Childbirth Preparation Class {Day 4}

Today was the last and final day of our Childbirth Preparation Class.  Overall, we both believe it was worth it. There were some topics we found very informative while others not so much.. but we couldn't imagine the perfect class.

Tonight's focus was on everything after birth. This included:

• What the nurses do right after he is born. Such as:
• Clearing his nasal passages with a suction bulb
• Measuring his weight, head circumference and length
• Putting the ointment in his eyes to help prevent any infection that could have happened during birth
• Determining his Apgar score which measures his responsiveness and vital signs. This includes his heart rate, breathing, color, activity and muscle tone as well as reflex response.
• A vitamin K shot
• What tests will be done. Some we are aware of include:
• Newborn screening that includes a PKU screening
• Hearing test

We also discussed briefly different ways to help soothe our baby if we have tried feeding and changing him and neither has helped. They include:

• Swaddling him
• Taking a drive in the car
• Listening to music
• Turning on the vacuum
• Changing his position
• Burping him
• And many others... 

Overall, the best piece of information we learned tonight was that during the first hour of Pierce's life, he will be alert - so alert that we need to soak up this time with him, just the two of us. He will spend a lot of time studying our faces. I can hardly wait to see the look on his face when he recognizes our voices.... what a moment.... Plus his smell and touch will help to further identify and become attached to us.

HURRY UP PIERCE!!