Turn, Baby, Turn!

The end is near!

I'm a couple days shy of 37 weeks. and I'm so happy every time I think about it.  No matter what, I will be a mother of two within the month!  I'm elated and scared out of my mind at the same time.  That's normal, right?  I'm really only nervous for the adjustment part though.  We've been a family of three for almost five years.  It's going to be hard on everyone involved to adjust to a new family member.  Everything else--even the poopy diapers and impossibly long nights--is actually a bit of a thrill.  I am so ready to have a newborn in the house again.

Everything pregnancy-wise is still going well.  My body is slowly starting to progress, which I am thankful for.  I want my body to have a head start on dilating, etc so when labor finally happens, it hopefully won't be one million hours long.  I'm managing all the usual pregnancy complaints pretty well.  I won't miss the swollen feet or the inability to move because of this huge basketball stuffed under my shirt, but I'm trying to cherish these last moments of pregnancy.  I'm never going to be pregnant again, and it's all a little bittersweet. 

I received the best compliment ever while shopping at the Commissary yesterday.  A lady shopping behind me stopped to tell me she couldn't even tell I was pregnant until I turned to the side, and the belly was revealed.  With only a few weeks of my pregnancy to go, I find that to be quite a compliment.  I'm so thankful I'm carrying this pregnancy so well--hopefully that means the pounds will just melt off afterwards!

36 Week Picture

The one complaint I have pregnancy-wise is that Juliet is breech!  It really is just my luck.  The entire pregnancy up until about 31 weeks, she was always nestled very low in my pelvis.  I rarely felt movement above my belly button, and her hiccups were always extremely low.  When I hit 31 weeks, she decided torturing Mommy would be super fun.  She'll be head down for about seven to ten days, and then flip to breech.  She tends to stay in that position for about a day, and is usually extremely active during that period.  And then she flips back to head down.  Because I am carrying so compactly and the placement of her hiccups are so discernible, it is very easy for me to tell her position.

At my appointment last week, I mentioned to my doctor that I was pretty sure she had turned to breech the day before.  She sent me for an ultrasound for confirmation, and low and behold, Juliet's butt was nestled right down in my pelvis!  We talked about my options, and were planning on scheduling a procedure where the doctor manually tries to turn the baby using external manipulation for this week.   And then that night, like I figured she would, Juliet turned back to head down.  Disaster evaded...or so we thought.

Of course the little stinker stayed in the right position until Tuesday morning.  I woke up to hiccups right at my ribcage, and my doctor appointment the next morning confirmed it.  She's breech again!  Obviously she has enough room to move around yet, but she's been in this position for a few days now--the longest she's stayed breech.  I have the external version appointment set for next week, but really hope she turns on her own.  I've been trying all the "tricks" to get her to move--a cold pack to make her mad, music and a flashlight to catch her attention, pelvic tilts and sticking my booty up in the air to shift her center of gravity. 

Obviously. I'll try anything that has even an inkling of working because I will do anything in my power to avoid a c-section! I know it's not the end of the world if that's the route I end up having to take, but it won't be an option I'll take lightly.  I want what's best for the health of Juliet and myself, but I don't necessarily believe having a c-section is the best thing for our health in every situation. Thankfully my doctor is willing to try to manually move her up until my water breaks so we aren't even discussing a scheduled c-section.

So keep your fingers crossed that she turns to head down, and stays!