At my 36-week appointment, I had concerns Spud was moving as much as he once was. They hooked me up to a monitor for 20 minutes and told me he was moving plenty and there was nothing to worry about. The weird thing was I couldn't feel half of his movements. I was just happy to know he's doing fine.
My belly also measured big - at 39 cm. The doctor called for an ultrasound to see why I was bigger than normal, which is 34 to 38 cm. Turns out I'm on the higher side of the amniotic fluid index. Normal is 10 to 20; I'm at 19. Unfortunately, we also found out Spud is breech. I swear he must have turned recently. At my 32- and 34-week appointments, the doctor thought he was head down. It wasn't until I was hooked up on the monitor I noticed a hard lump under my right rib that hadn't been there before. Since I have a higher amount of amniotic fluid, it makes it easier for him to turn and flip.
I know there are much worse things than a breech baby and a c-section, but I feel I've got to try to get him to turn. I was hoping for as natural of a birth as possible so avoiding surgery (which I've never had before) is important.
Week 37 Preview
At my 37-week appointment, Spud was still breech - his head cozily tucked near my right rib. The doctor thinks his back is curved along the top of my belly, and he's in "c" shape. We scheduled a c-section. I somehow held it together. I'm also 2 cm dilated. If I go into labor before C-Day, the doctor will confirm his position. If he's head down, I'll go for a vaginal delivery.
I've been trying different ways to naturally turn him. I've been on my hands and knees trying to give him space and use gravity to turn back around. Several websites suggested hitting the pool because the reduced gravity could encourage him to turn. I was in the water for 30 minutes last night with no success. I'll be back the rest of the week, though; it can't hurt. I've also tried laying with my pelvis above my head and playing music near my pelvis to encourage him to turn. Nothing, but I'm not giving up yet. Acupuncture is even an option. Lucas' boss said an hour after his wife got acupuncture, their breech baby turned head down.
I scheduled another ultrasound at my 38-week appointment to confirm his position and see if it's safe for the doctor to try an external cephalic version (aka manually turn the baby from outside the body). Versions are at best 75 percent successful. Some babies won't budge and some will successfully turn just to flip back to breech. I'm still holding on to the small chance that he'll flip head down on his own.
Any advice, suggestions or recommendations are welcome! Have you gotten a breech baby to turn?
Baby Bump
Well, I cracked 180 on the scale - meaning I've gained 35 pounds. Sure, a bit of that is Spud, but a bit of that is the McDonald's I'm eating right now.