Nurturing the Pregnant Couple Workshop

Over the weekend Jeremy and I took a two day workshop taught by one of my regular yoga teachers focused on relaxation and body work for labor, delivery, and beyond.  I was excited about taking this class since my yoga teacher told me about it back in October (just in time for me to be too late for the Fall one), and hoped that I would still be pregnant by the time January 4th rolled around.  Luckily for me, I was (and still am), so we got to enjoy two days of learning beyond what was taught in the hospital based Birth and Baby class.

We're in the back, right in the middle

Day 1 started with some partner's yoga, pretty much my regular class but with the added bonus of Jeremy doing it next to me.  Then we had some time to learn about various labor/birth facts, all of which was review for us and a little boring.  The class ended with an extended lesson for Jeremy on how to massage me (totally the best part of class!) and he did very well.  I think the overall point was to help us connect and for Jeremy to know how to help my body feel better during labor. We also learned about "Rebozo" techniques, which was basically a series of movements using a large scarf in various ways to stretch, relax, and massage me.

Day 2 started with some light yoga again (Jeremy and I did very well, by the way, one of the only couple capable of some of the twistier stretches.  High fives all around.)  Then I got to learn how to massage Jeremy (which he said he enjoyed) to stay with the theme of connecting with our partner.  Then we had more lecture time before actually practicing pushing positions.  It was crazy to get down and pretend to push, curling my body around and feeling the resistance of her little pokey head as it jammed in my ribs.  Very surreal!  It was also interesting to hear all the guttural noises one can make while in such a position, and I can definitely understand why delivery rooms tend to be so noisy!  The class ended with some newborn massage, which I think was my favorite part of the day.  I touched my belly every so often, feeling her various bumps and envisioning what it would be like to actually massage her when she was cranky/overstimulated/gassy.  It is really so amazing to think about how close we are to being with her for real, seeing her face and reading her little signals.