Bradley Class 3 & 4

Class 3 we learned about how we tense up and what our partners need to do to help us relax that part of our body. I tend to tense up in my face and shoulders first, but also realized I carry tension in my lower back. We also discussed circumcision. I had always been leaning towards having it done, while Raj was leaning towards not having it done. Our instructor is not a fan of it, and while she tried to give us both sides, she was pretty biased, but she did acknowledge that she is biased in this subject and encouraged us to do our own research on the subject. This has really been the only part in our pregnancy where I had wished we were having a girl for the meer fact that I wouldn't have to make this decision. So in our investigation, we looked online for research into the pro's and cons of this surgery. We also watched some youtube videos of the procedures, and I asked around both my family and friends on what they had done for their sons. Overwhelmingly, everyone I asked had had the procedure done. We finally asked our Dr, her thoughts on it, and she explained that it was elective surgery, and that there really was no medical necessity for it except in rare occations. For me, the tipping of the scale came when I actually saw a surgery being performed on an infant. I was almost in tears watching it being performed. I cannot believe they do not give the child anything for pain. We still have not made our final decision, but both of us are now leaning towards not having the surgery done.

Class number 4, Raj was not able to attend with me, he had to work late, I was kind of bummed by it cause we went over first and second stage of labor, but our instructor said we would go over it more at the next class, so that made me feel better. We learned alot, but even so, I still feel pretty unprepared of the various stages. I'm hoping next class will help it all come together for me. I have made up my mind that I will not have an epidural during the labor. This was a huge decision for me, one that took weeks to decide, but now that I have made my decision, I feel confident in it and feel like I am gaining the confidence to have a natural birth.