Childbirth Class #2 and American Idol
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Yeah, those two topics don't really seem to go together, but they are what is on my mind today. So, please just humor me. :) Let's start with the lighter of the two topics--American Idol. The season starts tonight and yes, I will be watching. Matthew says he flat out refuses to watch the show this year. He said it is the same old crap and he's tired of it. I have gently reminded him that I sat through the entire season of Whale Wars and Myth Busters and so I think he may relent and take up his rightful place on the adjacent sofa. We'll see.
According to internet chatter, they plan to make the show "different" this year with less no- talent rejects. Yeah right, I've already seen that chick in the bikini that sings so badly my dog howls. And, I've also heard Simon put her through to the next round even though she can't sing, but that is just a rumor. Again, we'll see. I'm curious to see how the new 4th judge fits into the show. I'm not really obsessed with Idol, but I do like to watch it. The first season I watched was the one with Chris Daughtry on it. That boy was robbed. He should have won. But, he has went on to be more successful than most Idol "winners" so kudos to him. But, anyway...I guess I'll let you know how I feel about this season after tonight's 2 hour show. Anyone else tuning in?
O.k., childbirth class. Last night's class was the class I had been dreading. Our instructor pulls out the birthing video. This may be where some of you want to stop reading. Just a suggestion. Don't say you haven't been warned. She had said at the end of last class that the videos we were watching were very "tasteful" and "didn't show any more than that you'd see on Baby Story". Humm, I thought...I've seen Baby Story. They blurr out the woman's private parts. I can handle that. Well, I'm sorry to say, our teacher LIED. I should have been forewarned because I did ask at the beginning of last night's class if she was sure that we wouldn't see "anything" private. She sort of changed her story then and said that we would see a couple parts. I won't mention which ones for the more squeamish among us. I thought, well, maybe I can handle that. Yeah right.
I should have listened to my own intuition. If I felt like I shouldn't watch it, I shouldn't have watched it. It was the nastiest thing I have ever seen. I'm not among the set that thinks birth is "beautiful". It is a very gory, slimy, gross process. And, I've seen more of that poor woman on the video than I will ever be able to get out of my head. I'm talking up close and personal. One camera shot had to have been less than 6 inches from her (well, you know).
As soon as I saw it, I immediately looked away, but it was too late. I had the mental image stuck in my head. The wave of warmth and nausea started at my feet and radiated upward in one swift motion. I thougth I was going to faint. I caught the look on the face of the girl beside me and she looked the way I felt. I didn't throw up (thank goodness) but I will NOT be watching any more birth videos. I had to sit and fan myself with my notebook for the rest of the class to keep from tossing up my pre-baby class burrito.
Maybe some people feel differently, but talking to others after our class, they said that they felt more scared and nervous after watching the video. My mom had 2 babies herself and said that seeing my nephew born was WORSE than going through her own births. So just because you don't enjoy watching other people give birth doesn't mean that you won't be able to hack it during your own birth. That made me feel better about the situation.
My thought is, if you are going to have to have a root canal, they don't have you watch a video of it first. If you are going to have your tonsils taken out, they don't have you watch a video first. I don't understand why birth is the one medical procedure that they insist you watch before hand. Yes, I know, many folks don't consider birth a "medical" procedure but a "natural" one. I do know that childbirth classes are supposed to make you feel more relaxed and prepared for giving birth. I know that I will have to go through my own birth eventually, but I am so darn mad at myself for making myself look at that video. I got lucky enough to not get any morning sickness, so I certainly am not going to make myself get sick just so I can be "informed" about the goings on down there during birth. Not gonna happen any more.
Just so you know, this isn't the first birthing video I've seen. The first was in 6th grade in sex ed class and I have been hesitant to watch another ever since then. Last night, I figured I'd just put on my big girl panties and watch it. After all, maybe my views of birth had changed since junior high. Nope, still gross. Still not watching. The funny thing is that blood doesn't bother me. I watch those medical shows where they are doing open heart surgery, brain surgery, etc. and I find it fascinating. On Animal Planet, I'm the first to tune into the animal vet shows which don't bother me a bit either. It's just the whole childbirth thing. And, not a c-section birth. Those, oddly enough, don't bother me. It is just having to see someone's private parts in a "regular" birth,I guess, that makes me so squeamish about it.
My 2nd near fainting episode came when the teacher suggested that we may want to watch our OWN births in the mirror. Are you kidding me? I want to remember my lady parts in their unaltered state. I don't want to know what they look like while something the size of a watermelon is being squeezed through them! And, no, I do not want my husband checking out my business down there either. That is one of the FIRST things I said when I found out I was pregnant. There is just no need for husbands to have to look at that. No wonder people have a hard time resuming "relations" with each other after childbirth. They probably can't get that nasty mental image out of their heads!
So, I say save it for the medical professionals. They get paid to look at gross stuff. ha.ha. I don't. So, please don't show me any more stranger's lady parts, keep your mirror out of my sight and give me my epidural. If I ain't interested in looking at it, I ain't interested in feeling it either, you know? But that rant is for another day entirely....
According to internet chatter, they plan to make the show "different" this year with less no- talent rejects. Yeah right, I've already seen that chick in the bikini that sings so badly my dog howls. And, I've also heard Simon put her through to the next round even though she can't sing, but that is just a rumor. Again, we'll see. I'm curious to see how the new 4th judge fits into the show. I'm not really obsessed with Idol, but I do like to watch it. The first season I watched was the one with Chris Daughtry on it. That boy was robbed. He should have won. But, he has went on to be more successful than most Idol "winners" so kudos to him. But, anyway...I guess I'll let you know how I feel about this season after tonight's 2 hour show. Anyone else tuning in?
O.k., childbirth class. Last night's class was the class I had been dreading. Our instructor pulls out the birthing video. This may be where some of you want to stop reading. Just a suggestion. Don't say you haven't been warned. She had said at the end of last class that the videos we were watching were very "tasteful" and "didn't show any more than that you'd see on Baby Story". Humm, I thought...I've seen Baby Story. They blurr out the woman's private parts. I can handle that. Well, I'm sorry to say, our teacher LIED. I should have been forewarned because I did ask at the beginning of last night's class if she was sure that we wouldn't see "anything" private. She sort of changed her story then and said that we would see a couple parts. I won't mention which ones for the more squeamish among us. I thought, well, maybe I can handle that. Yeah right.
I should have listened to my own intuition. If I felt like I shouldn't watch it, I shouldn't have watched it. It was the nastiest thing I have ever seen. I'm not among the set that thinks birth is "beautiful". It is a very gory, slimy, gross process. And, I've seen more of that poor woman on the video than I will ever be able to get out of my head. I'm talking up close and personal. One camera shot had to have been less than 6 inches from her (well, you know).
As soon as I saw it, I immediately looked away, but it was too late. I had the mental image stuck in my head. The wave of warmth and nausea started at my feet and radiated upward in one swift motion. I thougth I was going to faint. I caught the look on the face of the girl beside me and she looked the way I felt. I didn't throw up (thank goodness) but I will NOT be watching any more birth videos. I had to sit and fan myself with my notebook for the rest of the class to keep from tossing up my pre-baby class burrito.
Maybe some people feel differently, but talking to others after our class, they said that they felt more scared and nervous after watching the video. My mom had 2 babies herself and said that seeing my nephew born was WORSE than going through her own births. So just because you don't enjoy watching other people give birth doesn't mean that you won't be able to hack it during your own birth. That made me feel better about the situation.
My thought is, if you are going to have to have a root canal, they don't have you watch a video of it first. If you are going to have your tonsils taken out, they don't have you watch a video first. I don't understand why birth is the one medical procedure that they insist you watch before hand. Yes, I know, many folks don't consider birth a "medical" procedure but a "natural" one. I do know that childbirth classes are supposed to make you feel more relaxed and prepared for giving birth. I know that I will have to go through my own birth eventually, but I am so darn mad at myself for making myself look at that video. I got lucky enough to not get any morning sickness, so I certainly am not going to make myself get sick just so I can be "informed" about the goings on down there during birth. Not gonna happen any more.
Just so you know, this isn't the first birthing video I've seen. The first was in 6th grade in sex ed class and I have been hesitant to watch another ever since then. Last night, I figured I'd just put on my big girl panties and watch it. After all, maybe my views of birth had changed since junior high. Nope, still gross. Still not watching. The funny thing is that blood doesn't bother me. I watch those medical shows where they are doing open heart surgery, brain surgery, etc. and I find it fascinating. On Animal Planet, I'm the first to tune into the animal vet shows which don't bother me a bit either. It's just the whole childbirth thing. And, not a c-section birth. Those, oddly enough, don't bother me. It is just having to see someone's private parts in a "regular" birth,I guess, that makes me so squeamish about it.
My 2nd near fainting episode came when the teacher suggested that we may want to watch our OWN births in the mirror. Are you kidding me? I want to remember my lady parts in their unaltered state. I don't want to know what they look like while something the size of a watermelon is being squeezed through them! And, no, I do not want my husband checking out my business down there either. That is one of the FIRST things I said when I found out I was pregnant. There is just no need for husbands to have to look at that. No wonder people have a hard time resuming "relations" with each other after childbirth. They probably can't get that nasty mental image out of their heads!
So, I say save it for the medical professionals. They get paid to look at gross stuff. ha.ha. I don't. So, please don't show me any more stranger's lady parts, keep your mirror out of my sight and give me my epidural. If I ain't interested in looking at it, I ain't interested in feeling it either, you know? But that rant is for another day entirely....
