Childbirth Education Class

I made it to 31 weeks and as of yesterday, I was still 163.5 pounds, with a cumulative weight gain of 21 pounds. Everything still seems to be on track and I am happy to report that my bloating has gone away. I realized yesterday that I haven't felt bloated in a while and I think the bloating might have disappeared a couple of weeks ago. My heart burn has not returned and I don't have any lower back pain. So doing good!

My husband and I spent most of the weekend at a childbirth education class at Harvard Vanguard's Wellesley location. It was extremely informative and I'm very glad I went (despite the hassle of getting to the class this morning on particularly snowy roads). We learned a lot about the labor and delivery process. I can now say that I'll know when I'm in active labor (and whether it is back labor because the baby is in a face up position with the back of his head pressing on my back). We learned breathing techniques and the various positions a laboring mother can be in to help with the pain. I no longer feel like this is a scary process and not one I can get through. My body is designed to do this and while there will be pain, I will get through it.

For right now, my plan is the following. I would like to go for as long as possible without pain medication. If I feel like I can't handle it, I would like my husband to reassure me that I can and offer me additional emotional support. If that fails, then I will take a shot of an analgesic, which will help take the "edge" off the contractions. But I am now adamant that I don't want an epidural and I *really* don't want a C-section. So that's the current plan. I'll try to be flexible, because I don't know what I'll decide when I'm severe pain, but I'd love to be able to stick to this.

In other news, I've been having Braxton-Hicks contractions. One woke me up last night and gave me a little bit of discomfort. I had another one at the childbirth class. When it happens, my entire belly gets really hard all over. It's a little weird, but now I know it is happening.

My husband is finishing the painting in the baby's room now (while I get some work done). Once he is done painting, I'll be very excited to move the dresser into the room so that it is no longer sitting in our living room. ;-)