Breech Baby

Despite many efforts to make it not so, baby girl is still sitting in my tummy with her head up and one leg by her head and one down by her bottom. She is in quite a position that does not seem like it would be comfortable. Her position is starting to get quite uncomfortable for me as well. Brian has been working on me with a special technique that chiropractors use successfully to turn babies, sometimes everyday. And, I've tried exercises designed to get baby to turn. And, last Tuesday, the last option was for the doctor to try to turn the baby. That was quite an experience. Basically, while you are at the hospital, with ultrasound and fetal monitoring on hand, the doctor puts a bunch of gel on your belly and tries to push baby into turning a somersault into the correct head down position. It wasn't painful for the most part, but there was a lot of pressure involved and it turned out to be very exhausting. The doctor appeared to have quite a bit of muscle and Brian said he was pushing so hard his arms were shaking. Needless to say, the baby didn't want to let its bottom be part of a somersault, so the head and back moved around, but the bottom stayed put. This procedure was not without risk of going into labor or the baby having distress, so we were glad that her heart rate didn't waver much at all and we didn't have to stay to have a baby.

I have learned quite a bit about breech babies. They are only 3-4% of babies and the particular type of breech this baby is, among the rarest. I also learned that the best window of opportunity for changing the baby's mind is weeks 32-36...we probably should have taken a bit more advantage of that time frame and tried a little harder. At the time, though, no one seemed to be too concerned...surely baby was going to turn. And, one of the risk factors for breech babies is having had a previous C-section.

So, with baby still in a breech position and a risky breech position at that, we're now scheduled for me to have C-section number two this coming Friday at 1 pm. It is a funny feeling to know exactly when baby is supposed to arrive. I know people do it all the time, and, on the positive side, it does make things convenient for planning purposes. I had read lots of books about VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) and was prepared to experience labor and deliver this baby naturally. Now I get to experience my disappointment before the birth and hopefully focus on ways to make the C-section as positive an experience as we can. To top off what is almost becoming comedic about things not going as planned, my doctor is out of town until Thursday. If I were to go into labor before then, it is likely that a doctor that I've only met twice would be operating on me. I like my doctor better...so here's hoping we last until Thursday. Clara came at 38 weeks, so this current baby has now been in my tummy longer and will hopefully be there a whole week longer.

Like I mentioned, scheduling a C-section does make things convenient for planning purposes. Now I know what I need to have people cover for me at work as there will be two class days left after Friday before the quarter ends. It also means I have a set time frame for completing a lot of work that I would normally have two weeks to do. And, we also know when to ask people to help us. Brian's parents will take care of Clara while we're at the hospital and my mom is coming for a week once the baby is a week old.

Clara is excited for baby sister to come and to be able to meet her. She's not too excited about Mommy having to get an owie on her tummy to get baby sister out. And, I'm pretty sure that she does not realize how much less time I will have to focus completely on her. So, she is going to go through an adjustment. Overall, hopefully we've spent enough time talking about the changes that are coming that the adjustment won't be too traumatic for anybody. I'm preparing myself for at least a few weeks of chaos.

In other news, Brian has signed a lease and is preparing to open his practice two doors down from The Mill on Prescott. There is a lot a paperwork involved to be reimbursed by insurance and there are some walls to build. He has done an excellent job at rounding up his equipment for good deals. He traveled to Phoenix to get an adjusting table and an X-ray machine. And, we took a last minute weekend trip back to the Quad Cities so Brian could get a massage table. All this equipment was stored at our house, so it got really crowded for a few weeks. Now, we go to the practice to get our adjustments. Brian has one paying patient and is networking for more. He is aiming to open the doors officially by around the first of May.

This will probably be my last post before we begin life with two children so I'll leave you with some pictures from the past few months. They are in reverse order, so the ones from Christmas are at the end.