First-time parents turn to baby boot camp to get prepared

ATLANTA - Ariel and Zach Hoffman, of Atlanta, have been married for three-and-a-half years, but have been together for a decade.

"We met on a cruise to Bermuda about ten years ago," Ariel Hoffman says.

"She'd just finished hair school, and I'd just finished a 4-month-long training program for my job at the time," Zach Hoffman explains.

Now, at 31 and 34, the hairstylist and data manager for an automotive company, are training for their next big assignment: parenthood.

"We have a baby boy due March 19," Ariel Hoffman says. "We've never, we're not around babies. We've never, I've never changed a diaper. I've never, swaddled or burped a baby."

What is a baby boot camp?

So, the Hoffmans have signed up for a series of baby boot camp classes at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, where they plan to deliver.

We caught up with them after a childbirth preparation class, which is Northside's most popular maternity class.

"We try to be pretty calculated when we make pretty big moves like this, so taking a class just made sense," Zach Hoffman says.

Ariel and Zach Hoffman are preparing for the birth of their first child. (Hoffman family photo)

The couple wanted to know what to expect from the labor and delivery process and from the first few months with their baby.

Most of their friends, they say, do not have children, and their own parents have been out of the newborn game for a few decades now.

"I like having a bunch of professional opinions, and then going with that information, as opposed to 'Oh, I did that, and that worked,' or, 'I did this, and this worked,'" Ariel Hoffman says.

So far, the Hoffmans have taken a childbirth preparation, baby essentials, and infant CPR class together, all of them hands-on.

"I am a pretty tactile learner, so getting a doll in front of me with diapers and swaddles, and being able to go through those motions, and see and then do, was pretty important," Zach Hoffman says.

What is Northside Hospital's Mothers First program?

Jennifer Shank, service operations coordinator for Northside Hospital's Mothers First program, says the goal of the hospital's maternity classes is to help parents know what to expect.

"We talk a little bit about what's happening in their pregnancy, what's happening in their body," Shank says. "Then, we take them through the process of labor, and what changes are happening in their body while they're in labor."

Part of the childbirth preparation class covers pain management, and how birthing partners can help women through the labor and delivery process.

"(We talk about) How they can do massage or how they can do a hip squeeze to kind of relieve the pressure of what mom is going through," Jennifer Shank says. "Then, also just being that kind of cheerleader, that support person, you know, helping her know, you know, 'You can do this.'"

"I like that they kind of just cut to the chase. I was like, 'This is what you can do if this is hurting, here, you do this, and, if this is hurting like this, do this,'" Ariel Hoffman says.

Does the baby boot camp work?

Zach Hoffman says he is ready to be there for Ariel.

"It really helps to know that she is one of the strongest, bravest people that I've ever met, and pain-tolerant, for that matter," he says.  "So, that alleviates some of my concerns.  But I don't want to sit there doing nothing and being in the way."

With two weeks to go before their due date, the Hoffmans now have a plan, and a name. 

"We like the name Miles," Zach Hoffman says. "If he comes out looking like a Theodore or something like that, we can always change. We reserve the right to pivot."

For more on maternity classes at Northside Hospital, visit  https://uat-nsh.microsoftcrmportals.com/event/classes