Sunday, November 13, 2005

Birth, Babies & Beyond

This weekend we had baby class from 8 to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. Although it took up a majority of one of our few remaining free weekends and cut into some important football games (thank God for Tivo), it really was interesting and we did learn alot. Saturday was spent mostly learning about the birth process. We learned all the stages of labor and many different techniques for staying relaxed. We also learned and got plenty of practice on something we have mastered since the second we were born - breathing. One more thing guys, I think this whole baby class is the mom's ploy to get the dads to constantly rub their back. One other thing we did was watch movie after movie of completely naked women giving birth. I think this is something you can only appreciate when you are actually there experiencing it, otherwise it just just very graphic and very gross. Sunday concentrated on what to do after the birth. We got to practice with baby dolls on how to pick up and hold a baby, how to change diapers, and how to feed them. We also got to practice swaddling them, which is basically just bundling them up in a blanket to mimic being in the womb. Some other topics we covered were grooming, normal and abnormal baby appearance at birth, and some of the sicknesses that they can get and how to treat them. Finally, we got to take a tour of the maternity ward, which at Palos Community Hospital is a very warm and inviting atmoshpere and a great place to start a life.

-Cort

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