A Weekend in Class

Husband and I spent the weekend in a childbirth education class at the local hospital. I have done so much reading that it was a bit of a refresher class for me, however it was great "making" hubby hear and see the information too. I think his favorite parts were the birth video and the hour long segment on breastfeeding (giggle, giggle).

One of my favorite parts was the tour of the labor and delivery (l&d) unit. It was nice to see where this event will take place and understand a little better what is available to us. Another very positive thing is that the l&d unit has just undergone a renovation so there is a lot of new equipment. There are also two waiting rooms for any family that might be here, even though that will most likely only be my sister at the time of delivery.

My official due date is October 8th and we received some less than exciting news last week. Husband has to travel over seven hours out of town and be gone from September 21 through October 5. My fingers are crossed that Baby does not decide to arrive early, although he should be able to make the trip back in such an event. My sister will be here at the time too, so she will be able to help out. I keep telling myself, "at least he is not in Iraq, that would be a much worse situation."

Now, we just need to make the birth plan that is highly encouraged by the hospital. We do have some quirky little things, but since the natural route has never even been up for discussion, I don't feel that we have a whole heck of a lot to put into it, simply three main things. #1, I don't really want any medication, if possible, other than the epidural at, hopefully, 5 or 6 cm. (I really want it to last until Baby is out.) But, I don't know what I don't know, and that means that I don't know if I will be able to make it that long. #2, Husband doesn't want to cut the cord, so maybe ask, just in case he has changed his mind, but assume the answer is "no". And, finally, #3, I would prefer if the baby is cleaned up a bit and then given back to me rather than laid on top of me right after birth. There is something about how a brand new, straight out of the womb baby looks that freaks me out a bit, and I don't think that will change even with it being my own. If any moms out there have other pointers to add, I would love to hear them.

The other big event of the weekend was date night Saturday when we finally got the opportunity to see The Dark Knight. Husband and I both agree that the movie was deserving of the all of the hype and did not disappoint. Just when we thought it was going to end, there was another plot twist. And, the late Heath Ledger did a phenomenal job, although, if we did not know that it was him, we probably would have never guessed it; his character was incredibly demented and creepy. Anyhow, the movie was well worth the money to see it in the theater.

Help Wanted

I am looking for information on webcams. I know lots of you use(d) them during deployment situations and believe that you may be more knowledgeable than I on the subject. Are there some out there that would be better than others? Are they very difficult to set up? Are they pretty easy to use? Any information would be helpful. I am thinking about getting them for our future grandparents since we are over half a country away from them all. (They are a bit computer savey, but not too high tech.) Thanks, in advance, for your help with this. I look forward to reading lots of responses.