This is a super old entry (about 2-3 weeks old!) that I neglected to post. oops! But in my defense, I have been super-über sick with a cold that turned viral and eventually stole my voice and sucked me dry of all energy. I promise to have a new and exciting post by the end of this week. For now, let me attempt to entertain with this.....
Yeehaw!! We had the last class of our 6 week prenatal course. What a waste of freakin money that was! If anyone is birthing at St. Mike's in Toronto, save your 75 bucks and put it towards a childbirth education class and/or a doula. Sheesh! The instructor was way into her sixties with a thick accent. She was very set in her medical/clinical ways and had no room for questions or curiosity. The videos (yes, video - no DVDs) that they showed were mostly from the early to late eighties! Yes, the info was a bit dated, but boy were the hairdos and outfits entertaining! The best section of the course was the tour. Which was saved for the last class. Perhaps for fear that - God forbid - we may have more questions. The tour was slap dash, but at least we got to see a birthing room and got a good feel for what to expect. And the ward was nice and calm - no screaming moms, no wailing babies. And so The Education of the Flo-Ho's continues....
A few months back we hired Kim Fernandez, to be our doula. And boy are we glad that we did. If all we had was the hospital's prenatal class to go by, we'd both be basket cases. We've had our first meeting with Kim and she's armed us with excellent reading material and calmed us with her various experiences. Here's a selection from her library...
Isn't that one of the cutest babies ever? Next to Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, Hypnobirthing is definitely one of my faves. It has a slightly different philosophy than Ina May's book but it is empowering and extremely educational nonetheless. I brought the idea up with our doc and she was quite interested. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of "breathing" the baby out versus "pushing", but she was very open to the "natural-ness" of it all regardless.
This one was recommended by my SIL as well. It's very informative, but it seems to have a bit of a bitter tone. Or perhaps I just get exasperated with all of the unnecessary interventions that a lot of women end up experiencing. Enlightening all the same and since it's an American perspective, I have to keep an open mind and remind myself that things just ain't quite like that here in the Great White North.
I love the cover on this one. And the design is fun and approachable and has less of a text booky feel. Besides advocating natural birth it also has homeopathic suggestions and a very pleasant outlook. Speaking of text books....
This is the one Jay's reading. He's roughin' his way through it and trying really had to get into it, but text books don't gel well with his artist brain. But, of course, I really really appreciate all of his effort.
Doula meeting numero deux is set for tomorrow evening. We'll be practicing comfort measures - pain management and relaxation techniques. As well as discussing common hospital interventions and how to avoid them! And we'll be going over our much anticipated birth plan. Bring it!
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