Weekend Recap: Baby Welcoming School

It’s been a wild work week!  We’re off for “Second Eid” holiday here in the UAE after tomorrow. 

As I said before, our weekends are Friday – Saturday.  So, we’re off Thursday – Sunday!  So as many people like to say, “Tomorrow is my Friday!”

Because of the wild work week, it’s taken me this long to load pictures and updates relating to last weekend’s adventures. 

So here goes the rehash, broken out into two sections.  Wherever possible, provided in picture form!

First off, I booked us for a 2 day whirlwind session on all things baby at the American Hospital in Dubai.

  

Below, you’ll find the agenda. 

Note the comment about the graphic videos.  Adam was a little apprehensive when he read that, but once we were in the class, and in full baby-discussion mode, the transition to the video felt pretty natural.

If anything, I think it was a lot more traumatic for any of the mothers-to-be in the room.  After all, it is us going through the physically exhausting experience.  Their job is to cheer on, keep us hydrated, cut the cord and likely, deal with being yelled at. 

American Hospital Dubai-Lobby

I’ve been obsessively reading birthing and baby care books and thought I had heard every theory, but going to the class and participating in full discussions was really wonderful and I think we both learned so much!  It  didn’t change our minds about our birth plan (I said before I was an OCD planner, I wasn’t kidding!).  If anything, I think watching the videos really reinforced my desire for a natural, no-meds delivery (barring no complications).  I couldn’t help noticing the babies in natural delivery videos screamed their head off upon being born, while the babies where the mother had opted for medication kind of limped along for a few seconds, or even longer in some instances! 

As our due date approaches, I can’t help but feel scared about the pain and stress involved in delivering a baby.  I keep reminding myself to look around…all these people were born, one way or another. 

I think the absolutely most traumatic experience out of these classes was the infant CPR training.  The idea of having to resuscitate our baby was terrifying even before the demonstration using a doll.  Afterwards, both of us were silent, almost holding our breath.  Facing scary nightmares like this are the reason moms don’t go back to work!  After watching that, it’s hard to imagine ever feeling comfortable enough with anyone other than your spouse for the proper care of your child.  Alas, you have to tell yourself this is an over-the-top reaction and that your baby will be in the best care possible while you’re not there. 

We’re very excited about the setup on the day of…we get a midwife, OB/GYN and a full nursing staff.  The whole midwife thing is new to me as it’s not very common in the US.  I like the idea of having the doctor there to make the call on any serious medical issues, but the natural aspect the midwife will bring to the whole event is really refreshing!
I absolutely love our doctor.  She’s trained in the US and in Europe, has worked in the UK and in the States, but is originally from India.

When we met her, she told us her philosophy was that “giving birth is more of an art form than a science.”  However, she also said “I’m a trained surgeon.  If I need to perform surgery, we will also have that option, but I’m not taking you there first.”

I love, love, LOVE that birth-by-C-section is off the table unless absolutely necessary.  Make no mistake about it, though it’s frequently rolled out, it is a serious surgery and I, for one, do not welcome the idea of 7 layers of skin, tissue, muscle…being sliced through!  No thanks! 

Though the entire weekend included some other fun activities (post on that to come), I think the “baby welcoming school" was a great investment!   As a bonus, we got to go on a full tour of the entire maternity ward & nursery! 



Showtime & HBO on the flat screen in the delivery rooms!



We’re nearing being as baby-ready as we can possibly be.  My maternity leave dates are locked down (Note: I love my employer!!!!!!!).  I head out at the end of November to walk, eat spicy food and try anything else to get this baby to come after hitting the 37^th week!

Fancy remote control blinds in the delivery rooms