Baby class, facebook, and being whiny

Yesterday The Bee and I attended our first baby class. It was through the parenting center affiliated with the hospital we will be delivering Ponyo at. We were there from 9am-3:30pm for the "All-in-one express" that briefly goes over:

• The birth process
• Coping strategies for labor, including pain medication
• Cesarean birth
• Postpartum healing
• Starting out at breastfeeding, and how to recognize signs of success
• Introducing a bottle
• Newborn care procedures in the hospital
• Signs of illness, and when to call the doctor
• Giving a bath
• Newborn care: diapering, swaddling and soothing, taking a temperature, and buckling the baby into the car seat

In a few weeks we'll be taking a labor skills class, too, that goes more in depth than the class we took yesterday. In some ways, the class made me feel more confident. I had previously read a lot of the information we went over. It also made me nervous, though. We watched a video of a natural childbirth (which is how I hope things go for us) and seeing the pain and tension in the woman's body made me cry. I think I can get through it, but I am afraid that it will be harder than I am imagining. I am hoping to avoid all pain medications if possible because many times interfering with your body's natural progression can cause a chain reaction of other interventions. If labor and dilation are progressing well on their own, for example, an epidural can actually slow or halt the process which prompts doctors to give drugs to speed up labor again, which may or may not work well and could lead to more interventions, including a c-section.  

When we got home from the class I checked facebook for the details for a friend's birthday party we were going to attend later that night. I saw a post from my cousin that boiled my blood. He is 22 and his wife is 21. They celebrated their first wedding anniversary in September and are expecting their first child on December 24th. The baby was a total surprise and I remember how finding out just about broke me last spring. Well, yesterday he posted a status that said, "Were the youngest people in our birthing class. Awkward" Things like this and the massive time sink that facebook can be are precisely why I have been limiting the time I spend on the social networking site. Even though I am expecting a baby now, I am still sensitive to stupid things people say and do when it comes to pregnancy, babies, etc. The spelling and punctuation was all his, btw. I wanted to respond with something like, "I bet you were also the only ones in your birthing class working part time jobs and living rent free with your grandmother." I can be such a snot sometimes, no? I resisted, though. No reason to start a family feud, especially right before I'll be seeing them at my Grandma's on Thursday for Thanksgiving. 

Anyhow, things (besides my attitude) are going pretty well. We are extremely overbooked (who isn't this time of year, though?!) for the next few weekends and I am feeling pretty rough from lack of sleep. For example, last weekend I had my art educators conference AND my henna artists convention. I was an art teacher by day and henna artist by night and then it was back to the grindstone Monday morning. This weekend we had our baby class, a roller girls bout (a friend from high school recently became a roller girl [how cool is that?!]), and a karaoke birthday party for another friend's 30th birthday. This morning we have our newest niece's baptism. Thank goodness I only have 2 days of school this week! But then it is on to: 

Wednesday: Thanksgiving food prep, trimester 1 report cards for school, prep for my bff's baby shower, 32 week doctor appointment

Thursday: Thanksgiving at my Grandma's followed by Thanksgiving at The Bee's aunt and uncle's

Friday: Food prep for my bff's shower, other baby shower prep, finish grading

Saturday: My best friend's baby shower (thankfully being co-hosted with her sister and another friend of ours)

Sunday: My baby shower (co-hosted by my sister and 2 friends)

I am glad I complained about this on my blog (although I apologize to all of you for my whiny-ness!) because seeing it in writing doesn't look as bad as the mental checklist I've had haunting me for the last several weeks.