At the break of 9 a.m. on Saturday morning, Tj and I attended the first of two birth classes. Along with a dozen other couples, we went through a lot of different topics. After the getting to know you stuff, we talked about pregnancy lingo and the aches and pains that go along with it. Cherste, the instructor, then asked for a volunteer to wear the Empathy Belly. All the men in the room averted their eyes and the room got quiet. You could see other wives poking and prodding their husbands to take the bait. After a long quiet minute or two, I hear “I’ll do it.” come from Tj’s mouth. Thank god I brought my camera. He put on the thirty pound suit and extra weighted bladder and rejoined the class for several minutes of discussion. After that we had him perform some simple tasks like tying shoes, bending over to pick something up and rolling over in bed. He took it all like a champ and really made me proud. Way to take one for the team Tj!

The rest of the class was informative and interesting. We talked about the different phases of labor and what to expect in each. A big part of the class was dedicated to comfort techniques and learning how to ease the pain in labor. We even took some time to quietly massage each-other and practice meditative breathing. After lunch we saw a birthing video and practiced more labor positions. I really enjoyed using the birthing ball and definitely will be asking for one at the hospital when it’s my turn. At the end of class we held cold ice in our hands to simulate stress and pain management and then we put our comfort techniques into action. It was amazing how much I didn’t notice the pain of the ice when Tj and I were using the techniques that she had taught us. All in all, a very successful day. I look forward to next week’s class and getting the tour of the birthing rooms and hospital.

Click here to see the full gallery of pregnancy photos.