Well, our first childbirth class (in a series of five) was last night. Dave and I arrived at 7:30; there were 6 other couples. I think there were supposed to be 13 couples, but there was only room for 2 more, so I don't know what they were going to do if the other 14 people showed up.

We went over some information (are you really supposed to fill out the birth certificate information before you even deliver?), talked about the symptoms we were experiencing, talked about what was going to happen in the next four sessions: I know next week is the L&D tour, week 4 has us watching birth videos (I could practically feel Dave's insides turning to mush at the very thought), and week 5 has some basic baby care stuff (where we "break out the plastic babies"). I plum forgot what week 3 is.

Each class is 2 hours long; the first hour is usually a lecture/question/answer type deal, and then the second hour usually covers exercises and breathing. Only 3 of us ladies got down on the mat (but we were told to bring pillows, and darn it, I was going to use mine!), but we all practiced relaxation techniques and breathing through contractions. My husband and the other guys there were told to figure out "comfort measures" to help keep us calm. At first I thought my husband's rubbing my shoulders was a great distraction. Then it just became annoying. I'm not usually one who enjoys being touched when I'm in pain, so this should be interesting.

On to the reason I'm so grateful for all I've learned through family, friends, and books: there was a woman there, couldn't be much older than me, who had NO CLUE what was going on. Everyone but me is due in late September; I was trying to figure out how she went for 30-something weeks without knowing that "that tightening thing all over my belly" is a Braxton Hicks contraction. She was FLOORED when she found out labor took an average of 13 hours for first-time moms. She couldn't believe that we were allowed to take Tums and Tylenol. She seemed mostly obsessed with the idea of wearing a girdle right after labor "so my stomach will be flat again." Oh well, to each her own, I guess. I was just so glad I knew the answers before they came out of our instructor. I'm glad I've heard the good labor stories with the bad. I'm happy I know what to expect and when to expect it.

Though mostly a "refresher" for me, these courses are going to prove VERY valuable to Dave, I think, who until this point has been avoiding the thought of labor like the plague. Which is funny since he plans on being in there with me. At least in that classroom, there's no escape, and he's got to listen and think about it. (And I was so happy to hear from other women there that their husbands were the same way.)