Week 31

Tim and I had a great time yesterday. Dorrie, Dave, Chenoa, and her friend Colie came to visit us. Dorrie and Dave brought some Zachary's pizza (very filling) some salad, beets, juice squeeze, and good conversation.

Tonight was our first birthing class with Loving arms, and it was so much better than Birthways. It is a little bit more inconvenient to get to. We needed to take the 18 all the way to San Pablo. We didn't have much time to eat, so we grabbed something quickly at subway. We got to the room 15 minutes early, and upon entering I was very pleased with the atmosphere. They had big comfortable couches and chairs in a big area. An older (Berkeley) woman greeted us, and said "wow, you are nice and early"...yes we were because we thought the class started thirty minutes earlier than it did. It was a little awkward, but Tim and I filled out the survey and went on a hunt for a flake bar at Bevmos, but there was no such luck. By the time we got back, a few people had arrived, so we were much more relaxed. Class started, and as a introduction we went around the room and told each other about our names. It was interesting to find out what people thought of their names, and now I'm even more nervous about naming our daughter. Then we did the usual introduction of our birth date, sex, physician...etc. There were two other couples who were with Geri. I felt really weird most of the night because we were by far the youngest couple there. I wish I could be around people my own age.

Janaki asked us who was nervous while waiting to introduce ourselves. I volunteered and said my palms were sweaty. One other person admitted having a little fear. I don't think I was feeling fear as much as excitement, but Janaki then went on to explain the "fight or flight" theory, and she said that we needed to learn to channel our fears in order to relax our bodies, so that we don't loose control and panic. She talked about getting rid of the intellect in us and bringing in the primal instincts. So, to experience this we did an exercise. We held a couple of ice cubes in our right hand for a few seconds. It was pretty hard. It burned a lot. She asked us to say out loud what we were feeling. Then we put the ice cube back, and she asked us how we felt. I said that it actually hurt more. She then talked about the power of breathing. She talked about her philosophy of breathing and how she doesn't believe in Lamaze, panting, or one ideal way of breathing. She asked us to concentrate on breathing deeply in and out. She wanted us to make the connection from our minds to our bodies by realizing our breath. Again this was to come out of our conscious mind and more into a peaceful state to recognize our body and the strength of it. After recognizing our breath she asked us to hold the ice cubes in our left hand. We were supposed to concentrate on our breathing while we held the cubes. It did help a lot. Of course it was still burning, but moving the feeling of pain in a different way really did make it feel less. Afterwards she told us that we held the ice cube 12 seconds longer than the previous cube. This really shocked me. I really didn't think it was a shorter time. Afterwards she asked us to stand up and hold our birth partner while we had the cubes in our hands. She talked about the power of touch from a loved one. After that, we swayed back and forth with our birth partners with the ice cubes to show how movement can help, and finally Tim rubbed my back and breathed with me. It felt really good. I know that the pain is not at all comparable to the "pain" of birth, but it helped me realize how much it helps to have these aides. She also talked about pain and how in the English language we have only one word for pain compared to other cultures, but the pain of childbirth is a different type of pain. It's pain with a purpose: every contraction (or rush as she called them) was a step closer to being with our baby.

We had a snack and took a break. Then we watched a couple of videos. The first video was about the three stages of birth. It was very well made and very informative. The second video is what I would consider a more normal birthing experience compared to the videos we saw at Birthways. It really is amazing the rush of emotions that Tim and I had while watching the videos. What is it going to be like in real life? I can't wait.

The last part of the night consisted of relaxation techniques. The pregnant ladies laid on the floor while our partners touched us from head to foot. When they touched us we were supposed to tense that area, and when they let go, we were supposed to relax that area. The second part was me tensing a part on my body and Tim was supposed to find it. This is supposed to train Tim to find where and how my tenses so that he can touch it and relax it. We need to practice this more! So, that was our first class. It was truly great! I'm so happy we got into the class, adn I can't wait for next week!