Monday Haley and I finished our pre-baby coursework. Our hospital offers three classes for new parents, and while they aren’t mandatory they are recommended. At first I was a bit hesitant, but after going to them all we really learned a lot and feel better about the prospects of taking home our child in six weeks or so.
- The first class we took was called “Prepared Childbirth.” Of all the classes we took, I feel like this was the most important because it at least gave me a basic understanding of what to expect when we motor off to the hospital. They went over hospital procedures, choices we needed to make, and generally got us to understand how you birth a child at their hospital. We also got to go on a tour of the pre-natal and postpartum areas of the hospital, which will come in handy.
- The next class was the “Baby Care and CPR Class” which was super-helpful as well. They told us about basic baby care and when we needed to seek medical attention. We also got a crash course in infant CPR and what to do if the baby begins to choke (which is pretty likely). We also took another tour of the hospital during this class.
- The last class was also the one I was most weary about going to, “Breastfeeding Class.” While I still maintain that I would have been fine not going to this class, the understanding of how everything needs to happen as well as how often it should be happening was very helpful. They offered another tour, but we declined.
Overall I wouldn’t say that I’m ‘prepared’ for the big day, but I feel like I have a better understanding than I ever had before. We’ve also gotten the nursery done (pictures to come) so now my only thing left to do is pack a backpack for our trip to the hospital.