34 Weeks: Learning How to Have A Baby

The 34 week bump - apparently Baby Fish is around 4 pounds right now - meaning he's likely to double in size in the next 6 weeks - does that even seem possible?

This week I had a moment where I was watching TV and something came on about pregnancy and I looked down and thought - "Oh my god, I'm pregnant!"  It's not that I haven't realized this all along - but for some reason it really hit me. I think the realization that this growing bump will have to eventually leave my body is setting in with just six weeks left to go. To help us figure out exactly how that is suppose to go down Brett and I have been going to our "Child Birth Prep Class."  Apparently old college habits are still lingering because we skipped our second class due to an out of town guest being here so last week was a bit of catch up - and an eye opener for us.

First, I really like our coach - she's of the mindset that whatever "plan" you choose for yourself and your family is the right plan. Her only thing is that you go into pregnancy educated and flexible to change. With that said we went through all the different ways your doctor may help a "stuck" baby get out (forceps, vacuums, episiotomies, and inductions - oh my!)  It was around the point of talking about an episiotomy that I had to excuse myself from the room. Baby has been sitting very high in my tummy making it hard to breath when I am sitting - that paired with discussions of an episiotomy was enough to make me pass out cold. So, as I saw the room narrowing in front of me I opted to leave rather than hit the floor in front of all the other expecting mamas:-)

Next up in class was breathing techniques and positions!  Hmm, wait positions? Don't you mean "position" singular? All the movies have led me to believe you just kick back in bed and push, push, push with a few screams and out pops baby.  Well apparently there are allllll sorts of positions to help you through your contractions and we got to practice in class - I have to admit it was hard not to laugh as I turned Brett into my own personal jungle gym. He also thought his role in this was to hold my had and speak encouraging words into my ear. We now know differently - and I have to admit - holding these positions for one minute is more difficult that I would have originally thought.  Don't believe me? Try out one of the below and start your timer!