Childbirth class

Ryan and I attended our very first childbirth class on Thursday evening. There were about 100 people in the class! I guess we know what people at Fort Hood do for fun. ;-) The teacher informed us that there are 210 moms due in September, so delivery day may get interesting. The hospital only has 7 Labor and Delivery suites, so we may get sent off post. Basically our class was a lot of powerpoint slideshows and videos, but all of it was very informational. The best part was when the instructor brought out the empathy belly! Of course, Ryan HAD to try it on. . .and the first thing he did was grope the boobs. Actually, that's the first thing all the guys that put it on did. What is the fascination with boobs? =) He did say the belly was very uncomfortable, so maybe it gave him some idea of what I feel like most days. He didn't get on the floor and try to simulate getting out of bed, but there's always next class. Other dudes wanted to try it on so he didn't wear it long. One thing we did learn at the class. . .all these weeks that I thought Caroline was pushing out really hard turned out to be Braxton Hicks contractions! They're coming more frequently now, so I guess my body is getting ready for the big game...which is coming very soon. Six weeks and counting!

33 Weeks

I had my 33 week checkup(should have been at 32 weeks, but Fort Hood is weird) and it was quite the experience. I saw a Family Practice resident (read: BRAND NEW doc) and it had to be the longest appt I've had thus far. My new midwife (she's GREAT) wound up disagreeing with most of his advice and even had to reschedule my next appt since this guy didn't want me to come back in until 37 weeks! The funniest part was when he measured my belly and tried to get Caroline's heartbeat. He felt all around and pressed and squeezed the baby, so she's getting all squirmy and then he puts the doppler where her butt is. He's obviously not getting a heartbeat, so I told him that they normally get it on the bottom left side. He didn't listen to me and the baby kept moving away from him. I just had to laugh. . .even though her movements were getting a bit painful! He wound up finding the heartbeat (where I said he would) and finally the appt was over. It was just another funny episode of our new life in Texas. Oh, and he estimated that Caroline currently weighs between 4 1/2 and 5 lbs. I've gained 8 total lbs, so I think its safe to say that I'm all baby! =) We can't wait to meet her!