I'm not sure if I shared with you our first attempt at birthing classes. So, let me break it down now. We signed up for the 4 week birthing class (I say we but really I signed up and begged Dave to go). Having no idea that each of the four classes was 2 and a half hours long, we went to the first class thinking we would be done in an hour, hour and a half tops. Dead wrong! The class was way too informative for my liking and it took everything in us to last through the first class - almost 3 hours long. Especially when the instructor took out the balloon and ping pong ball! When the class finally ended and we walked to our car, we both said at the same time "no way are we going back". So, we dropped out of birthing class. I feel like maybe too much information is just that - too much information. The one thing we both felt was most important to know, however, was the best route to the birthing center at the hospital. So, I signed us up for the maternity tour. I had envisioned a quiet one hour tour, maybe with a few other couples, and lots of ahhs as we walked around seeing the rooms and catching glimpses of new babies. Well, not so much. We got to the lobby of the hospital and 6-8 couples were waiting for the tour to start. Great. Then 10-12 other couples showed up, and a nurse announced that due to planning changes in the birthing class schedule, the tour is now combined. Awesome. Remember how I just told you we dropped out of birthing class? Well, the class that was combined with our tour was the same class we dropped out of with the same instructor. We can't win! Just as the tour started, a man quickly escorted his very-much-in-serious-pain pregnant wife through the hallway and into the birthing center. I can honestly say I've never heard a moan like that woman had. Reality check! As all 40 tour participants waited for elevators (Dave and I elected to take the stairs), I knew right off the bat this was not going to be the special tour I had envisioned. As the nurse/tour guide gathered the herd before entering the labor and delivery floor, we ended up standing next to a very strange couple, who I am sure are very nice people in their own right, but strange nonetheless. All of the sudden mid-way through the nurse's speach about something I am sure was important but we couldn't hear, the woman next to me started talking to her husband/fiance/baby daddy and I swear I almost hit the floor. Ever seen the movie Poltergeist? OMG - creepiest tiny high pitched voice ever and it still gives me the creeps. The lady next to me, with the strange man, had that exact voice. Now I know from past experience in group settings with Dave that if I had turned around at that very moment and looked at Dave, we would have laughed out loud. So, I instead made the mature decision to focus on the nurse and try to forget about what was happening next to me. Unfortunately, Dave took the not-so-mature route and started laughing under his breath. Oh Lord, its on now. I can't leave my man hanging like that, so I start in. Now the both of us are hysterically laughing, trying to be as quiet as possible. I have dubbed this the "Church laugh". It's the one where you start ever so quietly and it gets louder and louder and you end up making a weird squeak sound too, and whatever made you initially laugh is now even more funny because it is wildly inappropriate for you to be laughing in the first place. This is not the first time this has happened to Dave and I (sighing as I remember our marriage prep classes - that was a really bad laughing episode also). However, this IS the first time this has happened to us and I am 8 months pregnant. During my fit of laughter, I all of the sudden had an extremely horrifying fear that I was either going to pee myself or fart uncontrolably. Not that this has happened yet in my pregnancy, but if it were to happen I can assure you it would happen in a public setting. After what felt like an eternity, we were finally able to become adults again and control ourselves. That was the highlight of the tour. Oh well, at least we know where we need to go when it's business time!
Life is moving really fast these days, especially with the holidays upon us. Normally I'd be running around all over God's creation finding the perfect gift, but this year is very different. I've slowly decorated the house and ran some very small errands, but really its been a season of chillin! Dave and I both have off the week in between Christmas and New Years. That doesn't seem like that far off, and its a little scary because my due date will be 3 weeks away at that point. I think that's a good time to wash baby clothes, install car seat, etc. But for now, let the chillin continue.
XOXO,
Courtney
