Birthday Cake

Anyone have a recipe they love for banana cake with frosting?

Daniel and I started birth class last week at Kaiser, my HMO.
We had some reservations. Several people had recommended this Berkeley homebirth class taught by a well known local teacher. We checked into that class and found out it cost $350. What? After all we have decided to shell out to have a homebirth (a decision I am really happy about and will have to write about later) we decided that was too much.

So we looked at what was at Kaiser. The birth class at Kaiser costs $70.
I was worried that we would stand out in the Kaiser class for wanting to have a natural birth. We decided we wouldn't tell anyone in the class we are planning to have our baby at home.

However, the first class far exceeded my expectations. The teacher, LJ, is open minded, experienced, and very good. Three other couples are from Berkeley too. I think Daniel and I seem more relaxed about the whole thing than they do. I guess I am lucky to have so many younger siblings and a close friend who is a midwife so that birth isn't such a foreign topic. In fact, both Daniel and I have a younger sibling that was born at home.

My favorite part was talking about early labor. LJ helped us think about early labor and what we could do then.

I have heard that the reason most first time homebirth mothers transport themselves to the hospital is 'failure to progress'. Failure to progress can be a synonym for impatience. First births can take a while. I totally understand how a first time mother could exhaust herself in the first 24 hours through excitement and anticipation. And when the baby doesn't arrive, she feels worn out, exhausted and fed up and goes to the hospital for pain medication and to get the labor induced. I want to avoid that. A relaxing plan for early labor seems like a good idea.

Here are some of her suggestions we liked:
Go for a walk or a hike
See a movie
Write thank you notes and have the baby enter in a state of gratitude
and my favorite make the baby a birthday cake.

I am already excited about baking a three layer banana cake with whip cream frosting ! It seems perfect to celebrate the occasion. Plus what a way to pass the time. Who has the luxury of time to bake a cake from scratch? I guess a lady-in-waiting, which I will be.