Empathy Belly

At our birthing class on Tuesday, the last thing the instructor did was make this guy put on the empathy belly, a contraption that is supposed to let you know what it feels like to be pregnant. Now, this poor sucker had to do it because they forgot to bring their pillows to class. We all laughed as she strapped a band around his chest to let him know how hard it is to breathe. Then, she put on a bladder which is supposed to make it feel like he has to always go to the bathroom. Finally, she strapped on the big belly and added about 20 more pounds of weight to it. Then, she threw some stuff on the ground and told him to pick it up. HAHA!! SO funny to watch him try to get down there. Then, she told him to tie his shoe. We got more laughs from this. For his last 'trick', she made him lie down and try to get up. I think that he (and all of the other dads watching) got an even better appreciation for us after this.

But...after class, she said if anyone wanted to try it on, just come on up. All the other dads bolted for the door. But not my hubby! I told him I wanted him to put it on really quickly just to see what it is like. He said the worst part was having the strap around your chest because you couldn't breathe. Now that is the real reason I walk so slowly these days!! Then, picking stuff up was hard too because he said your center of gravity was off. What a great hubby!!!

I did take some pictures of him in this get-up, but he made me promise not to post them. Because he was a good sport and put it on, I will honor his request and not post them. But I think he learned a lot and I really appreciated him taking a minute to find out what it is like!!