This past Thursday we had our last childbirth class. We didn’t meet at the classroom. We were given a tour of the hospital where our baby will be born.

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The instructor spoke about the different tools that can assist in delivering babies. The main tools are the forceps and vacuum extractor. The forceps tool is like a salad tong. You can use it to help extract the baby or use it to toss salad. Two tools in one. It’s mainly used when the baby is not moving down the birth canal, a.k.a the vagina. It’s also used when the mom or baby is in distress during labor.

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My wife went for a 4D ultrasound today. It was not medically necessary, but she had always wanted to do it from the beginning. Insurance was does not cover it because it’s an elective procedure. The total cost was $225, it included a 25 minute DVD of the session that was extended to almost 40 minutes. Numerous printouts of the different images were also included.

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My wife signed us up for the childbirth class at NYU Medical Center. It’s a 3 hour class once a week for 5 weeks. The instructor is going to teach us about pregnancy, body changes, stages of the labor process and caring for the newborn baby.

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I think I’m starting to have a stronger sense of fatherhood. I usually head to the casinos at Atlantic City,NJ with my buddies every few months. It was never a big deal, just a 2 and half hour drive. This last one I was not feeling good about going. I knew my wife would be fine at home. She’ll probably watch a bunch of shows, snack on junk food and call me a hundred times to check up on me. I was fine with that.

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In 2001, U.S. health officials warned that pregnant women should limit their fish consumption to 12 ounces a week. Fearing that mercury may cause harm to the fetus, many women ate less and less fish. A recent survey shows that 90 percent of women are eating less than the FDA recommended amount of fish. But now the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is saying that potential problems caused by mercury pale in comparison with harm caused by lack of omega-3 fatty acids. (more…)

My wife heard from her friend that if you put ice cubes on your belly, the baby will move away from that spot. I have my doubts, but we gave it a shot anyways. She got a few ice cubes from the freezer and wrapped paper towel around it.

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In a earlier post I wrote about Belly Talk, which involves a person talking to the unborn child in the belly. Yesterday, while looking for more items for our baby registry I saw a gift set from BebeSounds called Deluxe Prenatal Gift Set. In the gift set, there are devices that can help you hear the baby, talk to the baby, record the baby’s sounds, and play music for the unborn baby.

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Starting around the early 20 something week of pregnancy, my wife started talking to her belly out loud. She wasn’t going nuts, but who knows for sure. She was speaking to our baby. She claims the baby can hear spoken language at that development stage. (more…)