Finally updating.

Last night TJ and I took our last "Prepared Childbirth Class". They gave us a certificate saying that we'd completed the course. My question is, why do I need a certificate? What would they do if I didn't have a certificate? ....."oh I'm sorry, you can't have your baby yet, you're not certified..." Lol. Anyways, they gave us a tour of the facilities... very nice. The labor and delivery rooms resemble nice hotel rooms... except with hard floors, adjustable beds, and spot lights. Really though, they're nice. And, we got to stop by the nursery and look at the babies on display... so cute. Makes me even more anxious for little Estelle to get here. She still has at least a few more weeks of baking time yet.

After taking all those childbirth classes, I'm officially more confused than when I went in... regarding pain killers anyways. At first I thought I wanted an epidural from the get-go, but now I'm not so sure. Aside from the fact that the list of side-effects was two pages long and ugly, there's also the required urine catheter which I dread. Then again, in extreme pain, am I going to even care that there's an uncomfortable plastic tube in my pee-hole? On the other hand, I like the idea of being able to walk around and use a birthing ball during labor. Can't do that if I get the epidural. But then again, without the epidural, there is pain.

One thing I know for sure, I am not qualified to weigh the two choices because I don't know how painful this thing is going to be. From the looks of all the birth clips I've seen, it's bad. But the question is... how bad? Is the pain so bad that the epidural would be worth it, even with all the bad stuff that comes with it? Cause I really don't like the idea of having needles and tubes hooked up to me all over, plus the extended labor time and risk of having to have induction drugs to speed things along. Plus there's a chance my baby will come out all drowsy from the drugs too, and the fact that I won't be able to leave the bed the whole time. I am going to need to do more research.

Don't even get my started on epesiotomy's.