Need your suggestion on prenatal classes !

[avaa7]

Hi Ladies,

I am almost 10 weeks pregnant. This will be my first pregnancy, I was wondering if you can help me here by suggesting what all pre-natal classes are necessary/useful to take and when to start taking these classes.
And if you can suggest anything else which i should be doing/preparing? I am sorry for bothering you but I am almost clueless here about all these. Thanks a lot.

[avaa7]

Hey girls , you all are awesome ! That's great to know about all these classes, I was really confused coz so many classes and didnt know which one i really will need. Thanks also for suggesting about baby registry.I will wait for trimester to be over and then start making lists.
Thanks again to all you lovely ladies I really appreciate your help.

[JoyRenee]

Oh and other classes to take would be Breastfeeding for sure. And I took a Childcare Basics class on taking care of newborns that was fun and informative. That one was free at a local hospital.

[JoyRenee]

Not bothersome at all to ask! That is why we're here. ;-)

It really depends on what type of birth you envision for yourself. If you're having a typical hospital birth your doctor and nurses will tell you what to do, as someone mentioned above. If you feel you want more control over your birth then I'd recommend the Bradley Method birth class. If you want a natural birth having a birth class to connect with other like-minded parents-to-be and getting support is very important. I wish I had done it but alas I did not!

As far as what to buy - I would get some books right now. I really like Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein. They provide information on each type of birth and each type of childbirth attendant (from OB to midwife) so you can have a better idea of what kind of birth you'd like to envision. Other books that are awesome are The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer, Pushed by Jennifer Block and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin. I got all of my books on Amazon.

I would wait to buy any baby-related items (except maybe bit items like furniture unless you expect to receive them at your shower) until you know the gender if you plan to find out.

[cherylsangel]

Also....dont buy toi much stuff too early because i found that a lot of stuff is given to you. My boyfriend and I didnt buy anything at all for the baby. We got pretty much everything from family and my baby shower...also....go on websites like craigslist and kijiji because you can find a lot of great items for a lot cheaper than buying brand new!!

Good Luck and I hope for a safe pregnancy and a quick delivery!

[cherylsangel]

I never took any lamaze or childbirth classes...I dont think they would have helped with anything I didnt already know...when the time came and I started having contractions i knew to breathe and what not and the nurses and doctor told me everything else I needed to know when it was tome to push and I never got an epidural either so it was fine...I would say the class would have been a waste of money...however if you feel you wanna take them go ahead.

I registered at sears and babies r us and I found every website that gave away free goodies and signed up for them around 7 months because it takes about 2 months to get everything in the mail....Nestle Baby has an awesome giveaway of a diaper bag with lots of goodies in it.

[angela418]

I took a lamaze class, a child safety/first aid class and a breast feeding class when I was about 7 months pregnant at my hospital.  My husband attended all of them with me and really got a lot out of them, and since I had pregnancy brain, as they say, he remembered more from the classes than I did.

Also, I registered for baby stuff from babies r us.com and target.com - on the babies r us website, they actually list out all of the essentials that you'll need, but then I registered for a lot of that stuff on target because it was cheaper.  :-)  

Good luck to you!

[mamaof4410]

I would register for a lamaze or birthing class ( of your choice) around 15 wks because theres usually a waiting list and usually they have you take the classes around 7mths. wait to do anything like registering at like babies r us until your passed 12 wks since the chance of miscarriage drops significantly after the first trimester. but i would do that. go to like americanbaby.com and fitpregnancy.com and sign up to recieve subsciptions of magazines. trust me they help. i catch my hubby reading them sometimes and this is our 4th! you can also take parenting classes or a newborn class to teach you the basics. if you feel you need them. good luck