Baby Boot Camp!

Last night, Steve and I attended a "Baby Boot Camp" class put on by the family support center on base. We had a nice time, the instructor was great, and I think we learned some useful things.

For the first part, we had to go through a power point presentation and some handouts with info like what to pack for the hospital, what items we need for the baby - you know, the usual stuff. There were only 3 couples there, including us, and we were all due in June; we were the only couple expecting a girl. So, after the usual lecture information, we head down the hall for the fun part - hands on practice.

We all got dolls to work with and the first step was how to hold the baby. The author of the class was a man who had an army background, so everything had these cheesy army nicknames. For example, the basic hold of the baby was the "port hold" (something to do with how to hold a gun or something. I guess the baby could be considered a loaded weapon, huh? ; ) We had to practice passing the baby between the two of us and transferring to different holds. Steve was too cute - holding the doll all gingerly.

Next up, we had to change the baby's diaper! Loads of fun. Poor Steve, he was trying to follow the instructor's directions of how to hold the ankles and pull the baby up to slip the clean diaper underneath. Something just didn't compute between his head and his hands, but he eventually got it. The instructor thought it would be great to pass around pictures of baby poop. Good thing I hadn't eaten.

And sidebar here - we were there for THREE HOURS and they didn't feed us! Don't they know pregnant women be HONGREE. Yes, I said HONE-GREE, not HUNGRY. It's a whole other level of needing food. But I got some McDonald's afterwards, so that made up for it. : )

Okay, back to class. The instructor was using a doll that was weighted to be 8 pounds, and she would pass it around for all of us to see how a real baby might feel. Goodness! That thing was heavy! Eventually, she pulled out the other 8 pound dolls, so we all got a chance to work with them. We next had to dress those babies - with the admonition to "put the clothes ON the baby, not the baby IN the clothes."

Then, we learned what is supposedly the sure fire method to calm a crying baby. Some doctor out in California (I cannot remember his name) came up with this method, and apparently it works wonders on all babies. It is the "5 S's: Swaddling, Side, Shushing, Swinging, and Sucking." So first, you swaddle the baby into the "baby burrito." Then, you put them into the reverse football carry and tilt them on to their side while still holding them in the crook of your arm. Next, you "swing" them a little - kinda like waving your arm back and forth. Then, you go "SHHHHHHHHH" really loudly into their ears and give them a pacifier to suck on. And voila! You have a calm baby. I surely hope it works. We will definitely give it a try.

As our time was running short, we quickly went through bath time and cord care. It was a good class overall. Again, they should have had some FOOD there, but it was helpful and we took some useful information with us. Hopefully, it will give Steve more confidence in dealing with a newborn - he's always talking about how "fragile" they are, although I assure him he won't break our baby.

In the coming weeks, our schedule is full of doctor's appointments and more classes. The Lamaze classes are in Heidelberg, which is like a 40 minute drive from our house, so I've ordered the DVD so we can do the class at home. We are also reading Dr. Bradley's book, Husband Coached Childbirth, so that we can be prepared for labor. I've got a list of things I want to get done, so I look forward to the nesting kicking in full time. I get bouts of nesting here and there, but then I get burned out and sit myself down for a while.

And baby girl is already working me over. Steve found my first GRAY HAIR!!!!!!!! Ack! That's almost as bad as stretch marks! She isn't even HERE yet and already giving me gray hairs!

We're at 31 weeks - how much longer will it be??????