Wow. I am not really sure how to describe this week. I am sitting here in my bed at home trying to rest but I am finding it to be an impossible task. Tuesday morning I was scheduled to go into labor and delivery at my hospital to attempt to turn my baby from the breech position using a technique called External Cephalic Version. If you have been reading my blog, you know that I have tried as many natural techniques as possible including swimming, inversions, and the Webster Technique. On Monday, my chiropractor told me that my pelvis is perfectly aligned and baby boy should be able to turn on his own. So I was hopeful that I would walk into the hospital Tuesday morning and he would be head down and I could go home and eat some pancakes.

After arriving at the hospital early Tuesday morning, I was hooked up to the usual monitors and the doctor rolls in the ultrasound machine to check his position. Turns out, he is still breech. Not only that but he is completely blocked by my placenta which is currently acting as a head pillow for my little man. Adorable and frustrating at the same time, yes? Despite the position of the placenta, my doctor decides to proceed with the ECV. She said that she will try 3 times, 30 seconds each and if he turns, he will turn right away. I am given a shot of a tocolytic to relax my uterus by a stoic nurse of few words. Her behavior was not helping with the relaxation part. Another doctor arrives to assist. I have never met him but I like him already. He squeezes my hand and gives me a warm hello. His friendly demeanor helps me to relax instantly. Before I know it my doctor is attempting to lift my son’s booty and the Dr. Friendly is grabbing baby boy’s head to somersault him into the head down position. Suddenly I can’t breathe. The procedure itself is not necessarily painful the whole time but extremely uncomfortable. I mean, lying flat on your back while your child is being pushed up and around your belly doesn’t exactly allow for a ton a breathing room. Not only that but my doctor keeps saying that my son is stuck in my pelvic bone. Needless to say, I found breathing to be a challenge. Luckily, Dr. Friendly contends that he has a good grasp of my son’s head and he thinks he is moving along nicely. So we continue. The next push is painful. No way around it. The sensitive skin on my belly felt like it was being pulled in several different directions at once. Steady breathing at that point felt nearly impossible and I looked at my nurse and without a sound she grabbed my hand. I closed my eyes, visualized him moving head down and squeezed the shit out of her hand. I feel a sudden shift in my uterus and both doctors announce that he flipped. My eyes immediately start welling up with tears. In that moment, I am so happy that I am that much closer to not having a C-Section.

Per procedure, my doctor sticks around to monitor the baby and as soon as she gets a clear read on the ultrasound, her and the nurse look at each other and immediately flip me over to my side and open the back of my gown. Then the doctor leaves the room and says she will be right back. In what seems like 5 seconds, she arrives back in my room with two more nurses and fully dressed for what appears to be surgery. She tells me that my son’s heartbeat has slowed down significantly and they are prepping me for a C-Section. Immediately, an IV is jammed into my arm and I am looking at my husband with tears streaming down my face. Up until this point he hasn’t been able to be by my side. He is watching as close as he can as the nurses prep me for surgery. I want to say something but an oxygen mask is quickly placed on my face. I am in shock and can’t talk to him. I just look at him and he knows I am scared. The nurse can see my fear and reassures me that they will have the baby out in less than five minutes. Reg and I just stare at each other and immediately I felt better. We were about to meet our son. Just as they are about to wheel me into the operating room, the baby’s heartbeat jumped to 90 bpm, and then increased to 120 bpm. Everyone paused. The doctor announced that she is going to hold off on the C-Section for a little while longer. Because his heartbeat increased to a reasonable rate, they decided to monitor me for the next couple hours. She apologized for the fire drill but let me know that my son’s heartbeat stopped and then jumped to 60 bpm. They had to act fast and get that baby out. They decided to just sit tight and monitor the baby for the next couple hours. Once the hospital personnel left the room, it was just me, Reg, and my sister in the room. I think we were all shaking.

Of course I knew that an emergency C-Section was a potential risk from the ECV but considering how much people kept telling me it was highly unusual, I never thought it was going to happen. And it didn’t but I came pretty darn close. I started to feel guilty like I should have just scheduled the C-Section and not attempted the ECV and avoided all the drama. I still do despite the fact that his heartbeat has been staying in the 140-160 bpm range since the procedure. He is thriving and kicking as much as usual but the guilt is still there. I didn’t know that feeling started before the kid is even born.

At the end of the day, I walked away knowing this. Beyond the guilt, I feel extremely confident with the staff at the hospital and my decision to give birth there. It was a well oiled machine. I had never been more scared in my life or more protective of the child I have been carrying for 9 months. I love this little boy so much already and I am thrilled that I am most likely going to be able to avoid surgery. But if his heartbeat drops again and they want to prep me for surgery, I say “bring it on.” Whatever gets my little guy out safe and sound, is the best plan for me.

xo

37 weeks

Weight gain: About 26 lbs. Somehow I lost a pound in the last week despite the fact that I have been eating everything in sight. Speaking of which…

Cravings: Nestle Crunch bars, Potato Chips (with ridges only, please), Caramelized Onion Dip from Trader Joe’s, Cornbread with butter and fresh strawberry jam

Work Out: I have pretty much become way too uncomfortable to continue my usual gym routine. I am just trying to stay active in my daily activities.

Sleep: I wake up every 2 hours at this point and the leg cramps are more vicious than ever. Several hours after I woke up this morning I still could feel pain from one that woke me up in the middle of the night. I could certainly do without those.

Nursery: Almost done and I am LOVING how it came out! Reggie was a huge help last weekend and hung everything on the walls and I just got to sit on my yoga ball and supervise. Bliss! I will be posting pictures once I have everything finished.

Reggie: Working much less and coming home earlier. He seems so relaxed and calm about the baby’s arrival. He is the perfect counterpoint for my personality. Reg even took it upon himself to read up on how the Ergo works, while wearing it of course. I think he might be more excited about that carrier than me. It is adorable. Love that man. The rest of my time has been spent organizing the baby’s clothes, prepping his cloth diapers, and relaxing. In case you were wondering, the baby is still breech. I am hopeful he will still turn even though my doctor doesn’t seem nearly as optimistic. I have been seeing a chiropractor that has been practicing the Webster Technique to open my uterus and give him more room to turn. She is so supportive and positive. Even if the Webster Technique alone can’t make the baby flip, my chiropractor is hoping that it will relax the uterus enough to make the ECV a success. I am scheduled to go into the hospital for the ECV bright and early next Tuesday morning and if it is successful, then I will be sent home to wait for labor to begin. If not, I will be scheduling a C-Section for 39 weeks because it is just too risky to allow me to go into labor if he is still breech at the end. There is always the slight possibility that he could flip on his own in the meantime.

Honestly, I thought I was just being dramatic when he was breech a couple weeks ago. Lots of babies turn this late, people told me. Mine hasn’t. And despite the fact that I may not have the labor I hoped for, my son has a strong heartbeat and is really active. All signs point to a healthy baby and that, in the end, is what I really want.

xo

Yesterday I went to to the doctor with a hopeful but realistic attitude. If you recall, 2 weeks ago baby boy was in the breech position. I go to a group of women doctors and the doctor I met with last time was hopeful that he would turn by the time of my next appointment. I spent a lot of time in downward facing dog to give him a little extra push to turn. This kid is on Hawaiian time I swear. Fast forward to yesterday’s appointment and I am sitting in the exam room getting ready for a different doctor in our group to check the heartbeat and I casually mention that I hope he is still not breech. Her mouth drops. Apparently, Dr. Hopeful didn’t put it on my chart that little dude refuses to get his head down. She hurries out the door and comes back wheeling in the ultrasound machine. But I didn’t need to see the ultrasound to confirm what I already knew–my baby is still breech.

At this point, she claims, we need to talk options. The first option is to schedule a c-section for 39 weeks since my practice does not perform breech deliveries. I think my morning sickness came back at that point. I felt like scheduling a c-section for my first pregnancy was a little rushed and I wasn’t willing to do so until I knew it was my absolute last available option. She said that my second and final option (through their group) is to try External Cephalic Version. This is a procedure that is done at the hospital in the Labor & Delivery unit in case I go into labor. Once he is confirmed to still be in the breech position, the doctor will give me a shot to relax my uterus and try to physically turn the baby. Ouch. She told me the procedure is low risk but naturally there are some things that could potentially happen to the baby including:

• Twisting or squeezing of the umbilical cord, reducing blood flow and oxygen to the fetus.
• The beginning of labor, which can be caused by rupture of the amniotic sac around the fetus (premature rupture of the membranes, or PROM).
• Placenta abruption, rupture of the uterus, or damage to the umbilical cord. The potential exists for such complications, but they are very rare.

My doctor did say that she has never had any complications with the procedure other than the baby just refusing to flip. But combining those potential risks and a 50% success rate, I am scared. At this point, my husband and I have discussed how we want to procede, and because I really don’t want to have major surgery unless there are no other options for a healthy baby, I am going to try the ECV.

In the meantime though I am going to be trying my best to work on some natural methods of turning a baby in the breech position including:

The Webster Technique: There are a few chiropractors in my area that specialize in the Webster Technique. This procedure focuses on releasing stress on the pregnant woman’s pelvis thereby relaxing the uterus and surrounding ligaments. The relaxed uterus makes it easier for a breech baby to turn naturally. The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reported in the July/August 2002 issue that 82% of doctors using the Webster Technique reported success. (Source) I plan on calling to make an appointment today for this much less invasive procedure.

Cold at the top of the uterus

Heat and music placed at the bottom of the uterus

Getting in the pool and inverting my body with handstands and somersaults (seriously people, I am desperate)

Hopefully by the time I show up for the ECV next week, he will have already flipped and I won’t even need the procedure. But I am realistic. He may never turn. I already feel pressure to schedule a c-section but my hope is that the doctor won’t push me to schedule surgery if the ECV and my other techniques are not successful. Maybe he just needs more time on his own. That way, when I go into labor on my own and he is still breech, then I will feel like I have exhausted all options and given the little guy plenty of time to get in the right position. Wish me luck!

xo