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Sunday, October 23, 2011

Childbirth Classes and the State Fair

I thought it would be better to break this week up into a few posts, because there's just so much! I don't want to get confused.

Saturday and Sunday Jimmy and I had our birthing class in Durham. It feels like forever ago. Our instructor was this sweet nurse who I'd met the first time I was in the hospital. We both really liked her and knew we'd see her again since she's the charge nurse on the Labor and Delivery Floor (we just didn't realize how soon!). Jimmy was so sleepy because our class started at 9 AM, and we didn't get very much sleep the night before. The class was kind of like a crash course in what happens during labor and delivery, relaxation and breathing techniques, cesareans, and pain management. We learned a lot and have a book, handouts, and I made sure to take notes (Thanks Erin!). I know I feel more comfortable with what's going to happen and how to cope and Jimmy learned ways to help me through the process. There was another couple there that was also 25 weeks, but most others were 32 weeks or so.

Saturday we checked into our hotel after the class. Mom generously let us use some of her gazillion points to stay in Durham for the weekend. Jimmy had said something about having some Subway breakfast coupons in his bag but I didn't think much about it. After getting settled, he tosses some papers to me and says, "Here are my coupons." He totally surprised me with Tift Merritt tickets! I had seen where she had a show at the State Fair and we had talked about going, but kind of forgot about it. You can listen to one of my favorite songs by her here, called "Good Hearted Man." The show was Sunday, but we decided to go see the sights of the fair since we weren't sure about how much time we'd have Sunday. Our class on Sunday was 1-5 and the concert was at 7:30. We saw the goats, pigs, and cows, and met up with some people from Jimmy's hometown. I got to hear several Jimmy and Brandon stories, too. Jimmy went into a fun house, but we didn't ride any rides. After only about 4 hours, I was exhausted. As soon as we got settled in the car and on our way, the baby gave this huge kick as if they were angry!

We got back to the hotel and chilled out for a little while. Jimmy researched some dinner options, but we ultimately decided to pull a Steve Welch Expedition. We checked out a few places--of course, one was closed--and we actually parked at another before deciding not to eat there. We wound up at this place called Papa Mojo's Roadhouse. I was skeptical. They were also setting up a band and sometimes the volume of live music really bothers me. We decided to eat there anyway since the menu looked so good. Best decision ever. The food was great and the music was good and not too loud. We stayed until very late and watched the whole show.

Sunday morning, instead of using the Subway coupons, I did some breakfast in the room. You can't do canned biscuits in the microwave. You can try, and they will rise and cook slightly, but not actually bake. They just turn into pale, biscuit shaped rocks. Just a word to the wise.

After class, we ate dinner at Moe's Southwest Grill. Moe's has the greatest soda machine ever. It has like 15 different sodas and then you can customize them with the different syrup flavorings. It was amazing.

When we got to the fair, we came into the gate where the poultry exhibition was. It is ridiculous how much more interesting chickens are at the fair when you actually own some. We probably spent almost half an hour in there and looked at all of them. Then...the concert!

The concert was awesome! Sometimes I don't think musicians sound as good in person as they do on a record, but I'm glad to say Tift Merritt was an exception! She played a good mix of old and new songs. The baby was moving up a storm! Jimmy had asked the day before what we would do if our baby had bad taste in music, because his child wasn't allowed to have bad taste in music. I don't think we have to worry about that immediately! After the concert, we bought a cd and met her. She autographed her CD and was just so sweet and gracious. I'll definitely be watching her tour schedule for any Eastern NC stops! Jimmy was so tickled that he actually managed to surprise me. It must not be as hard as he thinks it is.

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