Breech

Today was a very difficult day for me (and baby). I went in for my 38 week check up (I am 38 weeks and 3 days so 11 days until my due date).  I went through all of the normal checks and everything was looking great. My blood pressure is good and low, my weight has remained pretty stable around the 155 lb mark, and the baby's heart rate was a healthy 125 bpm. Then my doctor went to do the weekly check to see if I was getting any more dilation, which I wasn't.  Along with that check came the bad news, she couldn't feel her head. She reassured me that she is probably head down but wanted to take a look on the ultrasound to be sure. After all at my 32 or 33 week ultrasound she was head down and every check in the last 3 weeks she has been head down. Surely she wouldn't flip this late in the game? As she put the ultrasound wand (not sure the real term for it) low I could tell by her face that it wasn't good. She then checked up and there she is, head under my left rib and feet down toward my right hip. I know I need to stay positive but this late it can be very difficult to flip a breech baby. The good thing is we know she flipped sometime in the last week so I have to keep hope that she can do it again. The bad news is, the percentage of versions that are successful are only 10-30%.

I decided to go to the gym today and do handstands to try to encourage her to flip back. It may be an old wives tale but I am willing to try anything. I did handstands off and on for an hour until my shoulders felt fried and she still is in the same position. Since then I went home and have used peppermint oil massaging in a rainbow shape on my upper belly to try to encourage her to move down. That has definitely go her moving but I am not sure if she is quite there yet.

Tomorrow I may be faced with some decisions that I'm not sure how we will handle. On the one hand if the version is successful I may have the option to be induced so that the baby doesn't flip breech again. I would consider doing this because the alternative of a c-section is less favorable than induction, however I really want to wait until she is ready to come out. On the other hand if the version is not successful, my chances of having a c-section will dramatically increase because the larger the baby gets the more difficult to flip her. I feel so helpless because to this point I feel like I have had such a complication free pregnancy and been so healthy that I just never imagined being faced with the possibility of a c-section. I will first and foremost pray to God that the baby and I come out in good health, but will also pray that he will guide me to make the best decision for her. I feel very emotional about this, but I know I need to stay positive because she is coming soon! To be continued....

I wasn't going to show anyone these but since this is the place I have been really open about my pregnancy, I figured it was the right place to post a belly shot.