Bradley Method Class--Wk1/2

As I write this, a certain little girl is kicking me just below my right rib cage, practicing her dégages. Our strong girl may make a beautiful ballerina someday, especially with all this in-utero practice.

(Let's just hope she got her daddy's arches)

Today was our first time to attend our Bradley Method class. Really, the class started last week but I've been struggling with insomnia and hadn't gotten to sleep until almost 6am that morning. Getting up at 8:30am was just not happening. This morning though, we had no excuse. I was incredibly nervous and almost asked not to go. For some reason new groups tend to make me anxious and I wondered "will we even want to be there?!" The answer, we both discovered, was "YES!!" I can tell I'm going to get a lot out of the class to help prepare me for the natural birth I'm hoping to achieve, and Adam was remarking how he felt like it really gave him a specific role and a way to participate. The class will take place over the next few weeks until---October 1st. :) Yes, a day before our "guess date". Though, if I'm anything like the women in my family, or the rest of the un-induced ladies out there, I'll be an extra 1-2wks.

Today we covered the exercises we'll continue and increase over the next few months. Exercises like squats, the butterfly, tailor sitting, and kegels.

Tailor Sitting

• Sit on the floor with feet crossed near hips. Keep the back tall and lean gently forward.
• Use as a replacement for chair-sitting whenever possible.
  

Squatting

• Place feet hip-width apart, keep knees over the toes and gently lower to a deep flat-footed squat. Hold on to a counter top or a partner for balance if necessary. Return to standing by coming up "tail first" and roll the spine up.
• Use squatting in place of bending over.

Pelvic Rocking

• On hands and knees, forming a box with hands directly under shoulders and knees directly under hips, begin with your back in a neutral, level position. Gently relax the lower back, keeping your upper back still. As you return the spine to neutral, pull in your abdominal muscles, thinking "belly button to backbone."
• This is my hands-down favorite exercise for relieving back discomfort, and a host of other pregnancy-related discomforts. Begin with four sets of ten, spread throughout your day, including a set immediately before bed.

Butterfly Exercise

• Sit on the floor, leaning at about a 45-degree angle against a firm support with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Have a partner assist you by kneeling in front of you and applying mild resistance to the outsides of your knees as you separate your knees and lower them to the floor. Release the resistance and return to starting position.
• This exercise strengthens the abductor muscles, making it easier to maintain a good birthing position for second stage.

Kegels

• Tone the pelvic floor by contracting and releasing the pelvic floor muscles as if you were trying to start and stop the flow of urine.

We also covered relaxation techniques to practice now and use in labor as well as an in-depth discussion on true prenatal nutrition and breastfeeding. The breastfeeding was more of an introduction, and we're expected to go to a La Leche League meeting sometime in the next week to get an idea and take notes to speak about next Saturday. I really appreciated that all parts of the class gave Adam a job to do. "Here is how you help with this exercise...this will help you both when she is....your role in the relaxation is....she needs you because..." A Bradley Method catch phrase is "Pregnancy is an athletic event." Hence calling the husbands coaches. Also, a phrase our teacher used that I liked was, "A real man helps finish what he started." While Adam has always been in the "how can I help and support you" camp, it's important to me that the classes are centered around the husband learning how to help his wife get through this intense and draining event the best way possible, and to be there the way she needs him to be.

The woman teaching our class is a mother of three, two she birthed at a birth center and her 13mo old was born at home. There is only one other couple in our class (the most allowed in one class is six couples) and they were incredibly friendly and exciting to talk to. We left feeling energized, excited and looking forward to next Saturday. We even stopped at the grocery store on our way home with a new found resolve to fill the gaps in our diet right then and there. Part of this weeks assignment, along with our exercise and relaxation, is to record what we're eating and mark off our servings as we consume them through the day. We'll see how I do. It didn't occur to me until we were going over it in class that while I've embraced apples over the last few weeks...I've pretty much stopped eating any leafy greens, citrus, or...you get the idea. *GOAL* I WILL do better this week! I will! :)