Baby Care Class
August 8th, 2008 by ariana
So Wednesday was our “ABC’s of Babycare” class. Unfortunately this also coincided with Jeff’s work softball league playoff game #1. I normally would have insisted he come to the class, but given that the other class I took at Phelps (breastfeeding) was fairly useless and also that he’s captain of the softball team I didn’t push the issue.
My mom offered to come with instead, so I didn’t have to feel like such a loser going in there alone. The class was supposed to only be from 7-9pm, but because there was this one know it all dad to be that interrupted to correct the instructor and add his 2 cents in every second, it ended up going until almost 10pm!
Overall, it was a complete waste of time.
I was hoping there would be a doll per “couple” and they’d show us stuff like diaper changing (yes, I’m totally clueless!) and swaddling etc.
Instead, they covered 90% stuff I already knew or have done already, such as how to pick a pediatrician, how to pick a car seat etc. I guess maybe it’s not such a good idea to wait until 4 days before your due date to take any class (If only because you’ll be the only one who has to get up to pee every 10 minutes!)
There were a few good tips that I didn’t know that I am going to share with you here:
1) Babies are so unable to regulate their own temperature, that if they are too hot they will actually get a fever! (Unlike adults who would just sweat and be uncomfortable). For that reason it is much more dangerous to over dress than under dress a baby, not that you should do either, but you know what I mean.
2) When your baby is older and eating solids, you should NEVER leave them unattended with access to food because of the danger of them choking and you not being there to help. So if the doorbell rings and junior is eating some cheerios in their highchair, take all the cheerios off the high chair tray before going to answer the door. Seems pretty obvious when you hear it, but I don’t know if I would have thought of doing that.
The other thing we spent a bit of time on was she showed us the baby Heimlich maneuver which was by far the most useful thing about the class. Unfortunately it’s one of those things like CPR that I probably would forget how to do when the situation arose where I needed it… but I’m still glad that both my mom and I now know how to do it!
So that’s the report from the field… No news on the Jasper Watch front. I’m obviously still here and still pregnant! 2 days and counting until D-day…
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This post made me smile. It seems that books/internet have replaced the need for classes these days. I have NOT taken one yet that seemed worth the time or money. If anything, it has merely been a bonding experience for my husband and I to get mentally prepared for parenthood.
I took infant CPR and it was not physically demanding at all. In fact, you can actually breathe too hard into the baby dummies, which I didn’t realize. My husband and I took our doll apart because the airway tube was disconnected. My little sister was laughing at us because we had the baby doll’s face completely peeled off while 30 other people were sitting well behaved and paying attention.
AND I just wanted to share that I’m 9 days away from the due date and only at -3 station, according to my OB. I keep telling him I’m ready to “get this show on the road!”!!!!
Sorry the class was a waste! I really hope ours is even just a little helpful… I’ve nannied a ton, but DH is totally CLUELESS. He needs a good class!
I want to take baby CPR too, but it’s not recommended for women in 3rd tri because its long and physically demanding (bending over the dummies). But I definitely think its worth doing!
It seems like many of these classes are pretty useless…shame. I think I’ll at least take a baby CPR course though.