We had our first "prepared childbirth" class this past Monday. We already knew one couple in the class because we had signed up together, but when we got there it turns out I know another couple too. Small world. Actually, the couple is a fellow graduate student and his wife. Right now, I know five other geography grad students or their spouses who are pregnant - and we don't have a very big department. Plus, two others just had babies in the last month. I'd say it had something to do with the geography department, but wait, there's more. The other couple we signed up with is due July 23. She used to work where I work now. I'm due the 27th. Another girl who used to work up there is due July 29th. We were all at DHR at the same time back when I worked there the first time. We were all at a party together a few weeks ago talking about how strange it is that we all wound up pregnant and due within a week of each other.
Anyway, back to the class. I liked our first meeting a lot. This meeting was more about understanding what we have been going through so far and what to expect during the remainder of pregnancy than it was about childbirth per se. We also saw some cut-away type anatomy drawings of how the uterus works. She showed us a picture of what was going on at 28 weeks - the baby is still reasonably small and able to move around. Then, we saw the 36 week view. The baby is packed really tight in there and up into the rib cage. Then, she showed the 38 week view. The baby is still about the same size, but has dropped down so you can breathe, but essentially you don't have a bladder anymore. I found this fascinating because I thought that if the baby "dropped" that meant you were about to give birth, but actually that happens as a normal part of the pregnancy - and birth can still be two or more weeks away. So, it was informational. I look forward to next week.
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