37 weeks and bitter.

Well, today I am 37 weeks along.
3 weeks to go!

I don't have a photo for you today because I don't feel very photogenic right now. Ha. Maybe later. :)

So, I am bitter. Why?
There have been two girls that were due like within the same week as me. So I was pretty excited that we were all having our babies around the same time. God has decided to make me suffer and wait for my baby. I'm due September 24th. One girl was due September 30th. She had her baby girl August 17th. Another girl was due October 2nd. So a week after me. Her water broke this morning. She's still in labor. No baby today. But, come on. I got nothing :(
The doctors appointment didn't make it any better today.

I had my friend K come with me. Olivia's heartbeat was 156 BPM. I was measuring at 36. The doctor checked me. I'm dilated to a 1 and 75% effaced.
The doctor then said to me, "We're going to need to do a quick ultrasound."
Awesome. Why is that, doctor?
"Well, I'm not sure if your baby is head down or not when I checked to feel the head it kind of floated away."
Great, I have decapitated my baby from the time the nurse checked her heartbeat and the time the doctor checked me.

We did an ultrasound and guess what? She's breech. Go figure.
Rear end down. What it looked like to me is that she was sitting like cross legged. It didn't look like her legs were by her head. Maybe they were. I couldn't tell. I'm not a doctor.
So her head is in my ribs. I don't understand though because from the video in my previous post it looked like that it was her legs moving because where her head is now is where her legs were in the video. Maybe I was wrong and those were her arms the whole time. Great.
She's not in a lock breech because she's still pretty high, she can turn probably at anytime this week.

Next week, my doctors appointment is 9/9/09. That was my goal to have her on that day. What a cool birthday. Ha.
That doctors appointment she'll check me and if the baby still isn't turned then we're going to schedule a day to do an ultrasound, probably later that day (my appointment is at like 10 in the morning) or Thursday or Friday that week, I'm hoping.
In the ultrasound if they believe that the baby will turn on her own they'll let her. Or if she's just having the time of her life during somersaults then they're going to turn her, but if they do that, they'll induce me the day that they turn her.
If she's stuck and isn't going anywhere, I'll be having a c-section.
Oh, I hope and PRAY that I won't have a c-section.
But if that's the only way to get her out safely then, I'm okay with that.

My sister Erika sent me 17 ways on how to turn a breech baby.
You know what I'll be doing with my free time ;)

1. Visualizing the baby moving down with the head very deep in your pelvis, several times a day; especially in conjunction with positions and exercises below.

2. Swimming as often as possible. This keeps your body and pelvis loose and relaxed. Do in conjunction with headstand below if you have help.

3. Headstand - with assistance and in a pool frequently as possible.

4. Breech Tilt - begin at 32-35 weeks gestation. Do 3 times daily for 10-15 minutes each time, when you have an empty stomach, and the baby is active. Prop one end of an ironing board securely on a sofa or chair 12 to 18 inches high (or may use slant board). Lie down, bend knees but keep feet flat on board. Relax, breathe deeply, avoid tensing. May also use pillows on a flat surface to raise hips 12-18" above shoulders. Gravity pushes the baby's head into the fundus, tucks it, and baby can then do a somersault to a vertex position.

5. CD/iPod headphones - place them inside mom's pants toward her pubic bone and play classical music for 10 minutes 6-8 times a day.

6. Flashlight - try moving slowly down from the top of the uterus toward your pubic bone while you are in a breech tilt position.

7. Massage - start with your left hand at the bottom of the abdomen and your right hand just above it. Move move your hands clockwise around the right side of your tummy. As your right hand reaches the top of your abdomen, slide the left one over your right and move it down the left side of your tummy. Your left hand leads as you you come full circle, continuing clockwise. Massage gently as you would to apply lotion. Massage for ten minutes or more up to several times each day.

8. Clothespin - place on the small toe of each foot at the outside corner of the toenail; sideways so that the toenail and toepad are stimulated for 30 minutes per day, this is an acupressure point that is a "moving down" point. You can also do this with just finger pressure as you remember to do it.

9. Motion Sickness band - place with the bead four fingerwidths above the inner ankle bone - another acupressure point that is used for stimulation of the uterus. Do not use this point if you are experiencing any pre-term labor.

10. Glass of orange or other juice - follow this with a side-lying position with your hips positioned higher than your feet. Babies move more after a sugar high!

11. Pelvic Tilt- with an ice pack on the top of your tummy on an empty stomach, 10 minutes twice a day. Do this while lying on your back on the floor with knees flexed and feet on the floor with three large pillows placed under your buttocks. Try this in conjunction with headphones and visualization.

12. Cat stretch - start with all fours, then lay your head and chest flat on the floor with your buttocks in the air, as you round your back and return to all fours.

13. Knee-chest position - by kneeling with hips flexed slightly more than 90 degree, but with thighs not pressing against your tummy and your head, shoulders and upper chest are flat on a mattress for 15 minutes every two waking hours for five days.

14. Belly Relaxing followed by Inversion - Partner places a shawl, sheet, towel or rebozo under mom's hips as she lays on the floor. Lift up on the corners of the cloth and shimmy her from side to side moving your hands up and down to wiggle her belly from side to side. These should be very small movements which mom should find very relaxing. Do this for about 5 minutes. Then mother kneels on the stairway landing. Walk your hands down 2 or 3 stairs into an all fours position; have your partner support your shoulders to balance you. Remain in this position for about 5-10 minutes or as long as comfortable. Also do this on an empty stomach.

The following techniques to turn breech babies to vertex involve the assistance of a specialist or medical professional:

15. Acupuncture - find a acupuncturist who is familiar with pregnancy and knows the points to stimulate for turning a breech baby.

16. Webster's Breech Technique - see a Chiropractor who is experienced in this technique.

17. External Version - this can be done in the hospital at about 37 weeks; see an Ob-Gyn for assistance and more information.

My favorite have to be 1 and 5.
1. Because I guess I've been doing this wrong the whole time. I should've been visualizing the baby not to be breech. But instead I've been visualizing just popping her out. I just skipped a step or 12.

5. Does this help? I'm curious. Because it makes me the baby want to float down to hear the music? I just don't see music being a big factor in all of this.


Last night, I was having some pretty good contractions. Obviously, not consistent enough to go into labor. I felt like I was in the shower for an hour and they were getting harder and longer. But it felt good to be in the shower because it was warm and it felt like it would relax them. I was only in the shower for 20 minutes. I got out and just laid down in bed. I was still feeling them but they started going away. Luckily, I did not go into labor or else it'd be highly likely for me to have a c-section.

Tomorrow, I'm meeting with a doula, her name is Tandi. I kind of let her be aware of the situation and all that going on. So we'll be talking about my birthplan and if things happen that I don't have a c-section then all will go well. I figure that meeting her will be good and then what if I don't have to have a c-section, I don't want it to have to be so last minute trying to find a doula. I might already be cutting it close already. Maybe not. I don't know when you normally do them. I found her on craigslist. She'll be doing two prenatal appointments at 38 weeks. But who knows. I might be delivering at 38 1/2-39 weeks. Which would be crazy and insanely AWESOME. That's all I have to say.

Tonight, I might be playing Kingsburg with L and K. V's sisters. They have yet to play the expansion so I'll probably be teaching them that tonight. I hope they'll enjoy it thoroughly. And it'll help me tonight not to be so bitter with everything going on.