At about 36 weeks gestation, I discussed different options with my perinatologist. After learning more about the external cephalic version, I knew it wasn't right for me and my baby. There was a less than 50% chance it would work (with a "normal" uterus) and it is quite an involved process. It can be potentially harmful to the baby and I decided I was not willing to take that chance. I was also informed that they prefer to do the versions at an earlier gestation, because the bigger the baby gets, the harder it is to get them to flip.
So, I opted to take more conservative measures to try to get our baby girl to flip into a head down position in hopes of delivering her naturally instead of a c-section. All the while I was trying to get our baby girl to flip, I continually prayed that God's will would be done...if our baby was safer in a breech position, I prayed she would stay this way. But, if she would be safe in a head down position and through a natural delivery, than I prayed she would flip. In my first pregnancy, above all else, I learned that birth plans are great to prepare yourself for the type of birth you desire to have, however, ultimately the Lord's birth plan is really the only birth plan that counts.
The first thing I tried was getting into a head down, buns up position a few times a day for 20-30 minutes at a time. This is a lot harder than it sounds, as it's hard enough to get comfortable while pregnant, but I was willing to try :) Scott and I also met with an acupuncturist who showed Scott how to do moxibustion, which he did twice a day. The acupuncturist we saw doesn't actually perform the treatment in her clinic because the mugwort herb (aka. "moxa") smells too much like marijuana. And oh boy, did it smell up our whole house! We joked that our neighbor may have been a little suspicious of what 'the pregnant lady next door was up to' :)
I also tried shining a light at the bottom of my uterus in hopes that she'd see it and try to move toward it. Some of the things I tried seemed a little hokey and we had to laugh at times, but I had faith that God would guide her in flipping if that were His will for her birth plan.
I got my last progesterone shot just after 36 weeks gestation. I had a feeling that I'd go into labor when the medication started wearing off, about a week after the shot. I also started being a little more active, which felt amazing(!), once I hit the full-term mark (PRAISE THE LORD!!!) at 37 weeks and of course, this made my uterus very active, as well.
37 weeks, 1 day:
On September 5 (37 weeks, 1 day), I took Tycen and Shaylie to Felida Park for a few hours in the late morning/early afternoon for a play date. When we got home, I noticed that my contractions started feeling a little more intense, so I had the kids take a nap so I could also lie down. Typically when I'd lie down, my contractions would go away, but this time it transitioned to rhythmic back pain...which is what I experienced when I was in labor with Tycen and Shaylie.
When the kids woke up from their nap, I got them ready for soccer practice and thought, 'I should call my doctor' because at this point I really wasn't sure when I should head to the hospital. In my last pregnancy, my water broke when I went into labor and I guess I was just assuming the same thing would happen this time and I'd know when to go to the hospital. Since I had been having so many contractions throughout my pregnancy, it was hard to determine when it might actually be labor.
So, I called my doctor around 4:30 pm and spoke with the nurse to inform her of my persistent, intense contractions. She told me that she wanted me to come to the hospital ASAP to get checked out because our baby was still breech she said that if my water broke, the umbilical cord could fall out which could be very dangerous. Oh! They hadn't mentioned that before!
Ok, so I knew I needed to go get checked out...buuuut, Tycen and Shaylie were all ready to go out the door to their soccer practice, so I asked the nurse if it'd be ok if I took them to practice first and then went to the hospital to which she replied, 'Um, oooookaaayyy...but try to get there within an hour or two...you could be in labor...I wouldn't wait too long.' I realize this seems a little crazy or irresponsible, but I was so used to contractions at this point, I knew that everything would be ok. And part of me wanted to watch Tyce and Shay's practice one last time before our whole world would change and I was busy busy with a new baby.
I called Scott to let him know what was going on and told him to meet me at the kids' soccer practice. By the time he got there, my contractions were getting more and more intense and I found that I was having to breathe through them. I realized I should probably head home and finish packing my hospital bag. Scott called his mom, who met us at our house so she could stay with Tyce and Shay when we went to the hospital.
Scott let the kids play at the playground after soccer practice and took his sweet little time packing a bag to get ready to go to the hospital :) In his defense, I know by my actions it may not have seemed like things were very emergent, but by the time I got home I was ready to be on our way...things were getting very intense very quickly. While we were waiting for Scott to pack his bag, Kathy helped us with a little photo shoot right before mommy went to the hospital...
We got to the hospital around 6:30 pm and after hooking me up to the monitors, we saw that I was contracting every 1-2 minutes.
Don't let my smile fool you...my contractions were definitely painful instead of just intense by the time I got to the hospital. I also started to have whole body shakes, which happened the last time I was in labor, too...apparently due to nerves.
Since I was considered full-term, they decided they wouldn't do anything to try and stop my labor. We also knew that since our baby girl was still breech, I'd be having another c-section. It's protocol to do an ultrasound to confirm a breech presentation, but I was certain she hadn't flipped...there was no mistaking her perfectly round head underneath my left expanded ribcage :)
You can see her sweet little head in this picture as I'm having a contraction...pretty amazing!
This is the day we get to meet our baby!!!
The doctor who was on-call was not the perinatologist who did my c-section with Tycen and Shaylie, so I asked if the nurses could call Dr. Winkler and see if he'd come in to do our delivery. I would say we 'lucked out' that Dr. Winkler was getting ready to go on vacation the night I went into labor and was happy to stop his packing and make the drive up from Portland, but I know that it more than luck, it was part of God's perfect plan to give me a little sense of peace as I was about to embark in a major surgery. I wasn't really nervous, but I did find that it was a bit harder the second time around because I knew what to expect...like the IVs (which they always insist on putting at your wrist, right along side of a major nerve...ouch!), the spinal tap :/ and of course, the potential complications that come along with a major surgery.
Heading to the Operating Room (OR) to meet our baby girl!!!
Like last time, Scott was not able to come into the OR until after I was all prepped and ready for surgery. Here he is all decked out, waiting to meet me in the OR and meet his little baby girl! :)
'When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.' --John 16:21
