We arrived just before class started so I had to run up to the NICU to drop off Alice's food while my Beloved signed us in and picked out our baby. When I get down to class - this is what greets me....
Daniel said she was the next baby in the basket and thought picking over her might be seen as racist and would be added to our already lengthy chart and he felt this was a test. We had an explosive diaper incident in the NICU - the chart was getting thicker, I just knew it. Those NICU Nurses chart everything!
We pick a seat at the back of the class because we are one of two couples NOT pregnant. (The couple in front of us were having a baby via surrogate - I'm glad we got to sit by them; I hope it helped her to see me choke up with her when things were mentioned that we'll never get.)
We start the class by saying who we are and our due date. We're last so that's fun. "Well, she was due December 2nd and born on September 20th. And we can tell you the NICU here is fantastic." The teacher then spent the rest of class sending us apologetic looks when she mentioned something about the birthing process and hospital polices and the nursery rules and such that don't apply to us. However we did get to show them what a nursery band looked like!
We discussed the importance of Skin to Skin right after birth, something else we didn't get to do. We then watched a video of the birthing process and we decided that a C-section with general anesthesia is the way to go! The miracle of life is gross. Totally gross.
We went over basic child care and practiced bathing, swaddling and diapering. We talked about coping with crying and the teacher mentioned checking over the baby to find the problem for example if they're too cold or hot or have a dirty diaper.
My Beloved: So basically babies are just like chickens and they just want to be comfortable.
Me: Chickens?! Really Daniel?!
(Daniel wants me to point out that this was said to only me and not announced to the class. ;) )
We learned how to suck out boogers and it was mentioned that you could use your own mouth. This caused my Beloved to gag and immediately say "not in my house!" ;) And I laughed until tears came. Seriously - I wish I had taken a picture of his face. It was classic!
We watched a short video from The Happiest Baby on the Block where we learned 3 of the 5 steps to make a baby stop crying.
Step 1: Swaddle
Step 2: Put them on their side
Step 3: Scream SHHHHHHHH in their ear really loudly
Steps 4 & 5 were skipped. I hope Alice is okay with the SHHHHHHHHing.
Then the class was opened to questions. A mom asked about birthing plans and I snorted. I didn't mean to, it just came out. Bless her heart.
SOAP BOX ALERT!: We talked a lot about the importance of breast feeding. Apparently the hospital is now "Baby Friendly" which apparently means all they are allowed to encourage is breast feeding so much so that NICU nurses make you feel inadequate when you bring a small amount of milk for your baby. It's lovely. But not really. Like I need the additional pressure. Breast feeding is no fun ladies! None at all! And it's NOT EASY! AND if you have a baby at 29 weeks and 4 days and spend three days after delivery completely drugged out in ICU without even laying eyes on your child and go another week before you are even allowed to hold your child - it's REALLY not easy.
Soap box over.
We had a lot of fun in class and tried not to cause too much trouble. We followed up infant class with infant CPR and I was thankful the dummies didn't look like real babies which made it easier. Had they resembled real babies I think I would have cried the entire time. Now I just hope we never have to use it.
We've had little Alice home a little over a week now and we are in LOVE!!! And she is doing great! So it doesn't matter that we didn't get to do Skin to Skin the second she came in to the world. Or that she's getting both formula and breast milk. Or that she was born much too soon.
She's ours and she's a fighter and that's all that matters.
.JPG)
And we are thankful for her always. I'm thankful that she doesn't realize she's small and she's growing more and more every day.
Until next time....
2 comments:
You are doing great!! Yes, breastfeeding and pumping are hard work. You do what you can and then you try to remind yourself that your value as a Mom isn't tied to how much moo juice you can manufacture. Just ask Daniel, he isn't making any moo juice and he a fine parent.
And it's swinging and sucking. I would also add jossleing, holding them on your chest, any repetitive soothing/grunting noise, or just taking them outside for a walk in the backyard for a change of scenery.
Caring for a baby is hard, but she will only be this little once and you will miss it a year from now, so treasure it.
Thanks Aunt Kristl!
Post a Comment