We had our first lamaze class last night. There were four couples total in the class, which is nice and small. It was a good class, we learned some things we didn't know and started this thing called belly mapping. That was pretty cool, and Sharon could mostly tell that his feet were up near my ribs. The idea is to figure out what position the baby is in by touching your belly. I've been convinced that one of Cooper's body parts is hitting my ribs because I'm in a lot of pain up there. So we palpated and the instructor came by to see if she could tell. She thinks Cooper is in a posterior position (not optimal for birth but he still has plenty of time to move to the anterior position). So posterior is his head is down near the birth canal and he's facing my abdomen, his feet are near my ribs and possibly hooked on one. So the kicks/hits I feel on my bladder are his hands as he's reaching up to his head or sucking his thumb. There is a lot of empty space in the middle of my belly - when he turns, I should be able to feel his shoulder or butt. So, I've been trying to move him by sitting forward. I don't think he's moved yet and if he has my ribs are still sore and will continue to be for awhile because of the pressure.
I like the class because it takes more of the fear of labor out of the picture. The instructor is taught by a Doula with Mothertree Services and she's really intelligent and has good information. She's been to over 100 births, has two babies of her own and has information for hospital births and home births. She's a great resource and will be really helpful from now until I give birth and after for that matter.
It was also great to bond with Sharon. We did some massages, where the partner massages the mama and that was nice to incorporate touch and get in tune with each other. So much emphasis is on the baby that is was great to bring us together and do things to support one another.
