Back to School...

No joke. With Baby H on the way, I quickly realized that we have a lot to learn. I want to make sure that everything from childbirth to initial parenting is as good as it can be for our little pumpkin, so that means...we're going back to school!

I spent a few hours today reviewing different childbirth and parenting class options available in the DC area. So many! Instead of getting overwhelmed by the options, I decided to narrow my initial search to classes relevant right now...not once the kid enters preschool.

Thankfully, Inova Alexandria (our hospital) has a lot of options, and I've already marked our calendar for the Baby Care, Breastfeeding for Success (think this one is all me!) and Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid with Infant and Child CPR classes. We'll start taking these classes in early Sept to late October (although I'm waiting to officially sign up and pay the $$ til after our 1st Tri Screening (u/s) on April 10th). Prior to that time though (the classes, not April 10th), we need to get ready for the actual childbirth...

Since I've decided I want to do this au natural (if possible), I've been looking into options such as Bradley Method (BM) and hypnobirthing. Since I want Mike to be as involved as possible in the process, BM seemed like a better idea than hypnobirthing. BM is considered a husband-coached birthing but essentially any one can be the coach (the idea is one person who's gone through the training with you and will be your support during the actual process). The class is 12 weeks long, so we're actually starting on July 9th and going once per week through Sept 24th. They like you to finish about a month out from your due date in case you go early. The place we're going to has a website, so if you want to take a look at all the class entails. :) I'm excited! I think it will be great preparation, and it will also make the whole "baby on the way" realization sink in all the quicker. I think.

So between Mike starting grad school in April and us going to all these baby classes starting in July, we're officially hitting the books in the Husband household again. It's been awhile! And I can't wait!

xoxo
V