Baby Classes

To feel a little more prepared for this baby I decided to sign myself and Ryan up for a one-night prenatal refresher class, meant specifically for people who had already had a baby before. I wondered when I signed up if it would be very helpful or informative at all, but when we went about a week and a half ago it actually turned out to be very, very good, and I ended up feeling so glad I decided to sign us up and take the time to go. I was surprised at the number of questions I actually ended up having for the nurse who was teaching it. On a different night we also took a tour of the maternity ward at Orem Community Hospital, even though we've already been there since its the same place I delivered before. It was nice to get reacquainted with the surroundings. The rooms are SO nice, and I'm so excited to deliver there again. I absolutely loved it there the first time around...the maternity ward is pretty small and intimate, and the nurses were awesome. The nurse giving the tour shared a lot of great information as well, and I ended up having quite a few questions for her too. I think there were several things that I just didn't think much about or know much about with my first pregnancy and delivery. Its nice to feel more "in the know" this time, both from my previous experience and from things I realize now that I wish I would have known about or asked about the first time.

Another class we took, several weeks ago now, was with Thomas. It was a "sibling" class, to help older kids (ages 2-8ish) adjust to the idea of becoming a big brother or sister and to share information with them about what's happening in Mommy's tummy and what will happen after the baby is born. Thomas got distracted several times and would run around the room or keep trying to talk and get everyone's attention, but the nurse teaching was very nice and the class was very loose and informal, so it wasn't a big deal. One funny thing was that Thomas kept raising his hand to talk (though it wasn't always after a question and he often started talking before being called on anyway)...I don't think I even knew he had learned about raising his hand to speak! It was cute. At one point the nurse gave all the kids a chance (if they wanted) to hold a little newborn-baby sized doll. Thomas loves holding real babies, like his new baby cousin Avarie, so he really liked holding the doll. He was so cute to watch. (Sorry, I know I say "cute" a lot!). I can't wait to see him hold his little baby brother for the first time!

Probably the funnest part of the sibling class was when the nurse actually took us up into the maternity ward and let us look through the nursery window at 2 new brand new babies. Tommy was pretty fascinated as we pointed things out about the babies, and it was fun for me to see the brand new little ones too...I was thinking, "I want one!" The nurse also took us into an empty room so the kids could see the kind of room their moms would be in. I was a little disappointed because the sibling class was only offered at Utah Valley Regional in Provo, not at Orem Community where I'm delivering, so Thomas didn't get to see the actual place his brother and I will be, but I still really liked the class. I called Orem Community before Ryan and I took our tour of the maternity area there to see if we could bring Thomas along, but they said children weren't allowed on the tours there. So, when the nurse said we would be going up to the maternity ward at Utah Valley Regional during the sibling class, I was totally surprised. Although, the nurse did have all the kids put on hair nets, gloves and masks...they looked so cute! I didn't bring along my camera and totally regretted it, but a really nice mom who was there with her daughter (and who was having triplets!) heard me lamenting and offered to take a picture of Thomas with her camera and email it to me, which she did (I love nice strangers!). Tommy looked so cute in his little get-up...I was surprised that he left all of it on and wasn't trying to yank the mask off or something!

I was glad I decided to take some classes and the tour again this time around...it really helped me rev up my memory and feel more prepared after almost 3 years. Even though I'm a second-time mom, I'm feeling pretty nervous and anxious about this baby...whether his delivery will go well, taking him home and adjusting to having two children, and learning to care for a newborn again. I'm feeling pretty rusty about that last one, but everyone assures me it'll all come back pretty quickly. I know they're probably right, or at least I hope so!