Almost to the weekend, though I’m not sure I’m fully (mentally) ready for our team competition this weekend, The Sactown Throwdown. It should be fun, but the weather doesn’t look so good…rainy, windy and cold, especially since the competition is mostly outside! We have a great team, so I’m looking forward to working together, doing our best, having fun and (like always) getting it over with!

Anyhow, on another note, my husband and I have been talking more and more about having baby #2 and when would be a right time to start trying (if there is ever a right time!). We want to have at least three years in between Keenan and our second child, in addition to having him potty trained (a continuous process that I will talk more about later!), and he will be three in August. So, we’ll see…but most likely late Spring or Summer is what we are thinking.

Just as we have been talking about when to have another baby, my husband saw this crazy clip on YouTube about two Dutch men trying to experience labor. My husband insisted that I watch it, but I have to admit, I wasn’t crazy about it. Giving birth is a very special experience in a woman’s life and I can’t stand when it is made fun of. After watching the clip below, I found it very interesting and something every husband or boyfriend should watch. Two Dutch men went to a birthing center in Holland and were hooked up to machines that stimulated labor through electrostimulation from four electrodes on their stomachs. They turned on the machines, slowly increasing the amount of stimulation over the course of two hours. At first, the men were laughing and talking to hide their nervousness, but in a matter of minutes, you see them crouched over and wailing due to the pain. By the end, their experience gives them a renewed respect for women who have given birth; in fact, one of the men said he wasn’t sure if he wants his wife to become pregnant!


(Click on the ‘CC’ button to see the English subtitles.)

Labor and giving birth is sometimes regarded as “not a big deal”, or that women need to just “toughen up” and deal with it. Yes, I have heard this from men, before! More men should experience what the Dutch men did to truly appreciate what women go through, and how difficult childbirth is. But, I have to say, there is definitely a reason why women are the ones who carry a baby for 9 months and give birth, because I don’t think men could really handle it. Seeing the men in the clip “deal” with their labor pains was quite interesting. They didn’t know what to do or what to even say. It was so foreign to them to experience any kind of pain like that. But, at the same time, if the men received coaching or went through a class on how to handle the pain, would they have “coped” better? With my own experience, it all came down to coping mechanisms, coaching, educating myself on the process, being physically fit and mentally prepared.

And, this is what makes giving birth SO worthwhile and rewarding…my favorite little guy.  I’m SO thankful to have him in my life!

So proud of his paper plate caterpillar that we made this morning!

So proud of his paper plate caterpillar that we made this morning!

Okay, enough of my soapbox. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Questions: Do you think spouses or partners of pregnant women should experience labor like the Dutch men in the clip? How do you think your husband, spouse, boyfriend or partner would cope, if they went through what the Dutch men experienced? 

 

 

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