Nursery Reno Dilemma & Check out the Preggie Ticker! ------>

I dunno if you're as shocked as I am, but I'm 34 and a HALF weeks pregnant already!  Sometimes I feel like it's dragging on (especially at this "uncomfortable stage") and other times I realize how fast it truly is going by too.

All very very exciting nonetheless!  I'm feeling much better the last few days and I think that in part has to do with getting busy on getting the nursery done!  It's so fun and exciting and I can't wait to share it with you when it's all complete!  I ran into a bit of a snag with the paint though.  I accepted an offer from Dutch Boy paint to send me their paint to use in the nursery since I was going to be sharing it with you all on the blog.  I thought it was a fun idea and one thing preparing for motherhood has taught me is to save pennies where you can!  We still have a crib to procure!

Well, the paint has arrived and I am now realizing that I kind of sort of messed up on how many of which colours to get. :-D  They generously offered to send me four buckets for the purpose which was more than enough for the size of the room, because I was anticipating each bucket to be bigger for some reason.  Because of this and because I am using two colours in the nursery, I figured since two buckets should do the job (one of each colour), I could also pick our two "other" colours to use for another project rather than be left with "leftover paint" (whenever that would be). 

Well it turns out I didn't realize how small each bucket was and it looks like I won't have enough of one of the colours for the nursery.  No problem I says! I'll just go out and BUY some more, right?!  Well, not so fast, as it turns out, you can't buy Dutch Boy Paint in Canada!!  Huh??  Wha??  I could have sworn that we could!  We have Sherwin Williams who owns and makes Dutch Boy, but I contacted them and they don't sell it in Canada.

So it looks like I will have to colour match with another brand if the need arises (which I'm pretty sure it will) which makes me feel bad because:

• I would have had enough if I didn't start getting all these wild crazy ideas that I would have all of this "leftover" paint and how to make the most of it.  
• They sent me the eggshell finish which is perfect, but it's this really neat "Refresh" product that apparently helps with odour control with baking soda, so we shall see if the finish on another brand (hopefully Sherwin Williams to keep it as close as possible), but I feel bad bringing in another brand since they were good enough to send me more than enough to begin with!

I'm totally pulling the "baby brain" card here and hope that Dutch Boy will understand! :-S

Angie All The Way - Season 3

You know the theory of "fake it til you make it?" Like even if your mind isn't really on board 100% with something and you still go along with it with hopes that eventually your head will actually BE on board with whatever thing it is?  In my life, it's always been related to lifestyle and diet changes - getting your mindset in gear to work out at the gym (even though you REALLY don't want to), or go for a run, or plan new and healthy meals etc.  The hope is that one day out of no where, you will be "there" in the place where you're trying so hard to be and you get there because you went along with it, did it anyway and you were just along for the ride.  

Back when I was emerging with my baby bump and my new body as a pregnant woman, I struggled with this a lot.  Here I now am "Angie with One on the Way" (kind of like "Season 2":-D) and I have an entirely new incredible journey to embark upon and it's just as difficult as "Season 1" only in many different ways.  My body is changing, I was pregnant and it was beautiful.  It IS beautiful.  There is no doubt about that in my mind, it truly is.  I think pregnancy and motherhood is beautiful, even though there are days when I hate how I look in the mirror.  It's not the beautiful belly that bothers me, it's the extra chub on the chin and the arms.  I posted Operation Beautiful notes to encourage other pregnant women to embrace their pregnant bodies and be proud of them.  In truth, I posted them first and foremost for myself.  I wanted to apply the "fake it til you make it" mentality to my feelings toward my changing body that was gaining weight because it scared the heck out of me.  I hoped that in the process of convincing myself, I just might help others do the same which is a win-win.

I knew it was "possible" to only gain X amount of weight during pregnancy, I knew I had trained my brain and educated myself to "know how" in theory, but I think the fear of returning to the place that forced me to need to lose my weight in the first place and knowing all of the work and time that went into doing it, especially during a very traumatic time in my life recovering from a serious car accident, all the ups and downs in the process, almost caused me to - ironically enough - kind of let go of the very thing that I needed to get me through this pregnancy no worse for wear on the scale - my attitude and mindset.

After much thought and soul searching, I've decided to give myself a bit of a break about this because while part of it is rooted in the emotional side of previous experiences, I feel like my mindset is a bit out of my control.  Since becoming pregnant (even before I knew I was), I was introduced to an entirely new voice in my head.  Hormones raged and caused me to have many more "down days" than I was ever used to experiencing before.  This wasn't "me," I didn't feel like myself and there was no "reason," no event or circumstance in my life to lead me to feel sad or unhappy.  It's just how I felt/feel - period.  It's not logical.  It was/is hormones.  In fact, I am nothing but grateful and proud of everything I have in my life.  I'm grateful for being pregnant, that on its own.  And not in the way that everyone "says" they are either - like 100% genuinely grateful for my life.  I have earned every single little thing I have or have accomplished in my life and I make no apologies for anything I have to be thankful for. I'm not "lucky," no one handed me anything - ever.  I don't take them for granted, not even for a minute because there are other things in my life that are a constant reminder of that.  That is a good thing.

If one more person tries to be "helpful" by telling me it's silly to feel the way I do, I should be thankful for x,y,z, my hormones might just grow their own appendages and pop them one right in the nose.  I find it offensive when my feelings are dismissed when my thoughts are still clearly in perspective.  Hormones might be driving the train causing me to feel worse about some things, but it doesn't take the validity out of feeling anxious about pregnancy weight gain, child birth, breastfeeding or what have you.  My baby is healthy, I am healthy, I am endlessly grateful for that, let's just get that fact straight from the start.  We can all agree, that's really the most important thing.  Just because I experience "down days" does not mean I don't also experience the "up days" during this process.  Over the last few weeks in this third trimester, it just seems more down.  You feel how you feel and when there's no logic behind it, there's no logic to make it go away.  It will pass and I just have to wait it out.

These feelings are sneaky and can be evil.  At least lately they seem to be.  Pictures have a way of being unflattering and there is something in the mind of many of us that can't help but pick out the flaws.  For the most part I had gotten over that, or at least I thought.  In fact, I pride myself on having a healthy self esteem!  Now that I'm gaining way too many pounds while pregnant, I find myself becoming insecure about my body which I thought I had conquered.  Maybe I didn't conquer it at all.  Maybe it was just because I had lost all of that weight that made me feel better in my own skin OR maybe it's the hormones?!  Problem is, I can't tell the difference most times and I won't be able to tell until it's run its course.

Ya see, the thing that is happening here is that I knew this was going to happen and my attempts at nipping it in the bud and taking it on with a "Pregnant and Beautiful" mindset only went so far.  But it was all relative.  I remember taking my belly photos as I went along and when they were uploaded to my computer, I was SHOCKED at how different my body looked and was a little bit embarrassed even, posted them anyways, even made peace with it because I knew I had to, for my own sanity.  That was all real and how I felt.  And of course as weeks went by and I continued to change, I was able to look back on the earlier pictures of my changing body and think that it really wasn't as "bad" as I thought it was at the time at all! Which makes it hard for me to distinguish, what part is hormones and what part isn't.


I never thought I would say that I "miss" those days when I was 170 lbs trying hard to be 165 and struggling. But I do.  I remember being so unbelievably proud of my accomplishment, what I had done for my body and my family, quite possibly making it even possible to become pregnant even if I was unaware of that fact at the time, but I still wasn't "satisfied" and wanted to keep pushing to get into my "healthy" weight range.

Right now I would give anything if my body would "bounce back" to 170 lbs after the baby is born.  I would take it and embrace it in a SECOND if I thought it was at all likely.  But I'm being realistic and I'm going to have at 'er once again to lose a good 30ish (more like 40) lbs when all is said and done to get back there again - only this time there will be a new twist - mentally I won't have all day and all night to myself to pour into it for me.  I will have a new priority in my life that already means the world to me.  Yes I know that I am also a priority, should be or need to be and I will be, but any moms out there are nodding at what I'm saying right now when I say that I know it won't be as "easy" as it was before when time is not going to be my luxury. Fact. 

When it comes down to it, I think that is truly what's eating me at the end of the day.  I am afraid that I won't have the same success at losing this weight as I did before simply because I am entering new uncharted territory into motherhood.  It's like a new season of Angie All The Way with a new twist and balancing that on top of what I already know to be a very long and difficult road to losing weight is intimidating.

I will do it though, dammit.  You can be guaranteed.  Few things are for sure in this life, but I will be betting the farm on me.

Thanks for listening ;-)

Just to Emphasize my Dorkiness

I was all geared up for a breastfeeding workshop taking place this evening at Nurtured being held by Robyn Berman and I was the only person who signed up, so it got canceled! lol  I was interested in the class mainly because Robyn was the Doula that my family doctor originally recommended to me if I was considering hiring one.  At that time, I didn't even know such things existed.  I did contact her a while ago, but she was already booked up and a little on the pricey side, so I let my interests in getting a Doula go.  From what I could tell, she seemed like she was one of the more well-known Doulas in Halifax with a wonderful reputation.  They did say that she can make one on one home visits for a bit higher of a price and while I don't think I'm going to do that at this time, I will certainly keep her phone number handy if the need arises.

I figured signing up for this workshop was a good compromise.  I want to feel as confident as possible starting out with the little peanut.  Confidence really is the issue here I think.  My doctor discussed with me during my last visit that due to the fact that I have PCOS, it can sometimes cause some women difficulty in establishing their milk supply.  I had read about it on my own and read that it effects 1 out of every 3 women.  She said she would like to discharge me from the hospital with a prescription in hand that can help with milk supply given that my milk won't likely be in yet when I am discharged which is usually on day 2 following a vaginal birth.  She said that it's better to have it on hand if I find that my milk still hasn't come in on day 4 or 5 and find that peanut is getting hungry and not wetting a comfortable amount of diapers. I suppose it sounds like a good proactive plan for that potential situation. 

So, with all of this in mind, I was hoping to gain a bit more confidence in this area so that I could hopefully avoid any "other" potential challenges that I can learn how to handle ahead of time.  I can imagine that feeling panicked over having a hungry baby and not being able to hold up to your end of the breastfeeding bargain to be quite upsetting and stressful.  Formula is always available, but I am hoping to avoid having to need that in the first place.  If it happens and is needed, then so be it, but I'm trying to do everything in my power to do the best I can!  I will feel better if I truly feel like I've done everything I could to educate myself, the rest is up to mother nature.

Speaking of formula, I received a little gift pack in the mail from Nestle which was a small backpack diaper bag filled with samples of wet and powdered formula samples.  I had no idea where it came from, but then remembered that I put my name and address in at Thyme Maternity store way back when and she told me that I would receive a diaper bag gift pack in the mail closer to my due date and sure enough.  If I remember correctly, Motherhood Maternity said the same thing, so there could be another little package of free mommy swag from them at some point.  Breastfeeding or not.....it was FREE and I like the little diaper bag.  It's smaller than a regular bag, so I'm sure it will be handy!

P.S. I'm 33 Weeks today bloggies!

Pre-natal Class Part 2 - Labour & Delivery

Friday was Part 2 of our prenatal classes which covered the all important Labour & Delivery!  Being the dork I am, I of course was looking forward to it.  Well, probably not looking forward to the actual class as I was looking forward to hearing the "what to dos" from the hospital where I am (lucky to be) giving birth.  I say "lucky to be" because our local Women's and Children's hospital is top notch, has an outstanding reputation whether it be for L&D or the medical care of the little ones and we are really lucky to have it here.  If I hadn't moved to Halifax, I wouldn't be as lucky to be giving birth at the IWK unless there was a high risk reason to do so.  I have only ever been told wonderful stories and experiences by people having had the occasion to go to that hospital.  The nurses and staff have always been given rave reviews.

The class started off having everyone introduce themselves and tell the class how you were feeling about "the big day" and when the big day was expected to be.  My response was "depends on the day!" which is totally how I'm feeling these days.  Some days it's nothing but excitement and pure joy about meeting our baby and what it's going to be like to hold him/her in my own arms for the first time.  Gah! I get teary just thinking about that part. Other days a little bit of anxiety and panic starts to hit home because well, the "big day(s)" is just that, right?

We referred to the resource book that was given out at the first class and the public health nurse started from the beginning addressing the signs and differences of the different stages of labour and how to determine whether it is in fact labour at all.  We went over the "possible" labour symptoms, early labour, active labour, transition and delivery.  She did a wonderful job going through all aspects of what to expect at each stage.  Because the average "first baby" labour tends to be in the area of 15-16 hours, she broke down that norm into how many hours to expect to be in each stage pointing out that the hardest part (transition and delivery) tend to also be the shortest! God bless her soul ;-) So I hope I can keep that in mind when my time comes!

Along with all of the things to expect at each stage, the next obvious topic was all of the different techniques you can use to cope with the pains of labour.  There are many.  Some of the options I can recall being mentioned were:

• Water (a big favourite - baths, showers etc. considered to be "nature's epidural")
• Breathing (we practiced techniques too)
• Lots of movement (keeps labour progressing along)
• Distraction
• Music
• Meditation (hypnobirthing)
• Massage & counter pressure
• Changing positions
• Birthing ball
• TENS machines (which you have to rent on your own, but I happen to own one)
• Nitrous Oxide gas
• Drugs (epidural, narcotics)

There were some women in the class just waiting for the topic of epidurals to come up.  I was very interested in how this whole discussion was going to go down.  Some people make decisions beforehand that they know in advance that they are going to have one, others decide in advance that they are not going to have one and some make their decision at the time of labour.  One of the women sitting near me was the person who "finally" brought forward the drug option to our "buffet" of pain relief options and she commented quietly after, "Well we have to talk about it some time" almost like it was a tabou topic or something and seemed a bit concerned that it hadn't been brought up yet.

It was obvious to me before it was brought up that the nurse was painting a picture to the group that guess what? There are all kinds of other things you can do other than an epidural or in conjunction with, or in advance of having one and was encouraging consideration of all of the other options.  I was extremely happy that she was approaching it in this way because I'll be honest about how I feel here.  I have never been through labour and delivery before and while I am a bit, okay ALOT apprehensive about the pain associated with it, I haven't made up my mind for certain whether I will have one or not.  I just don't understand how people can just "decide" without truly looking at what the possible consequences are to making that choice.  I am just saying that I don't think it is a decision to be taken lightly or for granted.

I keep reminding myself that birth a normal part of life and I shouldn't be afraid of it so I'm trying not to be.  I am keeping an open mind because if there's any real consistent advice I've been getting from people who have been through it, is that anything can happen and holding a birth plan too strongly can sometimes lead to disappointment if it doesn't play out as you had imagined it would.  I personally believe that it's nearly impossible to script an experience that is first and foremost dictated my mother nature so I'm just going along for the ride and going to try to trust my instincts.

The nurse shared some rather surprising statistics with us about birthing at our hospital.  For starters, the epidural rate is 90%!!  9 out of every 10 women have epidurals giving birth at IWK.  This would explain why almost everyone I speak to tells me, "Oh just get the epidural and don't worry about it.  Why put yourself through the pain?  I had one and everything was fine."  An interesting comment she made was that because so many women were birthing with epidurals, it consequently has an affect on the labour assistance skills of the nurses as well.  If they aren't using those skills to assist labouring women, they can lose those skills eventually.  Interesting.

So far there is only one friend who I spoke to who gave birth there who "made it through" with no epidural although she said there was a time near the end where she had some nitrous oxide.  She herself, is a nurse and overall really pleased with her experience without an epidural.

The other statistic she shared with us is that the c-section rate is 35%!  That is pretty high when you think about it.  That's about 1 in every 3 women!  She had no explanation for the statistics being what they are as there really isn't anything in particular that can explain for certain, but our hospital is a teaching hospital and since it is the only women's and children's hospital in the Maritimes (I believe), many high risk pregnancies and births take place there, so it would most definitely contribute or explain part of it.

I will be honest and also say that if my baby's birth ends up leading to a c-section because of whatever circumstances, while I will understand that it's a necessary decision, I will still be disappointed.  The reason is because I fear that I won't be able to hold my baby immediately after s/he is born.  That is really important to me.  It's all I think about when I envision the day our baby is born and it's all I've imagined from the beginning.  Even if with a c-section, it's within 30 minutes of birth, it will make my heart ache to have my baby handed to me all bundled up after the fact.  Sometimes those things are out of your control and are for the best, but even still, it makes my heart ache.

The nurse made a point that stuck with me and actually made things really clear as to why I am feeling reluctant to decide to get an epidural.  She said, "Once you get an epidural, you are essentially giving up control over your labour."  She said that the likelihood of further medical interventions does then increase for whatever reason, whether it be that your labour slows down (most likely because you can no longer move around as you could before), which can then lead to the doctors needing to administer Pitocin (a synthetic hormone of oxytocin that brings on labour) to keep it progressing or later requiring the use of forceps or a vacuum to assist or augment delivery, the statistics are that those kinds of interventions do go UP when an epidural is administered.  You may also need more guidance from them during the actual delivery, depending on what sensations you can feel or are unable to feel.  These have all become a "normal" part of childbirth nowadays.

I trust doctors and I trust science, but I also trust my instincts too.

We watched a few videos which included a natural childbirth, administration of an epidural and a c-section.  I fully admit that I was really ambivalent about watching the actual "birth" taking place on video, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought it would be (or remembered from Grade 12 Biology class!) and very minimal on the "messy" stuff.  It's funny because I was really surprised at myself for shying away from actually wanting to watch it, but I just didn't really want to.  Probably because it's not really all that settling to watch even if it IS natural and normal and a miracle and all that. Knowing that's going to happen to ME is not all lollipops and gummy bears!  Regardless of if I watch it or not, it is an inevitable part of the amazing thing that is happening to me and our family and I still feel truly blessed to have the opportunity regardless of however many hours of unpleasant labour are involved.

Yes I know, cheesy, cheesy, but that's just how it is in the wonderful world of hormones :-)

Next up is hospital tour and pre-administration which is coming up in a few weeks.  Time is starting to narrow in on the main event here bloggies! Eeeeeek!

What was your experience with child birth? Loaded question I know! Did you have an epidural? Were you happy with your decision? Did you have a c-section? How was your post-pardom recovery?

“Sourcream” Rhubarb Pie

I found myself in luck with a fresh bag of organically grown rhubarb, a love for rhubarb, but no real experience cooking/baking with it and open for suggestions.  Rhubarb pie was the first thing that came to mind, along with memories of my grandmother’s rhubarb pie from my childhood.  I decided to send out a Twitter Inquiry to whomever was listening as to any suggested favourite recipes involving rhubarb.  I received a response from @nataliejoan telling me that she had a “Sourcream rhubarb pie recipe” that she submitted in the Halifaxchicks cookbook that was sold for raising money for the Bust a Move for Breast Health back in January.  Oh YEAH, I thought! I contributed to that cookbook and bought a copy in support, so how perfect!!  I hadn’t really put the book to use as it had made its way down to my bookshelf in the basement, so it was the perfect excuse to get it out and make rhubarb pie (for breast health?).  It’s amazing what kinds of mind tricks you can play to justify making pie!  These pies were now in honour of breast health! :-D

I was in the baking mood, but being mid-workweek I decided I wouldn’t venture into making my own pie crusts and cheated a little and bought some pre-made frozen shells.  The beauty of this recipe is that is has a special “streusel” like topping, so you can easily get TWO pies from your one package of pie shells *ahem, not that I needed two, but sure liked the sounds of that!*

The pie ended up being so freaking delicious, I just had to share it all with you.  I made a few modifications that worked phenomenally well that it also justified being shared here and cancels out any of the badness of the rest of it [/hormonal junk food jokes] :-D

 

Ingredients

The Pie:

• 1 unbaked, 9” pie crust (or homemade of your choice)
• 3c rhubarb, in 1" chunks
• 1c white sugar (I used organic cane sugar)
• 1/4c all-purpose flour
• 3/4c sour cream (I used plan Greek yogurt = HUGE increase in protein department)

The Topping:

• 1/2c all purpose flour
• 1/2c firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4c butter or margarine, softened

Directions: Place rhubarb in pie crusts. (Note if using frozen rhubarb, it is best to add a tablespoon of instant tapioca above and below, to help absorb the liquid as the rhubarb thaws).

Mix sugar and flour in small bowl, then blend in greek yogurt. Pour over rhubarb

The Topping: Mix brown sugar and flour. Add softened butter and mix (get your fingers into it) until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie.

Bake at 425F for approximately 50 minutes. This recipe is designed for standard pie plate - if using.

I have to boast about how incredible this pie was.  I absolutely LOVED it, even more so than a strawberry rhubarb which always won my heart before.  I added this recipe to my “favourite recipes” book to make next year when rhubarb comes in season again. It was slightly reminiscent of having a “cheesecake” filling texture - NOM!

          

Try it and Enjoy!  Thanks @nataliejoan!

Parenting, Infant Care & Breastfeeding 101

In Halifax, our health care offers a series of pre-natal classes for pregnant women and their partners.  There is an "extended" series where you go once per week for around 8 weeks and there's also a "condensed" version where you go for two afternoons.  I had heard from several people that they didn't get much out of the classes that they participated in, which I think were the "extended" 8 weeks classes. So, hubby and I decided we would opt for the two afternoon "condensed" version to get the info they felt was the most important, the ins and outs of knowing where to go etc. when the "big day" arrives.

Friday was our first of two parts which covered "Parenting, Infant Care & Breastfeeding."  I think the bottom line here is that I am a big dork. :-D  I enjoyed the first session very much!  I was interested the entire time and took advantage of having the public health nurse there to confirm everything I had already learned for myself.  I guess I needed some sort of "validation" for some reason.  I think hubby "learned more" than I did because I have been reading and learning more on my own than he has. He's more of a "listener learner" than a "reader learner."  He thought it was worth our time as well which says a lot!

Breastfeeding

We covered many topics over our 3.5 hour period and the main message taken from the class was the benefits and importance of breast milk and breastfeeding and how far research has come to confirming this fact with more and more amazing findings each and every day.  The benefits truly are astounding and can't be denied.  She stated right up front that they were "shameless breastfeeding supporters" and had available "101" reasons to breastfeed on a handout sheet.  This information simply wasn't available when I was a child.  The nurse commented herself that had she known then, what we knows now, she would have breastfed her children and she is quite certain that their challenges with asthma and allergies may have been avoidable. Interesting.

It definitely helped me feel better about my decision to breastfeed when you get a sense about how much more it is supported by our health care practitioners and community in general and how far that support has come over the years.

I believe every person is entitled to make their own educated decisions as a parent and they should be respected.  I am very happy about mine.

I think a big reason why I was pleased with this emphasis in breastfeeding in particular is because I have been concerned about determining what information I have learned during my pregnancy actually is applicable to me and the birth experiences here in Halifax, today.  Much of the information I have learned about pregnancy and birth have come from American sources.  I read Canadian and American books, but my favourite pregnancy podcast PregTastic was by far, one of the most informative and practical resources that I have come across and I have taken great pleasure in being able to just listen to them in the car to and from work every day. You name the topic, it's covered and discussed amongst the "every day" pregnant women on the podcast panel and an expert on the subject.  Not to mention, the podcasters come back to share their birth experiences after they've had their baby.  Very valuable information in my opinion.  But because it is based out of San Diego, California, and our health care systems are different, I was never sure what "birth and breastfeeding" anecdotes and information I was hearing from that actually apply to me, here, today.

Consequently, I think the main thing I had become concerned about has been my decision to breastfeed and the pressure that many new moms feel from nurses while in the hospital to supplement with formula before really given a chance to allow the mom's milk to come in.  This is a common occurrence and in some cases is indeed necessary.  But in many cases it is not medically necessary, but an attempt to calm a crying baby.  As a new mom, you want to be able to "trust" the advice from your nurses and doctors, of course, but I have learned how to be a bit more critical of these recommendations and not just accept them as "right."  One thing that has stuck with me about the formula supplementation is that it takes around THREE weeks for the baby's stomach and digestive system to "recover" back to normal after receiving just one formula supplementation and since I'm choosing to breastfeed, that doesn't sit right with me.

I felt bold enough to ask the nurse (who had worked at our woman's and children's hospital for many years and now focuses her job on these topics now as a public health care nurse), "Do I  need to worry about being pressured to supplement my baby with formula in the hospital when it's not medically necessary?" 

Her answer, quite frankly was, "Yes, but you will find that your experience will be much better than some of your friends from even recent experiences because they are now being trained in this area much more and really bringing a better awareness on that subject."  I was relieved to hear her honesty because it validated my concerns.  Up until that point, I thought I was creating anxiety possibly unnecessarily based on an entirely different health care system and experiences.  She didn't really have any advice beyond that, but assured me that things have progressed MUCH more even just recently on that topic and it can vary from nurse to nurse.  Fair enough.  You want to be able to trust your health care providers with their recommendations.  I mean, they are the professionals and experts, aren't they? You want to trust that on the face of it, but I'm gaining more confidence to question the motivation behind something like that when it is important to me.

She went into how to identify when your baby has had enough to eat, proper latching (including videos) etc. and in general, I found it all interesting to hear.

Skin to Skin Contact

Again, another topic I have learned so much about over the past few months that made me a little anxious about how it was received and supported.  The research on the benefits of skin to skin contact (often referred to as "Kangaroo Care" in pre-term infants) is also showing amazing benefits.  This also goes along with the growing popularity of "baby wearing" using infant carriers and slings to keep the baby close to the Mom or Dad's chest providing a sense of security, helps them normalize their body temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate, improved cognitive development, improved sleep patterns JUST to name a few.

During this class, this concept was emphasized as extremely important and supported out our hospital to begin as soon after birth as possible and they encourage it which was a HUGE relief to me.  This is a completely different approach than our preceding generations.  I keep getting messages not to "spoil" my baby by picking them up too much etc. or I will "regret" it later on.  It has bothered me to feel like I will be criticized.  But I guess I have to get used to being criticized as a parent and just let it roll off my  back because we all are in charge of our own decisions and I will do what I think and feel is right. I'm not going to be a people pleaser.

The nurse reiterated that it is impossible to "spoil" an infant when their needs are fundamental especially in the first 9 months.  It was interesting because there was a father of one of the mothers who attended the class with her (grandfather of baby) who brought up the point of "spoiling" the child and how it would cause them to never want to be put down or be separated from the mom or dad. I was sooo happy that he brought it up because it was the EXACT perspective that I felt I would be conflicting against and was curious how she would respond to it in the class.  The nurse quite frankly dismissed his assumptions stating that what we know now is different from what we knew "then" and she said the practice has actually shown to produce much more secure children and adults. 


The Baby Blues & Post Pardom Depression

She also spent some time to discuss the kinds of symptoms that a spouse should look out for to identify if the new mom could be experiencing the baby blues and post pardom depression and showed a video.  It wasn't something I never gave much thought to before then, but appreciated the value it was drawing attention to it because that is something that the partner really needs to pay attention to aside from the new mom herself.

Pregnancy Nutrition

She touched upon the standard healthy nutritional guidelines to follow during pregnancy which I felt was a bit  of a "too late" topic in a sense simply because most people in this class were quite far along in their pregnancies. It certainly didn't hurt to address the topic I suppose.

In addition to the these topics, there were many more, all of which I found helpful, lists of phone numbers, web sites and some resource materials too.  Being a first time mom, I know that I will do just fine.  I tend to lead a laid back personality and I believe in common sense, but it's nice to get as much peace of mind as possible to gain some confidence in such a huge important amazing experience ahead of me. I chose to detail this post in an effort to sort things out in my head and how I felt about it all mostly as a learning experience.  It will be interesting for me to see how my perspective changes after the baby arrives which is another fun reason to document my feelings in this way :-)

Part 2 on "Labour and Delivery" (eeeek!) which is next Friday may provide a different kind of post! lol  I doubt I'm going to leave that class feeling as good as I did from this one! lol