Half an hour later, Deanna and Julia came out of the examination room.
Compared to Deanna's lightheartedness, Julia, Lance, and Lionel were visibly more excited.
"Deanna, I have to tell you, I just heard the baby's heartbeat. It's so amazing!" Julia walked over to Deanna, sharing her joy.
Deanna smiled at her friend's excitement but was genuinely happy for her.
Lionel's excited voice echoed in her ears, "It's really incredible. Even though the baby is so small and you can't see anything, you can hear the heartbeat, one beat after another."
"Life is truly miraculous," Lance added, nodding in agreement, a rare departure from his usual calm demeanor.
Deanna looked at the usually mature and composed men and couldn't help but laugh. She understood their feelings. Even though Lance was already a father of two, this was his first time being involved in a child's growth from the beginning.
"Alright, calm down, everyone. The dad course is about to start. We should head over," Deanna interrupted their conversation.
The two men regained their composure and quickly walked towards the classroom.
This wasn't their first day of class; they had already attended two theory sessions. Today was the practical lesson.
Julia watched them walk away and said to Deanna, "I heard today is a practical session. Let's go take a look."
Deanna didn't refuse; she was curious about what they would learn in the practical session.
Soon, the four of them arrived at the childcare room.
The room was already filled with expectant fathers. Lance and Lionel stood by the window.
On the table in front of them were various items: baby-sized dolls, bottles, diapers, and other supplies.
Like the other expectant fathers, Lance and Lionel curiously played with these items.
"It looks like today's lesson is about how to feed the baby and change diapers," Lionel concluded.
Lance didn't say anything but picked up a doll, examining it closely.
Before long, a nurse entered the room and knocked on the table. "Good morning, expectant fathers. I'm today's head nurse, Maya Bradley. You can call me Maya. Today's lesson is divided into three parts. The first part is how to hold a baby correctly."
Maya picked up a doll in front of her and continued, "This is a doll provided by the hospital. Although it's not as soft as a real baby, it's quite realistic. Now I'll explain some important points about holding a baby..."
She spoke for about ten minutes and then had the expectant fathers practice.
Surprisingly, most of them did well, with only two or three holding the dolls incorrectly.
Julia stood at the door, watching the expectant fathers carefully holding the dolls. She couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't realize there was so much to holding a baby. No wonder Gregory and Chloe always cried when I held them. I thought they didn't like me, but it turns out I was making them uncomfortable."
Hearing this, Deanna remembered Julia's past mishaps with Gregory and Chloe and smiled.
Inside the room, Maya had started on the second part of the lesson.
"Now we'll learn how to change a baby's diaper. First, lay the baby flat on the table, then open the diaper. Next, gently hold one of the baby's feet. Be sure to be gentle..."
As soon as she finished speaking, several expectant fathers either deformed their dolls' ankles or accidentally detached their legs, causing a series of laughs.
Julia and Deanna watched from the door, amused. "Good thing these are just dolls. If they were real babies, they'd be crying from pain."
Despite the mishaps, the class ended smoothly.
Maya stood at the front and reminded them, "That's all for today's lesson. You can practice more at home."
With that, she dismissed the class and left the room first.
The other expectant fathers quickly followed suit and disappeared down the hallway.
Lance and Lionel preferred not to crowd with others and left last.
Seeing them come out, Deanna and Julia greeted them with smiles.
"How was today's lesson?"
"It was good and practical. I didn't realize there was so much to just holding a baby," Lionel remarked.
Lance didn't say much but agreed silently.
He had already decided to ask Xavier to prepare the materials they used in class so he could practice at home. He wanted to be well-prepared when the baby arrived to avoid any awkwardness or discomfort for the child.
Because of this idea, a wave of learning swept through the Mercer family.
The Mercer family elders had raised Lance years ago but had long forgotten how to hold a baby properly.