Postnatal Parents Group

He estado iendo a un grupo postnatal que se reune cada semana en el pueblito de Oundle. Obviamente, todo el mundo en el grupo ya tiene un bebe (de un edad menos de un ano), pero mi comadrona me alentó a asistir a las clases con una otra mujer embarazada de Upper Benefield (el pueblito donde vivimos – bien cerca de Oundle). La semana pasada, aprendimos a atratar a un infante cuando se esta ahogando – la semana que viene será CPR. Hoy discutieron como destetar. Algunas de las madres en el grupo tenían caras cansadisimas, pero no obstante lograron asistir a la clase. Me alegro mucho que tenemos un red social del apoyo, así que no vivimos cerca de familia. La sistema de cuido en los EEUU debe notar el éxito de programas así en Inglaterra. Perdona los errores gramaticas!

I’ve been going to a postnatal group that meets once a week in Oundle. Obviously, everyone there already has babies (under 1 year) but my midwife encouraged me to go with another pregnant woman in the village who is due around the same time as me. Last week Pedro went also and we learned how to deal with choking – next week is CPR. Today they talked about weaning – it’s amazing how many things you need to consider for babies that you would never otherwise think about! Some of the mothers in the group look so, so tired but they manage to make it out each week just to get together for a little social support – I’m really glad that I’ll have that, especially without any family living anywhere remotely nearby. The healthcare system in the US should really take note of this sort of thing!

26 Weeks, more classes

We had our last parentcraft class on Thursday at the hospital - I thought it was better than last time, but three hours of the evening does get to be a bit long. We got a tour of the hospital and got to see the facilities for delivery, which were pretty nice. Next week begin the classes just for pregnant mothers-to-be at the smaller, local clinic. I'll get a chance to meet other women who are as far along as I am, which will be really nice. Other than that, the belly doesn't seem like it's getting a whole lot bigger these last few weeks, though the belly button threatens to pop out at any moment.

Prenatal Classes

We had our first prenatal class last night at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, where I’ll be having the baby. The class lasted three hours! There were about six other couples there and we were all at varying stages of pregnancy. Since I’ve read so many books, the class wasn’t as helpful to me as I think it was to Pedro – but it did answer some of our questions pertaining to giving birth specifically in England.

It was reassuring that the midwife giving the class didn’t seem to promote any one type of pain medication, like I expected. I had heard that they don’t really like giving epidurals and encourage drug-free births – but this was clearly just hearsay. As for me, my mind is pretty open about it. Before I got pregnant, I always just assumed that I would go straight for the epidural, but I like the idea of having an active labor and being able to move around a lot more outside of the bed to aid in delivery. So we’ll see when the big day comes just how I feel about it!

Tuvimos nuestra primera clase prenatal anoche en el hospital (tres horas!), donde yo voy a dar a la luz. Habian seis otras parejas ahí, y todas las mujeres estaban en varias niveles del embarazo. Desde que yo habia leído muchos libros sobre el embarazo, la clase no era muy útil para mi, pero creo que Pedro la disfrutó mucho – aunque yo creo que esa clase contestó nuestras preguntas sobre como es a parir especificamente en Inglaterra.

La comadrona no recomendó ningun tipo de droga contra el dolor, como yo pensé. Yo habia oído que la sistema aquí alienta nacimientos naturales (sin drogas) – pero, eso no es la verdad. Nos dio mucha información, y tengo una mente mas abierta.