Who said there's no such thing as a free lunch?

After one of my classes I had the suggestion that it might be nice for the moms to have a class just for themselves-like a girls night to talk about some of the things they're experiencing. At first I kind of scoffed at it because I think it's really important for both mom and dad to be in the class and hear what mom will be going through before, during, and after birth. They will remember different things and be able to support each other more effectively. But, the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea. It's fun having friends pregnant at the same time. It's fun to have someone who understands what you are feeling.

My sister-in-law and I were pregnant at the same time. Not only was it fun then but it is fun now that our boys play together.

So I'm trying something new. I'm starting a Healthy Pregnancy class. It's just for expecting moms to talk about, well, having a healthy pregnancy. It will cover nutrition, exercise, pregnancy tests and screenings, as well as emotional health and stress management.

Since it is a new endeavor for me I am offering the class once a month and it will be absolutely free! No kidding.  This way you can get to know me and my teaching style risk free and if you like it you can sign up for my childbirth preparation class. And if you don't, no hard feelings. You still got the class for free and hopefully learned something along the way. As my 5 year old says, "Does that sound like a deal?"

The first class will be Wednesday, June 22. So, please pass this along to anyone you know who is pregnant. To help me get the world out!

The happy ending. My boy was 6 weeks older than hers and they were almost the same size. Now my son gets his hand-me-downs.

My Birth Story #1

My baby #1 is coming up on his 5th birthday. I can't even believe it. He's such a joy. I don't think I've ever written his birth story (shame on me!) so, for his sake and yours I'll share it now.

I had a normal, uneventful pregnancy (besides the gestational diabetes scare) up to 37 weeks. On a Sunday we went to church, relaxed, visited with some friends. That night I thought I should maybe start thinking about getting ready to go to the hospital. I called my sister who just had her second baby and my cousin who is a NICU nurse and also a mother of two. They gave me advise, I packed a few things and made a list of other things I thought I needed for the hospital. As far as I can recollect, that was the extent of my nesting instinct.

We went to bed around 10 p.m. and at about midnight I started waking up to contractions about every 10 minutes. I am a VERY sound sleeper, even when I'm pregnant so waking up with contractions was a little alarming.  I woke up my husband and told him I was having contractions 10 minutes apart.  He told me to try and get some sleep, rolled over and was out again.  I was a little frustrated because I would be asleep if I could! Of course, he was right. There's not much you can do at that point but wait and rest.

But I couldn't sleep. I finally got up and walked around and kept timing my contractions. I woke him up again around 3 a.m. and told me they were five minutes apart and starting to hurt.  This time he stayed awake with me. We walked around some more and around 4 a.m. we went to the hospital. Mercy Gilbert had just been built so I was one of the first there and the VERY first in my postpartum room which was cool. 

At the hospital they checked me and I was at 4 cm and 80% effaced. As a side note, my husband had no confidence that this was the real deal. Thankfully he brought the camera but LEFT IT IN THE CAR. He was sure we'd be sent home so when they admitted me he felt a little sheepish. He obviously had nothing packed for the hospital. I mean, we still had three weeks! We didn't even have a car seat!

From there labor progressed pretty normally. By about 6:00 a.m. I was at a 5 and doing alright. By 9:00 a.m. I was still at 5 cm and was not doing alright anymore.  I felt like my inside were being ripped apart.  There is no other way to explain the intensity of those contractions. At that point I asked for an epidural. Since the hospital was new they weren't really fully staffed yet and only had one anesthesiologist who was going into a c-section. They said I'd have to wait about an hour.

THREE HOURS LATER she finally came.  Between 9 and noon we tried walking and some positions to ease labor. I listened to my ipod trying to relax but it all just felt too hard. I felt best in the bed. We really only remembered one breathing exercise so we did it over and over and over. When it was really bad a contraction would come I would start to panic because I knew how much it would hurt and I would say, "I can't do it. I can't do it." and my husband would keep encouraging me, holding my face and staring into my eyes to get me to keep breathing. And I did. We just kept breathing. The labor was really hard and my nurse said she wasn't going to check me again until I had the epidural for which I was so thankful. She was a wonderful nurse.

The anesthesiologist came around noon. She was a wonderful, wonderful woman! I seriously didn't feel a thing. My contractions were so strong that she would stop working while I had one and then continue in between. I immediately felt relief and never understood the meaning of that world until then.  The nurse looked at the monitor and said, "you're having another contraction." and I said, "Oh my goodness" because I couldn't feel it and was so grateful. At that point she checked me and I was at 8 cm dilated and 100% effaced.

They told me to try and rest but at that point my adrenalin was flowing and even though I was tired I couldn't sleep. But my husband did which was good. At least one of us was rested. (He had actually just been in a car accident and was in a lot of pain so it was good he was able to rest.) Shortly after that I was at a 10. The doctor broke my water around 3 p.m. My nurse kept telling me that as soon as they broke my water I would go really quickly but it didn't happen. I started pushing around 3:00 and would push for a while and they rest for a half an hour and let the contractions do their work.  Finally around 5:30 the doctor came in and readied himself for the delivery. I had asked not to have an episiotomy but the doctor said I was already tearing and he could control it with an episiotomy so I opted for it.

After almost eighteen hours of labor my baby boy was born at 6:00 p.m. weighing 7 lb 11 oz and 21 in. long. He was healthy and strong with bright red curly hair. We were so happy he was here.

I felt like I had a great birth experience. Some unexpected situations arose but I felt okay about those. I felt like the staff and everyone were really supportive and I wasn't just another mom which was important to me. They were all just as excited about this new arrival as I was.

I remember the next morning watching the cars drive by on the newly opened San Tan 202 and thinking it so strange that others can drive by and not realize that something so incredibly important just happened. I knew my life would never be the same.

Happy Birthday to our wonderful boy! We love you so much.