OB Childbirth Prep Course – Part I

Last night, Chris and I attended our first childbirth class. When we arrived at the hospital, there was a sign that directed us to our room. One room was for “regular” childbirth and one was for “natural.” Chris and I both laughed when we saw natural. Not that I don’t completely respect women who try or successfully go through the entire process without drugs, but honestly….give me drugs. Please. :)

Overall, it was a good class…we learned some new things, although some things were familiar to us already. But I think that’s just because we’ve been doing some reading and researching. :) Our instructor was good though…she had a great sense of humor and more importantly, she just had a baby 6 months ago, so when we asked questions, she not only gave us an answer as a professional (she’s a labor & delivery nurse), but also as a new mom who recently went through all of it.

The class started with some brief introductions. There were 16 couples enrolled, so it was interesting to see the variety of people and belly sizes. :) Once introductions were finished we started right into some basic information: the anatomy of a pregnant woman and the stages of labor. But my favorite part came when everyone put their pillows on the floor and we practiced some relaxation techniques. This was nice, partly because it was 8:30 PM (close to bedtime) and I was able to lie on the floor, leaning on Chris with a couple of pillows. The lights were low and the music was soft. The first technique was to help the Daddies (or other partner) learn how to help relax the Mommies. This was wonderful! Our instructor walked them through the process of gentle massage from our heads to our toes. I told Chris we should practice this each night. ;) Then we practiced some breathing. This was interesting because she put an animated graph on the big screen which took us from the first cleansing breath all the way through the “contraction” as it progressively got stronger and then finally we were at the last cleansing breath. I thought this was good practice. Not that breathing is difficult, but more so because it was interesting to watch the contraction. Our instructor told us that we would be able to watch our contractions on the monitor during labor and it would look similar. She told the Dads they needed to be aware of how this looked so they can let us know when the contraction is almost finished. I thought this was particularly good. The Dads need a job during all of this, too. Although I’m pretty sure I will wish I could switch roles once I’m actually going through it. :)

The funniest part of the night was during the last 30 minutes or so. Our instructor had us watch a video that kind of brought everything together from the night’s lessons. It was basically an illustrated walk-through of the stages of labor all the way through delivery. The animated illustrations were enough to give everyone a visual understanding of the process. But then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the video went from illustration to live video. Now it didn’t bother me or Chris, or most of the others, but the funny part was when one of the Daddies just about fell on the floor when he saw a real live baby being born. Apparently, he had no idea what he was in for in all of this, but he was like a 10-year-old little boy. At one point he said, “What’s that?” with a somewhat shaky voice. The instructor just smiled and simply said, “That’s the baby’s head.” I am pretty sure he wanted to cry. Poor guy.

Got Snoogle?

I just had to write a note to tell you about the most wonderful thing I just discovered…it’s a SNOOGLE! Last night, before our childbirth class, Chris and I went to Babies R Us to register for the rest of our items. Of course, I’m sure we missed some things, but honestly, it was hard. Part of me wanted to just scan one of everything so we’d be safe. Chris and I pretty much decided we’d scan what we thought was important for the first few months, and then get the rest as we need it. We did register for some things for later, but I think just a few. Anyway…back to my Snoogle story…

For the last two weeks I have been having some trouble sleeping at night; nothing real bad, just awake several times during the night, needing to reposition myself. While we were standing in line at the registry counter, I noticed a heart monitor nearby and reminded Chris that we were in the third trimester now, so we should get one. When we walked over to pick one out, we noticed the Snoogle. I had recently read an article about this pillow and how great it was for expecting mothers. Although I was hesitant to get it because it’s not cheap, Chris insisted I try it. (Of course, this would benefit him, too, if it would keep me from rolling around so much at night.) Well…I used it last night, and WOW WEE! What a difference it makes! If any of you are planning to have children in the future, be sure to invest in one of these pillows! I slept almost the whole night through, only getting up once to pee! :) YIPPEE!

1st Appointment with Our Pediatrician

Today I met with Dr. Harold Magalnick. He is a pediatrician at Pediatrix in Phoenix. After being asked for this information twice from my OB (and her nurse), I decided I needed to heed their advice and meet with the doctor before making a final decision.

I have to thank Michelle and Abbi for referring me to Pediatrix. It seemed like a great facility with a very helpful staff. Meeting Dr. Magalnick was just as nice. He sat with me for 25 minutes talking about my pregnancy and Baby Madelyn (we even talked about one of his star patients, Grayce). He seemed very attentive; listening closely to what I had to say. He even got small details right throughout our discussion…things like asking and remembering Madelyn’s name. We talked briefly about his background and he shared with me his passion to be a pediatrician. He said he knew it was what he wanted to do since he was 10 years old.

Dr. Magalnick reassured me that he would guide both me and Chris through this new process of parenthood. He said after she was born he would give us shot schedules and feeding schedules. And as dumb as it may sound, I was so relieved. How is a person supposed to know these things unless you’re committed to reading ALL the books (and who has time for that??). But even then you have to decipher between who knows best. I was just happy knowing he would have a plan in place for us! :)

We also discussed something Chris and I have been weighing the options for…Cord Blood Banking. We recently started to do some research about this process, but we are definitely leaning in that direction. I asked Dr. Magalnick if he had any reasons for not doing this procedure, and he basically said that most people will never have the need to use it (knock on wood), but that it’s something that can make a difference between life and death should someone become very ill. He was really good about not persuading me one way or the other, but he gave me some good information to think about. We will continue to do our research and then will make our decision, although it seems like an obvious one to me. ;)

In the meantime, I will check this off my To Do List. Tomorrow I have an appointment with a new primary care physician (since I have only ever seen the nurse practitioner, I need to have this established before Madelyn is born).

Then it’s off to our first Child Birth class tomorrow night; now THATshould be interesting…

Madelyn’s Room

Many of you have asked to see pictures of the baby’s room, so I decided to upload the progress so far. We are getting very excited as we add each new part. Keep in mind it’s still a work in progress, but it’s coming along nicely. We’re hoping to be finished in a couple of weeks. Grandma Rentmeester and Daddy have put a lot of hard work into this project and I know Madelyn will love it!

Click here to see pictures of our progress so far…

4D Ultrasound

Today we had our first 4D ultrasound…how amazing! We went to Peek of You in Glendale and couldn’t have been happier! What a blessing to get a sneak-peek of Madelyn. It was so exciting to see how she has started to develop! I was surprised to see how filled out she is already. She showed off her chubby cheeks and even puckered her lips. She’s not exactly an exhibitionist, but she did give us a couple good shots. During our 30 minute visit, she decided to stay rolled up in a little ball (literally) for most of the time. We giggled as we learned that both arms and legs were up near her head, and we decided to enroll her in gymnastics as soon as she’s born. :) I tried rolling on each side, and I even stood up for a while to see if we could get her to move. She wanted nothing to do with it though; she was quite content in her own little world. She was only interested in one thing…napping, and that’s what she did. :)

Grandma and Papa Rentmeester and Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen came along for the fun, too. Everyone was really impressed with the latest and greatest technology. We all agreed how fortunate we are to be part of this tech age. As if we weren’t already excited enough to meet our sweet little baby girl, we can hardly wait now! Fortunately, we have lots to do to keep us busy before she gets here…

Grandma Rentmeester and Daddy have been working hard to get the nursery painted. It is coming along so nicely. I have been taking pictures of the different phases and will try to get them posted tomorrow. Chris gave me such a hard time when I came up with the design, but I think everyone is really excited now that things are coming together.

We are scheduled for another 4D ultrasound on December 22nd so we’ll be able to see how much she’s grown. Everything else has been going really well. I am feeling great and starting to prepare for my favorite time of the year --- Christmas! :)

Click here to view some still images and a video from today’s ultrasound.