When did you take classes?

Excitedtostart

For those that took prenatal classes, breastfeeding classes, etc, when did you take them? What classes did you take, and did you enjoy them? 

I realize every class structure is different, just generally speaking. 

AmyJoy728

My ob said to schedule after 24 wks but when I called the earliest I could get in was 28 weeks for one and 30 plus for another. I went in the hosp for ptl at 27 wks and released to bed rest so I missed the classes.

yinyang124

AmyJoy728:

My ob said to schedule after 24 wks but when I called the earliest I could get in was 28 weeks for one and 30 plus for another. I went in the hosp for ptl at 27 wks and released to bed rest so I missed the classes.

This is pretty much my experience also.

rinascita

We did our hospital tour at ~24 weeks with our provider.

One of the local hospitals has classes specifically for multiples but the offerings aren't as frequent... so I would've scheduled earlier but I scheduled for the next available class for each of the following:

1.  Baby Essentials for Multiples (~26 weeks)

2.  Breastfeeding for Multiples (~29 weeks)

3.  Childbirth for Multiples (~30 weeks)

Taking our childbirth class so late made me VERY nervous but we made it, so it all ended up ok.  It surprised me that all of the couples in there were ~30 - 32 weeks, but maybe they ran into the same issue that I did.

We're also taking an Infant CPR class this Saturday at ~32 weeks but that is my fault for not scheduling sooner - that class fills up soooo fast! 

j_lauren348

We didn't have many options, as we live in a more rural area and we chose a small, quiet hospital, but our first class was childbirth education and we went at 31 4. We went to baby care at 32 1 and breastfeeding at 34.

LegallyBlonde217

I took a labor and delivery class for multiples at 27 weeks.  I also took a breastfeeding for multiples class at 31 weeks.  I was actually already on hospital bedrest at that point, but I had wheelchair privileges so DH was able to wheel me downstairs to the class since it was at the hospital.  Moral of the story:  It's best to take your classes as early as possible!  I liked the labor and delivery class, mostly because it included a tour of the hospital.  The BFing class didn't contain any information that I couldn't read in Mothering Multiples.

Ann003

The hospitals had fewer class options because of the holidays.  This is how my classes line up:

Registration/hospital tour - 21 weeks

Twins 101 - 24 weeks

Breastfeeding Basics - 24 weeks (I'll probably also be hiring a lactation consultant later on)

Newborn Essentials - 29 weeks

Childbirth - 30 weeks (one day class)

 

zombiemommy

We started them at about 23 weeks and took them up until 35 weeks. The ones at the end were pretty hard on me physically, but they were also the most important ones so I had to muscle through them.

We took...

• A four part childbirth class: This was informative, but probably more time then we needed to spend talking about the birth, especially when you consider that my labor wasn't the typical anyway and multiples hardly ever is. I prob could've gotten all the info I needed in one 3 hour class.
• A two part childcare class: By far the most vital class we took. It covered breastfeeding, bathing, diapering, swaddling, circumcision care, etc. 
• Infant safety and CPR: Hopefully we'll never use this, but it was good to know. The only trouble is that I'm not sure how much of it I actually retained.
• Breastfeeding for Multiples class: Prob the second most important class we took. It was helpful to know breastfeeding biology and logistics, plus get some tips on how it works for multiples.
• Multiples class: We took this one at 33 weeks because it's only offered like every four months and we felt like we'd be "jinxing it" to take the class when we were 16 weeks. In hindsight, I wish we had. A lot of the class addressed pregnancy related issues which I was already well versed in and largely finished with.

In hindsight, I would've taken less than half of these classes probably. It was a lot of stress on top of working full time, it wasn't always cheap, and you don't retain all of the information, especially since some of it won't be pertinent for months. Still, as a first time mom, I wanted to be exposed to as much information as possible and it was probably worth it if only because it gave me the illusion of feeling "ready". lol.