The Weekend

Normally this post is reserved for me to blather on endlessly about University of Florida football. You would think this would especially be the case since we were playing Georgia, our oldest and arguably most despised rival. UF won, moving us up in the rankings and putting is in a position that, if we win out, we will be in a position to contend for the BCS title. All of this is good.

But…

I didn’t watch the game. Not a second of live action. I was at a birthing class. Now I have to admit that I wasn’t real thrilled about having to spend 11 hours on a floor mat learning more about the birth process than I ever thought I wanted to know while the game was on. It is not that I didn’t want to go to a birthing class, but a couple of friends had said that there birthing class was just granola-eating hippy doctor-bashing party where they try and push a doula on you, and I think it goes without saying that I have little if any tolerance for hippies.

I was pleasantly suprised by how good this class was. Now I have been a pretty conscientious expectant dad. I have gone to all the appointments, I have asked the doctor questions, I have read books and articles and frequented online pregnancy sites. I have really wanted to stay engaged in the process as much as I can. And even with all of that prep, I still learned an immense amount. Among the most important things I picked up were preganancy massage techniques to help comfort Mrs. LP both prior to and during labor; how to speak to our medical attendants in a way that they will (likely) be more responsive; breathing techniques; and how to redirect mom’s attention during labor.

I think the coolest thing that came out of the day, however, was not so much a technique or a method of anything, but just more of an intense closeness to my wife and baby girl. I think this is something that has been growing anyway, but there was something about having an entire day just to focus on Mrs. and Baby LP that just opened up this whole different level of awareness. So many of the things that we learned about labor really focused on physical touch and closeness. Doing that for a whole day, without worrying about anything else, really opened me up as a husband and father. It is hard to explain, actually…but when everybody left for school a few minutes ago, I felt like a part of me was gone. And it is not like this has just drawn me closer to wife and baby, I even feel closer to A. He was really great yesterday, and fell asleep with his head in my ap last night while watching tv.

So yeah, I missed a football game. But looking back on the weekend, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t change anything. I would rather be preparing for the birth of my daughter than watching Florida football. Family life can be hard, even a burden at times, but experiences like this weekend are the things that keep you going. It truly is the most amazing feeling I have ever experienced.