Things that make you go...

WTF?? Tonight was our second Birthing Class and I have to say that during class, my attitude was all over the place. I was happy, I was sad, I was upset, I was frustrated, I was giddy and excited. It was a lot, but in reality, welcome to my world. The two hours we were there is nothing short of how my normal days are, but just in a condensed version of how I feel lately.

We got there and saw familiar faces and chatted it up with some folks. It was great. Then the group broke up into Dads and Moms. Me being the "odd 'whoever' out" was told to go ahead and stay with the women, even though I am NOT pregnant and my role in Finnian's life is more of the typical "father" role. We did an exercise on positives and negatives of the pregnancy. The women listed things such as finding names, wondering of the future, nesting, bring the family together, as well as morning sickness, stretchmarks, clothes not fitting anymore, mood swings, swelling, bathroom trips more often. The Dads listed things like becoming a dad, new adventures, having a legacy, passing on knowledge, feeling the baby move, being closer to the partner, seeing ultrasounds, dealing with emotions of your partner, trying to be your best for her, figuring out finances and expenses. Which one do you think I relate to most? Yeah, not the pregnant ladies, that's for sure. Everything on the Dad's list are things that I have thought about. Very few things on the Mom's list are things that have crossed my mind, but that is because I am not a birth mom. I am a dad in this.

I am having a hard time finding my place in this class. It's not a class specifically designed for Moms and Dads only. That is how it is being taught, though, which is very frustrating. I am Shannon's coach, just as the other women have their male partners as their coaches. So what? I am as worthy as they are, if not more. She keeps referring to the coaches as "dads and whoever" or "husbands or whatever". At least tonight she used "partner" and "coaches" a lot more. Maybe she is learning. She knows that Shannon and i are together in this, and that I am not just her coach or friend. It would just be nice to have the same respect that she gives the guys, or have a male/female only class if she can't handle "different" couples.

One other thing that I didn't really appreciate about tonight was her lecture on breast feeding. Yes it is a healthy way to feed a child, and it is good and there are tons of benefits. We all know this. But there are some women who just can't do it. I wasn't breast fed. I couldn't due to allergies or something. I know many other people who weren't and I know many people who haven't been able to breast feed their kids. She rambled on for a good twenty minutes on how much better breast feeding is than anything else and made it seem like if you can't breast feed, your kid is going to die. She rambled off stats from decades ago that aren't even relevant anymore and scared the crap out of people. I didn't feel like it was appropriate.

The other thing I didn't like about tonight was that my promised "massage" from Shannon lasted like 3 minutes if that. Lame! The rest of the hour, she got one from me! That is so lame, I am declaring Shenanigans on that one. At the same time of Shannon's massage, we learned different birthing positions which was pretty great. Hopefully Shannon will find a cozy one and Finny will come out pretty quickly and easily. She better be in the correct position to come out quick and easy like if she knows what is good for her.

Hopefully next week will be better. We are supposed to go on a tour of the hospital and see the birth center and rooms. That should be fun. We will learn some more positions and what to do and some more breathing exercises to do. This is all things that I have done before with relaxation techniques I have learned in other things that I have done, so I think Shannon and I have this covered. Plus the drugs she will get will be good.

On a more positive note, we had an appointment for little Finny today. She is growing like a weed and super healthy. We can't wait to meet her. Our next appointment is in two weeks. That will be our 35th week. Our doctor said that if Shannon goes into labor after that, they won't stop the labor from happening! Holy crap, that's two weeks away!! But, in the likelihood that won't happen, we will start our weekly appointments after that! It is getting close, and she is getting big. Shannon is healthy and doing great. I am proud of little momma and my little baby. I love my family.