Fifth (and final) childbirth class

Last night we covered caring for newborns. Everything from how they look when they come out (unfinished) to what we needed to do for them/with them when they come home. Apparently, they're a lot of work.
We opened up with a video that showed how parental interaction helps the baby learn and develop. Focusing on shapes, having 'conversations' with those around and general playing all help turn this cute little thing into a human being. Seeing five or six families (same ones from the birthing videos) just insanely in love with their babies was enough to warm the hardest heart. (I'll admit that these videos brought tears to my eyes several times.)
Then we looked at pictures of newborns so we could see various possible blemishes. Blue hands and feet are common with newborns. They fade in time so show biz isn't a certainty. They can also get 'stork bites' which are reddish blotches. (I meant to ask if stork delivery was an option but forgot to.) Basically we learned that newborns aren't cute, not matter what polite people say. Give them a couple of days though...
Next was some basic childcare when they get home. We learned how to swaddle. The rule is 'the tighter, the better'. We were shown a Miracle blanket that's designed for swaddling. The miracle part of it is two flaps that are designed to hold the arms in place. I felt bad watching the demo on a doll. I thought, "In an emergency, that baby would be trapped!". Look that sentence over again and enjoy the absurdity. Guess I've got some lessons still to learn. We're going to practice swaddling on Ozzie.
And that was it for the classes. We're hoping to take a breastfeeding class in a few weeks. I'm not all that enthusiastic, but this is part of what I signed on for as a dad (read the small print carefully!). In an effort to encourage dads to attend, our teacher said "Where else can you see so many bare breasts?" Well, the quickest way to desexualize a woman is to hang a feeding baby off of her.
We enjoyed the classes and they were well worth it. I think the videos helped us the most. Being able to see what to expect and watch other couples in labor was enormously useful. Our teacher (Sara something or other) was wonderful, with a great sense of humor and loads of personal experience and advice. I'm glad we did this.