Antenatal Classes: A Follow Up

Antenatal classes weren’t really my thing, I decided long before we even crossed the threshold of our first one. As I mentioned previously, I wasn’t entirely convinced about going in the beginning but I can honestly say that my mind has well and truly changed. Our instructor, Andrea, was really lovely and so, so helpful and the other parents to be there were super nice.

In fact, I’ve since met up again with some of the mums for coffee. I know right, that was one of the things I was pretty concerned about. I actually got on with people!! I think I might even make some actual baby friends. How crazy is that? I didn’t expect to make friends as an adult, it’s hard isn’t it? So that’s always a brilliant bonus.

Anyway, back to the antenatal classes. I knew that I didn’t know much about babies but wow, I didn’t realise how little I actually knew. There’s only so much reading you can do to prepare yourself and having an actual, real life person to talk you through it really does help and I think that there’s something about not knowing them beforehand that helps when it comes to asking questions. I know sometimes I’d feel a bit silly asking, what I thought, were really obvious questions to people I knew but in the class didn’t feel quite as daft. Maybe that’s because when I signed us up I felt like I was admitting that we knew pretty much nothing from the get go. Maybe that’s because it didn’t feel like unsolicited advice that I was being bombarded with from every direction. (Everyone has an opinion on everything and when you’re pregnant they like to let you know alllllll about it, whether you’ve asked them or not. I know for the most part it’s coming from a good place in their hearts but after a while it all starts to contradict itself and it can wear you down a bit. It’s hard work and a bit of a mine field to navigate sometimes. I hope that doesn’t make me sound ungrateful because I’m certainly not, just a bit overwhelmed I think.)

So yeah, we did a five-week, ten-hour Essentials course with the NCT because our local NHS course couldn’t fit us in and although it may seem expensive I do definitely think it is worth the money. I feel like I’m more prepared for the arrival of this little bundle plus, I now know people in my area that are in the same boat as me. Not only is that comforting, it really reduces the amount of research you have to do to try to find things to do with the little one when it’s finally here.

I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting to do a complete 180 on how I felt about these classes so I’m as surprised as you. But I would totally recommend them to anyone.

My due date is tomorrow and I still haven’t felt even a slight twinge. Wish me luck.

Kisses,