It seems I survived the second round of the torture, I mean, Childbirth Education through ISJ-Mayo-Clinic-System, or whatever else they like to call themselves. Derek didn't particularly care to go this time and he got my blessing to stay at home. For good measure, I said he was at work when somebody asked, but I guess I didn't really need to lie as there was another sample of male species missing from tonight's class. And there's also a woman/girl coming with her mother, instead of some person with a penis.
Our cheerful chipmunk, also known as instructor, asked us to go over a sheet of paper with some numbers on it (the scale went from 10 to -10 and, for an uknown reason, didn't include some of them) and then go stand by the wall, where the number of our choice was proudly displayed. This was all about labour pain and/or our plans when it comes to delivery. I chose -5, simply because -7 was worded so poorly I couldn't identify with it. Actually, I couldn't fully indentify with this -5 either, but it was close enough, I suppose. It said that my preference would be natural birth, with no medications. The part I didn't agree with it, or wouldn't right away, was a sentence referring to drugs that'd be given to me in case of long or difficult labour. I really don't know if I would. Three of us chose this, two women chose epidural, one said she had no clue what she wanted, a few were up for some drugs, but likely no epidural and the girl and her mom stood by -7. That one said the person would be embarassed and disappointed if they agreed to drugs during labour and delivery. I don't think I'd feel that way if I gave in, or simply decided that I needed something, after all.
And that was about it. The rest of the class was mostly about watching some boring slides and videos that talked about stages of labour from which I learned nothing new. In one of the videos, someone named Kristina gave birth to a baby boy and it was nice to see that nobody in the room was puking, gagging or overall dying from the explicitness of the recording.
Disappointing things, even though they weren't surprising or new: our dearest Mayo clinic will do anything to medicate you or cut you open. Breech babies are also good enough reason to have a scheduled C-section (we're breech at the moment... again). If your little one is in an abnormal position at 36 weeks, you're doomed. Or so said our instructor. I suppose it doesn't matter that there are more than enough examples and stories about babies who turned the right way just before they were born, let alone within the last four weeks, or so. She did, however, say that some doctors will attempt to get the babies to turn (and luckily my ob/gyn is one of those who'd give it a try). The hospital rules also ban you from eating and drinking from the moment you're admitted as a labouring woman, up until you're done giving birth. Luckily our support people are allowed food and drinks so I can just steal theirs if I'll want any, since I can't really imagine ever wanting to dine on crushed ice or some whatever popsicles. Once your waters break, you're banned from the tub, too and they overall believe you need to show up at their doorstep the moment you notice the leak. And then, dearly beloved, they will induce. Let's also not forget the part where those videos mentioned puking/nausea during transition. Whee.
Good things: she mentioned my doctor as an example of those who do not induce because of broken waters, but instead give you up to 24 hours to deliver on your own; sometimes more, sometimes less. And he doesn't start his countdown at the moment of your leakage, but instead pushes the timer after the first vaginal checkup, because he believes that is, actually, your baby's first potential contact with the outside bacteria. This sure did make me feel better.
And then we were done. The class ended early and all I got from today's session was some weird sore throat sensation. I don't feel sick otherwise, so for now I'll just blame it all on the conference room and its horrible air conditioning. The place is way too cold and way too dry. I froze. And kind of starved to death, too. Since we were out earlier than expected, I wandered off to a store and bought some more stuff for the kiddo:
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| Aren't they cute? |
Speaking of hunger/food, I still can't say I've had any real cravings at all, but I have noticed some increased desire for bread, for instance, and still almost no desire for salads or any other foods with vinegar. I have also been allowing myself more ice cream than I did during my restricted calorie days. I'm still doing fine, I suppose: in three days, I'll be hitting my 6th month mark (as well as full 26 weeks) and I've gained something like 11 lbs, all of which have gone into the dinosaur egg and the boobs. I've never had ankles this thin and my wedding ring has never felt bigger. Odd, seriously, but I'm enjoying it. I wish I wouldn't have gained anything, really, but I guess that would have been somewhat ridiculous, too. Our next appointment is a week out (next Wednesday) so I'll have another official weigh-in. I sure do hope that the gods of bathroom will bless me that morning, so I don't have to proudly display a higher number due to some, ugh, clogging. It happened last time and I thought it was pretty disturbing.They also have me down for my glucose tolerance test. Ick. Ick because I know it could make people sick. It could make me sick, I actually don't care about other people! I am that nice, yes. I've had the test before, way back when, but it was somewhat different. I passed it (it had nothing to do with pregnancy either) and I hope I'll pass this one, too. I don't really want to deal with gestational diabetes, but at the same time I'm pretty sure I don't have it.
I mentioned a dinosaur egg earlier... well, here's the thing, in a picture taken sometime last week (24w6d):
Meanwhile, it's actually grown a lot. Now it's sticking out a lot more and I think I'm carrying pretty low, too. But I might be mistaken, as well, because I don't really have anything to compare to. There's quite a lot of pressure on my bladder and I do get some shooting pains here and there, that probably relate to the round ligament. My back's starting to hurt, too, but that's, for now, only when I lay flat (on my back). It all gets better after a few steps. I've been doing yoga twice a week and walking as much as I can. I also need to go back to the pool. And I need to finally decide on a doula and let her know, too. So I guess this would be my current to-do list.
I also need to become more productive in some other areas: by the end of the week, I need to draw, model in clay and translate. Oopsies. Things always happen at once, I s'pose. Or actually, procrastinators get them to be that way. Oopsies, I said.
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