Oops... has it been a week again?

Week 35 update:

So, last Saturday I had two big events - part 1 of my 2-part prenatal class and my baby shower. First, the class...

...The prenatal class was pretty good, though in combination with the shower it made for a really long day. The instructor used to be a nurse on the maternity ward for years and now teaches prenatal classes full time. I've talked to some people who think the class is a waste of time, but both JB and I got a lot out of it. The part I found most helpful was talking about positions during labor and breathing exercises, etc. We will be talking more about the subject at Part 2, but we did touch on birth-plans and how you really need to have an idea of your preferences (ie: drugs vs. no drugs) before you check-in to the hospital. I found a lot of the things she had to say were quite affirming and really made me think that maybe I can go through labor the way I want, and not feel pressured by the medical staff. Part 2 of this particular course is tomorrow - we will be covering breastfeeding, birth plans, and postpartum care and concerns.

Next, the shower...

...Two of my close friends out here organized a baby shower for me. I wanted to have my shower before the baby is born because there are too many unknowns when it comes to having one afterwards - what if I feel completely overwhelmed as a new mother for longer than expected, for example (you never know), and really do not want to deal with a large group of people. The shower went really well, I think! There were 12 - 15 people there (some friends, some of JB's family, and 3 of my cousins)... I think my family was feeling a little out-numbered {as a side note, I did discover that the news about my little sister has made it's way into the extended family}. We played a couple games - one was to pick out JB from a group of baby pictures (took me 6 tries with only 11 pictures on the wall!) and the other was a diaper game where 5 chocolate bars were ground up/melted and each put on a diaper... you then had to correctly identify the chocolate bars. My mother-in-law thought that was gross, but everyone else got a kick out of it! I was so overwhelmed by everyone's generosity. We got a whole bunch of stuff... in fact, I really need to do my thank-you cards (hopefully this weekend)! It was great (and I got to take home a Costco-sized bucket of cream puffs, as the girls forgot to put them out with the rest of the food!).

Okay, what next? Well, last night we went to our "Better Beginnings" class at the hospital. This prenatal class (3 hours long) is mandatory for everyone who is planning on giving birth at the hospital. The instructor worked as a maternity ward nurse at the hospital for years before "retiring" and now teaches this class 3 times per week. She is hilarious! At one point she was describing the awful pads that the hospital supplies for you to wear after baby is born and how you have to wear three of them... she had all the class (the men especially) laughing uncontrollably (she made JB cry!). But, she also really knows her stuff and I was very happy to find that nothing she said contradicted the prenatal class from Saturday. Part of this class was to complete all the paperwork for the hospital - this way, when in labor, you simply walk up to the maternity unit and do not have to fill out any paperwork (because that's not something you want to be doing while having contractions!) - and another part was a tour of the maternity unit. I really enjoyed the class up until the point when we went for the tour... then my emotions took over and I started to feel really overwhelmed. I seriously thought I was going to cry when we were in the "laboring room". But, then again, I am a bit emotional even without pregnancy hormones stacked on top of that!

Okay... what's next when it comes to this pregnancy... well, as mentioned earlier, tomorrow is Part 2 of the prenatal class, then on Thursday I go for my next prenatal appointment. Next Saturday (Aug 25) I'm getting professional pregnancy portraits done. And sometime during Week #37 (last week of August) I'm supposed to be going for another (more than likely last... though I thought that with the last one) ultrasound.

Well, I need to run. I have a meeting at 2pm and I have a bit of work to get done before. Then I might head home, as I have not been feeling well today... exhausted, achy, and a whole lot of being kicked from the inside!