The sleep report from last night is positive. Other than the FOUR trips to the loo, for the most part I slept pretty soundly. One thing I have noticed is a sensitivity with my skin and my pj's were making me INSANE last night. I have opted not to purchase more than one set of maternity pj pants, instead I picked up two pair of flannel men's pj's at Costco. I cut them off, so as not to kill myself while sleepily stumbling to the restroom at 12:30, 2, 4 and 5:30. The pants were starting to fray and we're about to have company (or I wouldn't care) so I pulled out the ironing board and the iron on hemming tape. This trick works for clothes that don't get a lot of outdoor use and is a lot faster than pulling out the sewing machine (that I can't lift on my own right now.) The trouble is that on one of the legs there is a 1/8th inch (maybe less) area where the tape escaped the fabric and is rough against my ankle. It will go away with the next washing, but last night it was so irritating that I had to lose the pj's because i couldn't focus. I felt like the princess and the pea. It's a VERY small area and it shouldn't have been hyper aggravating, but it was.
We had baby class number 3 last night, it was a little sad that our "favorite" couple didn't come. He looks like a combination of Joaquin Phoenix and the wacky brother from the Hangover (Zack Gdfalrjeoufffde). This dude is a freak show of strange and comes across as a bit of an ass. Sadly he and his overshadowed pregnant partner weren't around. (I will make it my life's goal to get a picture of him before the baby class is over.)
The class last night focused on the super highway of labor, a handy road-map of dilation and pain management. I learned that I don't want back labor (not that I have any control over it) and that if I want an epidural then it must be done before we're dilated to 8 centimeters. After that, we'll be so close to the pushing part that the epidural won't be of much use. I know I don't want them to give me the epidural the second we arrive at the hospital (unless we're far more dilated than 3 cm) Why? Well, the downside to the epidural is that from the moment it goes in I'll be tied to the bed and I want to be able to use some other techniques to move Lucy into the world (walking and maybe the tub.) I do plan to be flexible but this is our birth and we get to have options.
During the class last night we had to get on the floor and practice pushing. So far it has been the most interactive and most uncomfortable thing we've done. My outgoing nature is stunted when doing something that I think makes me look like an ass. Calling out a loud "Hee Hee Ho" in a room full of pregnant women not in labor is not in my comfort zone. However, I gave the pushing the college try just to see if I could. Jason's practice "support" talk also was stunted... I know in the moment he'll be great, but last night he was silent and then when forced to verbalize support he sounded goofy. We talked after the class about what I think I'll need (personal, focused, and not overly cheerleadery) there will always be someone else in the room with us, and I know I'm going to need him to bring the "Team Jason & Terri" thing to the table in case I can't focus on it. He'll be up to the task, but there is a TON for him to remember (breathing techniques, massage and pre-epidural positions to aid in contraction pain management.) I'm sure he's feeling the pressure.
We aren't going to have a doula but I can see the benefit of having someone around who has all those techniques in their handbag. If we had our hearts set on a natural (no drug) birth a doula would be higher on my list of wants. I really want the birth to be a Jason & Terri experience and other than the medical staff I don't want to bring other "energy" into our world at that time. However, if the more we learn about this process, Jason expresses the need or desire for support I won't say no. He has every right to be a bit wigged out about how little control he has over the pain and how I'll be relying on him. Trust me, I'm wigged out too...we really really are going to have a baby. Yikes.
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