Birth Class

Tyler and I started our "Naturally Prepared" birth class last night. There are three other couples, but only one was there last night. They seem very smart and put together. Smart, in the British sense, like "They were a smart couple."
(neat British English

a) a smart person is wearing neat attractive clothes and has a generally tidy appearance [= sharp American English; ≠ scruffy]:

You're looking very smart.

b) smart clothes, buildings etc are clean, tidy, and attractive)

When we got in the car I said, "I think they're more mature than us, but that's ok." Like, Tyler asked the teacher if using breast milk for pink eye worked, and she responded "Oh yeah, it works for a lot of things." and Tyler responded, "Like chocolate milk?"

At the end of class we had to "find our breath" while our partner massaged us, and we listened to "Keep Breathing" by Ingrid Michaelson. I love that song. When the song ended, she said "thank your partner," so I turned and bowed to Tyler, and he died laughing... the other couple looked like they needed to find a room, which is totally fine. So I thought "AH!" and hugged Tyler, because of course this is an emotional journey. I suppose sometimes we can be jokey, as a means of protection or a way to ignore the fact that we're terrified. Or we're just different from them, and that's ok.

Tyler is more terrified now, but I think it's healthy. Our instructor (who's name is Samanda. That's Amanda with an S) showed us what a contraction might look like. The husbands looked like shamed little boys. She was on her hands and knees, rocking forward and backward, moaning, yelling, it got really intense, I was sweating. And this woman described herself as a feminist hippie, so picture that. It wasn't a beautiful scene, but I certainly appreciated it.

I think I will feel much more prepared after the 6 weeks is up, and as usual, I am overly confident. Not because of me, but because it's in there and it has to come out and people do it all the time. So. That's it. What else can be done, except to hold handfuls of ice and "welcome your contraction" while finding my breath... haha. All you moms want to punch me. It's ok.

I bought a drawing book yesterday. I went to Hobby Lobby for the rubber and carving tool for my new stamp business endeavor, my new life calling, and they had no stamp rubber! So of course, I bought a drawing book and this beautiful box of pencils. We did an art project in the birth class, but it was with giant pieces of chalk, so my precision was... not great. We drew a labyrinth, and when finished, it looks like a cervix opening. Yowza. At the entrance we had to draw a symbol or something that represented us, so of course I drew a lion. My art looked like crap! and we're adding to it over the next six weeks. So I'll be working on my own cervical labyrinth in my own drawing book. And then I'll share a picture with you when I'm done.

I get a haircut today. I'm excited.

Warmly, Shannon