Jennie and I both woke up this morning before the alarm clock rattled off it's annoying soliloquy. Since our class was not scheduled to break for lunch until noon, I prepared a feast of high protein. Lots of bacon, scrambled eggs, strawberry yogurt, and a large glass of milk seemed to hit the spot. I figured the odds of me passing out were slim with a belly full of protein.
We arrived as class was about to start, so we quickly registered and made up our name tags. The instructor pointed out that our name tags were 10cm circles of paper. Ironically, that would be the size of our mate's cervix at delivery time.
I saw the 36-pound, empathy belly, but did not have a chance to wear it yet.
Our class was comprised of 18 couples (nearly all of the women were with husbands or boyfriends, but a few were with their mother or sister). The instructor paired each couple with another couple for the first five minutes of class. We had to quickly learn as much as we could about the other couple. Next, each couple had to stand and introduce the other couple to the rest of the class. This icebreaker was interesting to see how many folks were having boys vs. girls, and how many had already chosen a name, etc.
I have to admit I became a little woozy when the instructor was showing some slides and speaking of the cervical "mucus plug" and how the effacement of the cervix occurs. Later in the day I almost slipped into the vagal response when they showed the placement of the epidural catheter in the spine and all of the potential issues that could occur. But, I never officially passed out! Yeah, maybe I will do fine during the delivery of Daphne?
Jennie and I both got teary eyed while watching a "miracle of birth" video during class. You know the video? They showed several women's naughty parts with babies "crowning" and being delivered right on video. I never got lightheaded nor did I turn away, even as the afterbirth flowed... Instead, I teared up and made sure none of the other men in the class noticed me wiping my eyes. I played it off like I was simply itching my eyes. I'm sure I fooled 'em. Is it not a shame that men must hide our emotions with machismo?
Today's class ended with breathing and relaxing techniques while we listened to soft, peaceful music.
Tomorrow is another full day of class that finishes with a tour of the hospital.
LINK OF THE DAY: America's oldest humor & video site...
Until tomorrow,
Dave T.
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