Baby Birthing Class: Night 1

Tonight was the first night of our birthing classes, in case you're wondering, no, this wasn't my idea. It was.... an interesting experience to say the least. I wasn't really sure what to expect going in, but I quickly learned some things that I would say are burned into my brain.

Speaking of something being burned into your brain, try this out:

Ah, the joys of learning how to become a mother.... I mean father! All kidding aside, I couldn't imagine walking around like this all the time for months. It really helps me appreciate being a male.

Some things we learned were common sense, like if fluids start to leak, it's time to head to the hospital. I generally try to follow this advice in my own personal day-to-day life so that made sense. There were quite a few other things as well but I will spare you the details.

We got to take a test of random pregnancy facts, I believe we made a solid 20%. Which the couple sitting next to us made them same, so at least we will fail together. We did positively identify what a bed pan looks like so if there is ever a situation where you need a bed pan identified, I'm your man.

Then we got to watch a lovely video about the labor and delivery process. I went into tonight never having witnessed a birth, I have now seen four. I think they could go ahead and hand me the diploma for this class because there wasn't much left out.

Tonight also made me aware of my primary job in this process, time keeper and cheerleader. I feel fairly confident about my role thus far. But after next week's class, my confidence may begin to sway.

Overall, I can't wait for Nate to get here. We've been waiting for what seems like forever now, but I guess he will show up on his own time. But I hope it's soon, Mama is starting to get a bit cranky at times..... Hurry up Nate! Your parents can't wait to meet you!

First Thoughts

When my wife, my beautiful, incredibly intelligent wife Ashley, although she did marry me so the intelligence part is debatable at times...... Anyway, when she told me that we were going to have a baby, I didn't really know what to say. I mean I was thrilled of course, but I also thought, "Am I actually old enough to be a dad?" I mean, at the ripe old age of 23, I was still on my 15th year of college. Only 5 actual years, but it felt like 15 years.

I still don't really know what to really think about becoming a dad. I usually try and prepare myself on how I will react in a certain situation. But having no experience as a dad, I have nothing to pull from to prepare myself for being a father. So, because of my inexperience with this situation, I have caused my wife to believe there must be something wrong with me.

Let me explain by using a few examples. Last night, my wife and I were asleep and I felt her hitting me on my arm. I woke with a start and instantly starting asking, "What's wrong? What's wrong??" My wife just says, "I rolled over." I replied, "Didn't you hit my arm to wake me up?" I believe her reply was, "My bad." Once my heart rate dropped back to normal levels, I went back to sleep. Apparently, I have become an easily excited, paranoid person since I became a dad. My wife can't get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without me waking up and asking if she's alright.

But Ashley's favorite story to tell is about Braxton Hicks. For those of you who are clueless like me, Braxton Hicks are the name of contractions that basically prepare the woman's body to pop out a baby. So now with your new found knowledge we can continue the story.

We are driving in the car and I heard Ashley say something about Braxton Hicks contractions. Now, at first, the only word I heard was contractions. And I thought, "This is it. This is your moment. Don't panic, just keep driving." Then I thought wait a minute.... And I asked my wife, "Who is Braxton Hicks? I thought we were calling the baby Nathaniel? You're just going to confuse the poor kid." Needless to say, I may never live that one down.

I have plenty to learn and I'm sure I will have plenty of stories along the way. I don't want to forget about anything because they only grow up once. Hopefully I can learn along the way as well...... But not too much, then I might have to start changing diapers or something.