RJ and I thought the baby flipped on Saturday (due to some mild coaxing from RJ)...we just came from a "limited ultrasound" that confirms that baby is head down. Whew! Of course, the baby could flip again, but I'm just not going to worry about it. When I show up at the hospital in labor - that is when we'll discuss what options we have if the baby is breech. I figure I have plenty of room in the ol' uterus (thanks to LJ and PJ and their largess) and this baby simply has the room to move around.
Thanks for the prayers!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Breech - AUGH!
Had a routine OB visit yesterday, I'm 38-39 weeks. OB did a cervix check - still 2 cm and 0% effaced, but...
She couldn't tell if she was feeling a hand or a foot, but she knew it was a small part. Pulled in the portable ultrasound machine - double footling breech. And, the placenta is high, but in front - not in back. Last week, when I was having contractions, she did an internal exam and said she felt the head, so I guess this one flipped within the last week. The problem with footling breech appears to be that, if you go into labor and your cervix starts to dilate and thin...the foot/feet will drop out before the cervix is open enough for the rest of the baby to fit through. Plus, you don't know how the head will come out, the cord is more likely to prolapse, and I'd imagine I could likely suffer a good bit of trauma "down there" - so, it seems drs. are not interested in a vaginal delivery with a footling breech. Frankly, I'm not interested in it either.
So, according to my OB the options are 1) schedule a c-section for next week (I don't want to have a c-section) or 2) schedule a version manipulation next week and, should it work, be induced so the baby doesn't have time to flip back. Should it not work, have a c-section. Also, since my placenta is in front, it is more possible it might separate during the version and I'd need to have an emergency c-section. I'm supposed to call on Monday with our "decision".
She couldn't tell if she was feeling a hand or a foot, but she knew it was a small part. Pulled in the portable ultrasound machine - double footling breech. And, the placenta is high, but in front - not in back. Last week, when I was having contractions, she did an internal exam and said she felt the head, so I guess this one flipped within the last week. The problem with footling breech appears to be that, if you go into labor and your cervix starts to dilate and thin...the foot/feet will drop out before the cervix is open enough for the rest of the baby to fit through. Plus, you don't know how the head will come out, the cord is more likely to prolapse, and I'd imagine I could likely suffer a good bit of trauma "down there" - so, it seems drs. are not interested in a vaginal delivery with a footling breech. Frankly, I'm not interested in it either.
So, according to my OB the options are 1) schedule a c-section for next week (I don't want to have a c-section) or 2) schedule a version manipulation next week and, should it work, be induced so the baby doesn't have time to flip back. Should it not work, have a c-section. Also, since my placenta is in front, it is more possible it might separate during the version and I'd need to have an emergency c-section. I'm supposed to call on Monday with our "decision".
RJ and I are thinking we'll add a third option - do the version and, if successful, go home and wait for labor to begin. If the baby flips back to breech - potentially do another version and then induce labor. Or, if the baby flips again - have the c-section if the 1st version was particularly bothersome. The OB gave the option of having an epidural for the version and then inducing, so if there is a need for a 2nd version and the 1st was bothersome, I could do the 2nd with an epidural.
We're hoping and praying the baby will flip back between now and next week. To encourage this, I've laid on the couch with my bottom/hips propped with pillows and my feet/legs over the back. This does get the baby's head to move from the top by my ribs to the left side. It is suggested to do this 3 times a day for 20 minutes each time - it does get uncomfortable rather quickly - perhaps doing it NOT right after a meal would help! I'm also going to get in the pool today and do some flips. These things seem to be helpful for women on the Internet. I'm not going to put a sack of frozen vegetables near the baby's head and shine a flashlight at the bottom of my uterus...that one seems a bit odd to me.
We're hoping and praying the baby will flip back between now and next week. To encourage this, I've laid on the couch with my bottom/hips propped with pillows and my feet/legs over the back. This does get the baby's head to move from the top by my ribs to the left side. It is suggested to do this 3 times a day for 20 minutes each time - it does get uncomfortable rather quickly - perhaps doing it NOT right after a meal would help! I'm also going to get in the pool today and do some flips. These things seem to be helpful for women on the Internet. I'm not going to put a sack of frozen vegetables near the baby's head and shine a flashlight at the bottom of my uterus...that one seems a bit odd to me.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Girl or Boy?
Well, my labor "scare" on Thursday compelled me to do the last few things that would be more convenient to do before #3 arrives. I found the gender neutral infant clothes and, of course, with those is the boy infant clothes. So, I picked out one gender neutral outfit and one boy outfit to pack in the hospital bag. Then, for the heck of it, I dug out the girl clothes my sister gave me about 5 years ago...and picked out one little pink girl outfit to pack. This is the first time I've taken one of each outfit to the hospital...does this mean that, somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I think this one is a girl?
Friday, August 20, 2010
A Little Update
Yesterday was not fun! Around 5:00 am, I woke up with contractions. They were every 15 minutes until about 10:00 am. I was supposed to see the dr. at 2:30, but called to get fit in earlier. This is how it all started with PJ and by 2:30 pm, he was born - so...I didn't want to wait all morning. I felt TERRIBLE though - nausea and flu-like symptoms. The dr. checked me out. 2 cm, but not effaced. Baby's head is engaged though. Could be today, could be 3 weeks. The rest of the day, I sat around and felt totally useless - I just felt so badly. I got a good night of sleep last night and today, I'm back to "normal" 3rd trimester pregnancy ailments. Those were the worst and oddest Braxton Hicks I've ever had.
We got PJ totally moved into LJ's room and I'm ready to try to find the infant clothes. We have several "neutral gender" items since we've not found out with any child...but, I need to find those! RJ also needs to install the "salt to chlorine generator" for our pool. We spend a small fortune on chlorine, so this generator will be worth it!
Next week, I need to get the kids a couple of vaccines and then finish their school paperwork and find out how much we actually owe for tuition and extra things like Lunch Bunch on Thursdays and Math/Science on Mondays.
So, there are things that we need to get done - it'd be nice to keep this baby until the due date so we can have 1 week of school routine under our belts before baby joins us. But, it would also be nice to get this baby out early so that he/she can't possible weigh 10 pounds!
We got PJ totally moved into LJ's room and I'm ready to try to find the infant clothes. We have several "neutral gender" items since we've not found out with any child...but, I need to find those! RJ also needs to install the "salt to chlorine generator" for our pool. We spend a small fortune on chlorine, so this generator will be worth it!
Next week, I need to get the kids a couple of vaccines and then finish their school paperwork and find out how much we actually owe for tuition and extra things like Lunch Bunch on Thursdays and Math/Science on Mondays.
So, there are things that we need to get done - it'd be nice to keep this baby until the due date so we can have 1 week of school routine under our belts before baby joins us. But, it would also be nice to get this baby out early so that he/she can't possible weigh 10 pounds!
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