow cases with you to use during labour.We then got into hamstring stretches and the calf raises for 3 minutes. The guys participated and they suffered!!! It was good though because they had to continue 'breathing through the pain'. We then got into the squats, touching out 3rd eye (piuitary gland), heart and baby before going into the squat and rolling back up. The guys joned us for the last 5 and they were pretty good.

We ended the evening talking about when should you go to the hospital - and it wasn't when your water broke. Since we live on a small Island, it turned out to be when the contractions are 1 minute long and 2 minutes apart. In my case, since I live 30 minutes from the hospital I would probably have to leave when they are 45 seconds long and 3-5 minutes apart. Granted, this is if you are trying to labour mostly at home.Needless to say, tonight was really useful and many of my classmaes loved it.

Class #4

Class #4 was interesting as usual. It was our second class with just the girls. It was good too since it was breastfeeding night. We started by discussing our discomfort with the concept. Many of the ladies expressed concern over breastfeeding in public and what would people think since they knew how they felt seeing women breastfeed in public. It was a fascinating discussion about getting over perceived societal norms that literally put your child at a disadvantage (immunity and adjustment wise). One lady who is having her 2nd and is from another culture talked about her experience in getting used to western norms - she found a balance in that she did (and still does) breastfeed discretely but she continues to breastfeed her toddler because it is what she believes is right.

We then watched a Norwegian documentary titled 'Breast is Best'. I have to admit that it was an excellent program. First they discussed the importance of skin to skin contact and even included the role of the male in that segment. The next part was on latching and the proper way for the child to nurse. It provided advice on expressing naturally and by pump and also methods to work on blockages. I was interested to learn that breast milk can be stored in the fridge for 2 days and frozen for up to 3 months and should not be reheated in the microwave. I also found it interesting tht the Norwegian doctors advised breastfeeding a minimum of 6 months and 1 year as ideal; however, one should breastfeed until nursing is refused by the child. The documentary also discussed the problems with pacifiers and many nipples on baby bottles and went into detail showing alternative methods to feed a baby (ie. a syringe, spoon, cup, etc).

After the video we discussed homeopathy for a while. I knew nothing about it so it was fascinating to learn about the various remedies. We then got into the exercises - belly breathing, circles, 3 minutes of arm circles, 3 minutes of calf raises, lunges and squats. We ended the evening with a preliminary discussion about circumscision and why many parents are choosing not to do it anymore. It was an eye-opening discussion because I know at one point that all boys were circumcised here but now it is a matter of choice.