Let me tell you something, when people say you have to wear giant pads after delivery, they mean GIANT. When they say diaper they mean DIAPER. These things are not like super overnight pads... they are bigger than most of my underwear, for real. They're about the size of a baseball glove if you laid it out flat. I mean HUGE. HUGE. And she didn't explain why, but the teacher warned us not to use Always brand pads because for some reason "they don't work as well."
Speaking of underwear, the hospital panties, which I had also heard of but never seen, were also different than what I'd envisioned. They look sort of like a cross between hipster panties and men's briefs, made out of cheesecloth (not really but that's what it looks like). The teacher said they are super comfortable so don't be shy about taking a bunch home. Disposable underwear, whee!
Side note: I still want to wear my own clothes in the hospital, even though I know they (especially pants) could get gross. But I hate, hate, hate hospital gowns. They are not made for petite women. I think I might try to buy some cheap black leggings to wear that I can just toss after they get all funky.
We also talked about postpartum depression, baby blues, and the changes our lives will go through as we become parents. We split up into single-sex groups to talk about some of those changes together. I was grateful for that portion of the class because I sometimes worry that Mr. I is not prepared for the possible stresses of having a newborn and, though I feel bad saying this, I worry that he won't handle it that well or will take things out on me if he doesn't realize that it is normal for new moms to be irritable and/or weepy (I predict "irritable" for myself). So I was very glad that we talked about all of that.
Then came the fun part of class - the labor and delivery tour - and I say fun despite the fact that (after a long day of painting) I was dead tired, MAJORLY waddling, feeling like my hips were trying to detach from my body, and dying to go to bed. Still, I was so looking forward to touring the hospital and I enjoyed it. I sure hope I get one of the natural birthing rooms that come with a jacuzzi (there are only three) because that thing looked awesome. We also looked at the regular birthing rooms that only have showers. And we took a look at the "mom and baby" rooms where you go after recovery. Apparently there is considerable variation in the sizes of the rooms, some quite small with only a crappy pull-out single bed chair thing, and some nice and roomy with a double bed - it's all luck of the draw which one you get.
We also got to see one baby in the nursery. Our hospital is "baby friendly," which means that they prefer you have the baby with you at all times, though you can request a break and have the baby brought to the nursery so you can get some sleep. So there aren't always babies in the nursery, but as we walked by, there was one. He was breathtaking. Little bald translucent head with just a bit of blond fuzz creeping around his temples, sleeping peacefully on his back in just a diaper and hat, his little baby belly breathing up and down, his tiny feet... it was amazing. I could have stood there watching him all night, and he wasn't even mine.
No comments:
Post a Comment