Lamaze - Part 2

We had our second week of Lamaze, and we started breathing! ;o) The focus was actually on several different labor positions to try during the first phase of labor, which lasts something like 6 -10 hours. This is before you need to get to the hospital, and they want you to do anything besides laying flat on your back, which is great b/c that's the last thing I think I'll want to do. We tried out at least a half dozen labor positions, and I found that really helpful. Our instructor also snuck in another labor & delivery video, and my favorite part was that our task was to watch the woman's husband and to make note of what things he did well and what he did that was just...annoying. We all decided to that it is "annoying" to repeatedly pat a laboring woman on the head, even with a cool washcloth. It is also "annoying" to sing She'll Be Coming around the Mountain when She Comes to a woman in labor. It's apparently also a bad idea to remind a woman in labor of the Philly cheese-steak sandwich she had for dinner the night before. ;o) We also talked about what to pack in the hospital bag. Our instructor always plays relaxing music in the background when we are practicing the breathing exercises or labor positions, and one thing that Jeff and I agree on is that we won't be packing a copy of Elton John's greatest hits to listen to during my labor! I don't care how appropriate "The Circle of Life" is for bringing a new person into the world, I just don't think I could tolerate it! I think I might get out an old pre-race CD to listen to and try to treat this like a marathon. That would at least give me some delusion that I know what I'm doing!