Childbirth classes can be a helpful and informative step for new parents. A detailed knowledge of pregnancy and delivery is helpful for both the expectant mother and father because there is comfort in knowing what the future holds and having the resources handy to make it as easy as possible.
Childbirth Class Locations
Childbirth Classes are often held at your local hospital. You can contact your local hospital or doctors office to get information on locations and times.
Online Childbirth classes are a great alternative for busy parents-to-be. They offer the flexibility and …

Here is the second part of my labor video. Watch Part One first.
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Before my own pregnancy my only experience with child birth or labor was one moment when I walked into my sister’s hospital room 2 minutes post birth. The doctor still in position, baby crying, and my sister looking as if she had just finished a marathon without any training. I was only 17 at the time and caught up in a world of ignorance. Only one word to describe it: terrifying.
So when I became pregnant this past year I forced myself to watch ever single child birth video available …

The belly, 6 Days after Lily June was born. (Taken July 6th.)

Tuesday (July 1st) was the first day of recovery. Monday night with Lily was easy. She was very sleepy from birth and woke up only once. I was able to sleep around 3 hours Monday night. At the hospital Lily and Stan were allowed to sleep with me in the room. This time Stan had his own bed to sleep in instead of the recliner.
I had some trouble trying to breast feed on my own during the night and in the morning I was sore. She had such a strong …

At 6:42pm on Monday I was fully dilated and ready to push. The nurse had me lay flat on my back with legs bent at the knee. My mom helped to hold my left leg and Stan was on my right. At that point Stan’s mom was back and my sister Lynette arrived also. She took my right leg and Stan took my right hand. The first pushes felt awkward and useless. Lynette turned out to be an amazing coach. She counted and told me exactly what to do. I …

By the time morning rolled around I was getting excited. The lack of sleep was not a problem because adrenaline was running. I took a shower which ended up being hard with a heparin lock in my right hand (the one I use most). Contractions were still going strong but they were not regular. They were coming between 7 and 15 minutes apart at that point. They felt like strong back pain and menstral cramps though they didnt hurt as much as I anticipated.
At 10:00am they moved us into the …

Sunday at 7:30pm we left for the hospital so that labor could be induced. That morning I awoke at 5:30am from anxiety. Uncle Jon stayed at the apartment to watch Berkeley and Apollo. At this point it had not hit me yet that the next time I came home it would be with Lily June. It took us a while to check in. They put us in a small room used to monitor. By 9:30pm the nurse was giving me an IV. She tried two times but couldn’t get a …

Lily June was born June 30th at 8:37pm. She is beautiful and healthy. We have tons of video and pictures so I will post them as soon as I am able to stop staring at her.
!!!!

Yesterday was the 41 week mark and I’m still very pregnant. The last few days I have been battling a cold, sore throat, and trouble sleeping. Perfect timing, right? Tonight we are headed to the hospital to start inducing. Medically, we decided its probably best for her to come now so we are going to follow doctors orders and go ahead with it. I can feel her getting bigger by the second. Only a week ago I could get in and out of bed easily and now I feel …

Since becoming pregnant I have also become obsessed with watching birth videos and reading birth stories. The first videos I watched I cried out of fear. It wasn’t natural or beautiful to me in any way and I was horrified. Stan thought I was crazy to keep watching them feeling this way and having a meltdown each time but I did. Somewhere between Lamaze class and video 100 something clicked. The more I learned about managing labor and pain in general the more comfortable I felt with what was in …

Wednesday
I haven’t timed any contractions today. Time moves slowly when I do that. I am going about my day but having light contractions and cramps off and on.
Tuesday
I timed a few today just to see how far apart they actually are.
11:30
12:08
12:26
Monday
I started timing contractions and cramps after the doctor appointment.
3:51
3:59
4:25
4:33
4:52
Nap
8:13
8:27
9:15
9:26
9:45
9:49
Bedtime

5 days until the due date. As of yesterdays doctor appointment I was 2 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. Yesterday afternoon and this morning I have been having light contractions/cramps that are 20-30 minutes apart. These contractions do not hurt per se. It feels more like doing sit ups when you have menstrual cramps. My doctor estimated she might be here by tomorrow or Thursday.
I’m really excited but trying to stay relaxed. I feel like there is a lot of I have forgotten to get ready but I can’t think …

Below are two websites which have made me feel a lot better about labor in general but especially pain management. I’m not opposed to using pain medication during labor but I feel it is important to prepare for a scenario where they are not available, just in case. I think taking this approach will make labor with pain medication easier should I need them and at the same time I will be prepared if for some reason I do not have access to them.
http://www.birthingnaturally.net/
http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/

Today we finalized the hospital bag. Here is what is in it:

Clothes for Baby
Clothes for Mom
Toiletries and a few Diapers
Snack for Dad
Clothes for Dad
A good book
The birth plan
Camera and Camera Charger
Phone Charger