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denny25 
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 Topic: antenatal classes
Posted: 03 July 2008 at 1:55pm |
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my partner and i start antenatal next week and i was just wondering, for those that have started, how you have found them. From the topics its looks as though i know most of it already from reading books etc and i don't want to be bored.
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sparkle
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Location: Auckland
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Posted: 03 July 2008 at 2:00pm |
I don't think I learnt all that much from my classes that I hadn't already read in books HOWEVER, the support and friendships that I made from attending the classes made them so worthwhile 
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Roksana
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Location: Manurewa, Auckland
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Posted: 03 July 2008 at 2:00pm |
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We went to these while pregnant with my DD (not going this time around).....
But we didnt read any books...it was very hands on. Like they used dolls to show how the baby is placed before birth, how it comes out etc. They also had sessions where three different dads had to guess what was wrong with baby etc....
we did a group mind storm re diff topic on Pregnancy, birth and after birth. We also did a group thing where we had to guess from cue card what are the correct order of labour so that we knew what happens etc...and yes we watched diff types of births on Video...natural, CS etc....
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gypsynita
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Posted: 03 July 2008 at 2:04pm |
we're halfway through our classes and so far have been pretty bored!! I've done heaps of reading too and our teacher seems to only brush over the basics. too be honest, i've found out more info on OB than through our classes!!
having said that -- I'm really excited about all the people we've met through classes and we even have a group pot-luck scheduled in the next couple of weeks. It's definately worth sitting through for the social side of things!
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Anita
Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10)
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MrsMojo
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Posted: 03 July 2008 at 2:10pm |
 sparkle wrote:
I don't think I learnt all that much from my classes that I hadn't already read in books HOWEVER, the support and friendships that I made from attending the classes made them so worthwhile |
There were some helpful suggestions, interesting information but most of what I learnt was from books. I'm quite swotty so I liked going to AN classes and knowing all the answers, I'd quiz DH on the weeks topic before we got there so he could have the right answers too.
The best part of AN classes (other than the free baby product handouts ) was meeting other mums due around the same time as me. When you're a new sahm it's fantastic to have other mums with babies the same age, your babies often go through stages at around the same time so the support aspect is great plus it's nice to have friends who are at the same life stage as you, friends you can spend time with while your other friends are at work or running around after older kids.
A couple of years on and even though I'm now working fulltime again I still catch up regularly with some of the mums I met at AN. If nothing else it's worth it for that.
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emz
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Posted: 03 July 2008 at 3:02pm |
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I found the AN classes incredibly boring and thought after the 1st one that I wasn't going to go back. I'm so glad I decided to keep going cos now we have a fantastic coffee group with half the ladies from our group and we meet once a fortnight (and sometimes a couple of us will have lunch or a coffee every week). It's great. So I would highly recommend it.
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jessm
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Posted: 03 July 2008 at 5:08pm |
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I am going to go against the flow & say I am really enjoying our AN classes. I have read a fair bit, but DH is not into reading so I really wanted him to come along so he could become informed.
Last night we talked about labour, and he came away saying, 'wow, I never knew all that, that was great because now I'm not so scared about it!' And I've enjoyed all the demos with the dolls etc for myself, because its different & clearer than just reading it in a book.
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scribe
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Posted: 03 July 2008 at 6:05pm |
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I second everything Jessm said - I really enjoyed our antenatal classes, even though our one was run as two full Saturdays, which got a bit tiring by mid-afternoon.
It was really good for DH, as he's not a reader (unlike me), and it was fun to do it together. Even though I'd read a lot it wasn't boring, as it was quite hands-on and just helped reinforce what I knew, which made things seem less scary.
I think what I found most useful was the birth videos (it's not going to be like the movies!) and the new parents who came in to talk to us about what life's like with a newborn.
And, like everyone has said, it is worth it just for the other soon-to-be parents you meet - we meet once a week now for 'coffee group' and they're great.
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myfullhouse
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Posted: 03 July 2008 at 9:50pm |
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I have to say that I didn't really enjoy our AN classes but didn't not enjoy them either. I hadn't read much so it was quite informative and DH read nothing so it was really good for him.
We got a small coffee group from ours and even though most Mums are back at work we still meet weekly, have the occasional weekend meet up for all the family and have had a few girls nights. It was definately worth it for the social side
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emz
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Posted: 03 July 2008 at 10:59pm |
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I think it was great for my DH too to understand what I had been going through and was about to go through.
Wow some of you are lucky to have had new parents come in and talk to you, ours were lecture style with the woman standing up the front most of the time. Although there was a little bit of interaction, but none of us really got to know each other until after our babies were born.
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MrsMojo
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Posted: 04 July 2008 at 9:00am |
It was great for my DH too. Like others have said my DH didn't read much about the birth either and because I'd opted for a natural labour it was great for him to be told/shown the natural pain relief tips because when I was in labour most of them went out of my head, it was good that he knew what I wanted. Driving home form the classes we spoke a lot about our expectations and our birth plan so that was good too.
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peanut butter
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Posted: 04 July 2008 at 9:25am |
I really enjoyed ours even though I didnt really learn anything new. But it did cement the knowledge I had and it is good for DHs. But by far the most valuable thing is the friendships we formed. THese girls are now my best friends and we still meet every 2 weeks as a group, have the odd girls night out and send emaiils back and forth asking advice about this that and the other.
Ohbaby is great but there is no substitute for IRL support.
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MissAngel
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Posted: 04 July 2008 at 9:46am |
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hehe I whinged and moaned about going to our classes, but i'm glad I stuck with it as I've made some really awesome friends now! Even if you just go for that it makes it all worthwhile.
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Alex, Thomas and Lily 
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cat007
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Posted: 05 July 2008 at 1:40pm |
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I found that I learnt nothing new at my antenatal classes because I had read lots of books etc but I wanted to go for DH's sake - as he isnt a reader and he needed to know what he was in for. (he would never admit it though but he learnt lots).
I did find that I made some fantastic friends, we started up a coffee group from our class and a year and a half later we are still meeting together weekly and most of us are on our second pregnancies. It honestly made going to the antenatal classes worthwhile.
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