Ah yes, ok here thanks! Off to get the bits for the 'study' - you do realise that it is just a corner of the room, so making one room into two poky smaller ones?! :)
Excuse lack of names relating to any comments here, but am really tired and my brain is not cooperating with me.
I haven't heard of green man festival - it sounds good. If you're in the area (Midlands way) in July, get yourself to Barefoot - that is really good. Geared to hippy types and anyone with small children. Great value, and loads to do.
Ante-natal classes - I went because the mw at the hospital suggested I do. It was a bit rubbish really. We didn't get any horror real-life films of births but the mw running the class used a doll and a model of a pelvis to show us how our "lovely" baby would come out, where the epidural would be given, and how the placenta was attached/would detach.
The class was a mixture of couples and singles and most of them were annoying too, One woman who wanted her DH to cut the cord as soon as the baby was born and was really going all out to sound like an earth mother who didn't want any pain relief etc. I confess I am a bit of a hippy but I have a low pain threshold so I wanted to know ALL ABOUT pain relief! :)
I got by on a mix of TENS machine, then gas & air, then the birthing pool..... and then DD didn't want to come out so we progressed to induced labour, and finally a C-Sec. I can only say just be prepared, don't be afraid to tell them (hosp. staff) what you want, but also listen to their advice.
If you haven't written a birth plan, then do; it means that if you're feeling out of it on gas/air or too tired to speak, you can wave it at the staff. :)
DO NOT be made to feel that breastfeeding is the only way. It is a good way, and it works for a lot of mums, but not for them all. What IS important is that the baby is fed. The baby does not know or care whether it gets a boob or a bottle, it cares that it gets milk.
Personally, I found bf was relatively easy (once we'd sorted out latching) but I did occasionally supplement feeds with formula), and saved fiddling about, but that's just me.
Until DD was born I had no experience of babies so was pretty clueless fairly unprepared with regard to what to do, but most of it comes naturally. And i am not the worlds most maternal person by a LONG chalk.
I'll be back later today (hopefully, if I am not putting cupboards together) but just wanted to check in. Have a good day all. x