Ok....so I'll admit that I may have been a little cranky at our second birthing class last night. However...here is how I saw our class...
1. Our instructor, who is a Labor and Delivery nurse, continues to give us her opinion mixed with fact. This is highly annoying when we are just wanting information so we can formulate our own opinions.
2. Our instructor belabors (pun intended) every question/topic. She has way too many stories about every question/topic.
3. While she was "teaching" or we were watching the, oh so wonderful, videos (which by the way were STANDARD definition....lame ;) )...our instructor was fanning herself with the learning tool that has the different stages of the cervic dialating....somehow this really struck me as disturbing.
4. Annoying dude with a thick accent kept asking really strange questions and writing in a HUGE spiral notebook. I don't know why that was bothering me.
5. Then this other dad kept correcting and trying to teach parts of the class...he's going to be a first time dad. He will later be given the nickname "annoying dude that was playing with the cervix"
6. Then, I wanted to ask our instructor a private question. So, I waited until the break...another person was in front of me. I was standing there obviously waiting to ask a question. Well, the instructor wouldn't stop talking...i mean it. After she answered the question, she must've talked for at least another 5 minutes about whatever. Then the dude from #5 came up next to her and picked up the cervix dialating thingy and started playing with it....I just walked away because i was so frustrated and did not ask my question
7. And, while there is good information that we did pick up...our instructor has successfully managed to 1-end class on a downer both times and 2-scare the crap out of me.
Case and Point #1: Class 1....the last thing she talked about before dismissing us was that we needed to count our baby's kicks....she went on and on about all the things that can go wrong...what it means if your baby isn't moving as regularly as normal...all the BAD stuff... and then she went on to tell us all the signs of pre term labor....what to look for...what to do...EXCEPT-all she did was harp on all the things that can go wrong. She went on a tirade about how all us women should never be without a water bottle (I was the only one in the class without a water bottle). Nevermind the fact that I had all my required (and more) water intake for the day before class even started. Anayway...ALL that week and next I was freaking out thinking I was going into preterm labor.
Case and Point #2: Class 2...she went off on our water breaking. She made such a big deal about it. She told us if our water breaks, we have to get to the hospital because we could get an infection. She described the difference between urine and amniotic fluid...that was great EXCEPT, she wouldn't stop talking about it. Now I'm freaking out thinking that I need to stick my hand in my pee to see if it's urine or amniotic fluid...and that I should be taking samples of ANY liquid that comes out of my...um...."watering hole". Seriously...she went ON and ON about how the baby can get sick if you don't know your water broke. She kept telling us and some women will know that their water breaks and someone won't know at all....so NOW I'm freaking out that I won't know if and when my water breaks.
I reiterate that I MAY have been cranky at class and now...but I was so annoyed....I was not this stressed or freaked out before we started these classes. I've done A LOT of reading on all this pregnancy stuff...and watching "Birth Day" or "Deliver Me", etc.... and feel like I've got lots of information. NONE of that stuff freaked me out...but our nurse is making me very anxious.
A good thing did happen at class, though. We found out that I will be delivering on a Hill-Rom Affinity birthing bed which is SUPER sweet. Click HERE to see more about it! :)
On an unrelated note...today Kris is steam cleaning the carpet in the nursery! Thursday, the closet is getting mounted in the nursery! And Friday, the furniture gets moved in!!!! :)
Question to the moms reading this: can you describe what the braxton-hicks contractions feel like? And, can you tell me what real contractions feel like? I thought I was clear...then I got confused...then I was clear...and now I'm confused because I've had (what I thought were) 3 contractions in this hour....
16 years ago
2 comments:
Oh, honey. I think it's horrible when they put a worst-case-scenario-type teaching a course for first time parents. Here are some answers from someone who was fairly clueless about the crazy bodily fluids and contractions on the first and figured it out by the fourth:
The easiest way to tell the difference between Braxton-Hicks and real contractions is time. If the contractions don't continue to get much more intense and painful and closer together over time, they're B-H. After giving birth four times, I can tell you that you will know when they're real. My rule of thumb (after the first one) was always, "If I have to ask, they're not real." Real contractions hurt in a completely different way. B-H tend to be upper uterine and real ones lower.
As for your water breaking on its own, don't worry about it. The amniotic sac only ruptures spontaneously in approximately 15% of women. In fact, mine had to be broken with all four of my girls, and I was dilated to 9.5 cm with the second when I got there and they broke it and delivered her. If it starts to leak, you'll know, because it is pink and will probably include a little blood. GROSS ALERT!! You will find that your "watering hole" will become a lot more productive as you get closer to delivery anyway, so you're going to have to rely on the color. Sorry for the candor, but it's all natural. Also, you don't have to worry about infection until your water has been ruptured for at least 24 hours. There are women who are on hospital bedrest with ruptured membranes for days and weeks. The first sign of an infection is usually a fever. If you are worried about your water leaking, they have a litmus-type paper they can use to get an immediate answer at the doctor's office. We had to use that with the last one.
Please don't let anyone scare you or worry you more than you will naturally. Women have been giving birth, with and without help, for centuries. It's natural, and you will be the one in charge of remaining calm and allowing nature to take its course. The more relaxed you are during labor, the quicker and easier it will be, whether it's completely natural, completely medicated, and anything in between.
Hang in there, because you're going to be a fabulous mother and this is only the beginning of that journey. All that really matters is that your little one arrives safely and in good health. The real work begins when you bring her home. :) I sure hope you have the time to read this book I'm leaving you. lol
Yes, you WILL know real contractions! BH feel like your belly is tightening. When you press on it, it feels like the tip of your nose- it doesn't push in very far. Real contractions feel more like menstrual cramps that are going to kill you- you feel like you are dying.
My water broke both times- first time was obvious (I was peeing and I felt a pop, then the "pee" kept going for a long time even when I tried to stop the flow, then when it finally stopped and I stood up, it started again). Second time was not obvious at all and I didn't believe the doctors for like 5 days that it had broken! It was a small leak and I had a small placental abruption at the same time. So I just saw blood. And they couldn't do the litmus test b/c the blood obscured the results. But they said the blood is too watery for it not to be mixed with fluid. And if something like that happens, you'll be in the hospital anyway so you will be monitored closely!
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