"Happy Birthing!"

That is how our pre-natal instructor ended our class last night. It struck me as kind of funny at the time and I had a little giggle about her saying that, but the more I think about it, it seems like kind of a nice thing to say.

So, yes, we finished our pre-natal classes last night. It was a four week long session that ran for two hours each Thursday. That sounds like a lot of time, but there is a lot to cover! We went through early labour, active labour, transition, actually having the baby, and last night's class was about the "other" types of things that we may experience: pre-term labour, induction, cesarean sections (all things I am really hoping to avoid, but I suppose it is still good to be informed).

The classes were very informative and I think that Sandy and I both learned a lot. He found the details about each stage interesting. Things like how I'd probably be feeling/acting (like a crazy person!), what was going on with the baby, and comfort measures he could provide that may help me cope with the pain.

I've been doing a lot of reading throughout this pregnancy so had a pretty good idea about all of that stuff, but it was helpful for me to hear that there is a wide spectrum of "normal" when it comes to childbirth. There are lots of different things that can happen and they are all part of the process (some of them are pretty gross, so I'll spare you the details ... although, if you have children, you know what I am talking about!).

So, here's hoping for "happy birthing"!