The Real Deal

Last night we attended our final childbirth class offered through Martha Jefferson.  Ron and I are actually very sad that it's over, and I heard several other couples say that they felt the same.  Our class consisted of 10 couples... all pretty different, but we had one thing in common.... we were having our first babies, and were scared, excited, and clueless!   The fact that more than 1/2 of the boys men in the class were self proclaimed comedians definitely made the classes go by quickly and took away the "oh crap, what have I gotten myself into" edge that the class tends to bring on.  Betsy, our instructor, was animated, knowledgeable, and just plain fun!

We learned everything from different positions to try to ease the intensity of contractions, to what the labor room jargon really means, to seeing exactly how big and blunt that epidural needle is!  From this class, I think Ron and I have come out on the same page... we will do whatever necessary to have the healthiest baby that we can have.  If that means using/not using an epidural, so be it.  If that means having a C-section rather than a natural birth, so be it.  We 100% trust the medical professionals that we have chosen, and I am very thankful that I will be having Al here in Charlottesville!

The final class of this series is a tour of the maternity ward at the NEW Martha Jefferson hospital!  That's right! NEW!  This place is the Ritz Carlton of Maternity Wards.  Every unit is spacious, has it's own very large, very clean bathroom... including jacuzzi tub!  The walls are a very relaxing purple color and the lighting makes you want to take a nap.

It just so happens that one of the couples in our class had their baby on Sunday night/Monday morning!!  This made the trip extra real!  That little baby, that only one week ago was in our classmate's belly, was now getting a bath right in front of us!  CRAZY!  Both the mom and dad looked fantastic (granted they were 18 years old) and had a great experience at the hospital.  Her labor was only 7 hours long from the very start to the very finish.  NICE!

After class we went home and unpacked my car from the shower this weekend and put several of the items together.  So many more things to get ready before Al arrives... it's right around the corner!