Masaki and Mrs. Masaki:

First, kids DO depreciate like Ferraris!

Second, I would not go with this Lamaze stuff. My first grandson was born October 1 2003, in Atlanta, GA. We got to the delivery room just at the time the baby's head was "crowning". My daughter had taken advantage of all that medical science has to offer. I was prepared for the scene of a lot of pain. Instead, my daughter said "Oh, hi, Dad. There are some cokes over there and some chips there too." Had I come to a birthing or a ball game? And if so, where is the beer? Well, seriously, the birthing process was smooth and painless for my daughter. And grandson? Well, he is already chasing the girls. (Now I wonder where he inherited that tendency?)

Well, bottom line (no pun intended) is that relying on medical science for pain relief during the birthing process is a very good thing.

In fact, in one of the most touching things I have ever witnessed, my daughter reached down and completed the delivery herself by pulling my grandson out!

Neither I nor my wife could believe that medical science had developed to the point where child birth could be so painless as what we saw. And the neat thing was that my daughter was not "out of it" at all, but was fully awake and aware of all that was going on.

Considering what I saw in the way medical science has found ways to make painful things not painful, I actually had a root canal done by my dentist a week or so ago ---- and that was just fine too!

So my advice (for what it is worth) is to take advantage of all that medical science has to offer to assist in the birthing process (and root canal work too). It was a beauiful thing to watch my daughter loving her new son right after he was born, and having her not all beat to heck by the pain. I felt that she was actually better able to imediately bond with him, because she was in good condition.

Just some words of advice from an old man.

Thanks, Richard :) :) :)