After the kid is born and Hooker and Mrs Hooker get intimate again that thread will be priceless. My advise is c-section because the vaj jay will not be the same.
Love my wife...not sure about kids. You guys don't seem to make a convincing argument for having them:D
Personally, I got a lot out of the birthing classes. If nothing else, it was time spent with my wife that I enjoyed. We had a great time together going to the classes. It also made me much more relaxed during delivery because I knew exactly what to expect. I know that my being relaxed was helpful to my wife. I will be the odd man out and tell you to take advantage of the classes. I know your wife will really appreciate your interest. To avoid them is kind of selfish in my opinion. If she can carry the baby for 9 months, you can give up a few hours for classes. I think having kids is the ultimate life experience. Nothing can ever compare.
If you haven't picked your hospital to deliver yet, here is a sound piece of advice. Being this is your first kid, find a hospital that essentially takes care of the newborn for you after he/she is born. When we had our first girl, the nurses kept her out with them and we would take her for a little while, then the nurse would take her back when we asked her to. We never changed a diaper until the day we took her home. Believe me, this is HUGE with your first kid since you will soon be overwhelmed with all the new duties and responsibilities. Call it easing into it. Not to mention the weeks or months of lack of sleep you are about to endure. Our second girl was born in a smaller hospital and she stayed in our room the whole time, which wasn't a big deal since we already went through it once. Bit if it were our first, then I could see it being a little overwhelming.
We've all heard the "tell the doc to put an extra stitch or two in that thing." So to be different, I requested a drawstring. I'll see how it works in another few weeks.
All of our friends suggested this to us as well but we kept Maelyn in the room with us both nights. I was all for letting her go to the nursery but the wife thought it would be a good idea for her to stay in the room with us to "learn her habits". We got a preview of what was to come and wasn't surprised when we took her home. I thought she made a good point. It wasn't as bad as I thought.
To each is own with this one. While I understand where this is coming from we wanted to be the ones mostly caring for our baby. Call it bonding or whatever. Not saying there is anything wrong with man mnjay is saying but it wasn't for us. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Could work the opposite if you have Dr that adds a stitch or two.... Also in response to the baby staying out of the way at the hospital ....We were just the opposite, we wanted him with us and in the room all the time... taking care of him/ her becomes the most important thing in your life..no sense putting it off even a minute. My wife and I having our was and is the best thing we ever accomplished in our our lives. Nothing I have ever done has been as rewarding being a father. Until that time I truly didn't understand how much you really can love another person. It gave me perspective as son and greater love and understanding of my parents as I was seeing life a little bit though their eyes and finally understanding their love for me also.
Darn... missed birthing class. Sure glad I had watched, pulled and helped with many C-sections on the farm growing up. I told the doctor if he needed a break, I could step in for him with my experience. He and the nurses laughed... the wife wasn't amused. She said she would have clobbered me if I had mentioned a calf puller. Seriously, the classes were never pushed by our doctor at the time with any of our kids. It wasn't a big thing then... at least in my area. The wife had no interest in them at all. To tell you the truth, I don't think Kayla went to them either when she was pregnant with Christine ( same doctor ). I'll have to ask to make sure though. Tim
There is no greater yet so humbling/awe of a feeling you get when you see one of your children born. Brings a tear of joy to your eye when they put them in your arms for the first time. I am not a touchy/feely type of guy for the most part but child birth is an experience like no other. I think you would make a great dad from reading all your posts over the years. Good God if hooker can do it... anybody can. ( kidding as he will probably be a much better dad then I ever was. ) Tim
Yeah, the Birthing Classes weren't so bad. I actually enjoyed the lessons on the process of the birth. It was all the breathing exercises that annoyed me.
And we will more than likely have a C-section, as our baby is currently Frank breach, and over 6 lbs with 4 weeks to go. With my wife having such a small torso, a big baby just doesn't have much room to turn. My wife says it feels like she is trying to turn, but can't because there is not enough room. C-section or natural, I just want a healthy baby and wife afterwards.
My advice for first timers... Birthing Classes - Go and enjoy them. Not just for you, but for your wife. Both my kid's births got a little interesting. If I hadn't been prepared that your kid could be pulled out by the head with a giant suction cup, I probably would have been even more freaked out than I was. Buying useless and expensive baby stuff - As long as it doesn't break the bank, let her do her thing. She may not admit it, but she is nervous as hell. Like Brad mentioned, everything thats going on is a recipe for making poor decisions. In the end, its really not a big deal. There will be MUCH bigger things to worry about down the road. There is no guarantee the vaj will be wrecked. No two are the same. And like already mentioned, if she's needs stitches afterward, it can be an improvement. Longer recover, but hey. I'm sure I made a bigger deal out of some stuff at the time. Looking back, those issues were minuscule compared to everything you deal with as your family grows and gets older. I still wouldn't trade it for anything. Those little ****s bring a smile to my face every damn day.
Whether you want the baby with you is your own thing. I did because I was dedicated to nursing them and I didn't want the nurses sneaking in a bottle to keep them quiet. You might have to make an issue of it if you want them with you. As far as tightness afterwards is concerned, you know what I mean. The stitiches are to close up the episiotomy which is done to prevent tearing. You have to do the kegel exercises after in order to restore muscle tone. I did them religiously. My husband says he can't tell any difference between before and after. Good luck on avoiding the caesarean Hooker. Babies are very unpredictable. Both of mine turned early and came early. Natural is more fun. I don't recommend going without the epidural though. With Miriam, I was squiming too much and he couldn't get the needle in. I chose to skip it with Michelle, but people tell me it's a lot more comfortable with, especially if its a long labor. Mine were both very short. Both labors were really brief. I was ready to go out hunting a couple hours afterwards. (Just kidding about that.) I'm babbling all this because I think it might help you to hear some of this stuff from the female side.
The expensive baby stuff.....I just.....dont.....get it. I almost had a panic attack the first time we stepped into Babies R Us. Why does an infants hoodie cost the same as one for ME!?! Anyways, I let her splurge on some things, but for the most part we kept it under control. Hooker, my one advice about actual delivery, even if she is adamant about going without the epidural, if she gets induced try with all your might to convince her to get it. When they started the induction with my wife she went from 0 to 100 in about 15 minutes. I have never seen anyone in that much pain and there was nothing I could do. Once she broke down and asked for the epidural it can take 2 hours for her to get it (mine waited just shy of 2 hours). That was the longest 2 hours of my life and I am sure she would tell you the same thing. After she got it she took a 2 hour nap and when she woke up it was time to push. Good luck! You are in for one hell of a ride, but there is nothing like looking at my little guy and he looks back and starts laughing while crawling to me.
Stock up on rest now dude. I have a feeling you may be a little too tired to be ranting about much in the beginning months. :P The flood gates will probably open later though. Haha
The only good info i got from birthing class was a thing they talked about called kegle.. I did find that interesting, and found it had multple benifits... Just kidding-- I always asked the same questions when it came to the wife adding to her collection of baby stuff and accessories.. How long will you uses it and is it nessisary? And I always got nasty looks!
